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Actuary

Department of Homeland Security
Federal Emergency Management Agency
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The ideal candidate for this position will be experienced in insurance providing pricing, reserving, modeling, and underwriting insurance or reinsurance coverages. This position starts at a salary of $72,030 (GS-11), with promotion potential to $133,465 (GS-13 grade level). Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration Risk Management team within FEMA.

View common definitions of terms found in this announcement.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
03/19/2020 to 04/07/2020
This job will close when we have received 200 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$72,030 to - $112,240 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Location
Washington, DC
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - This position may require occasional non-emergency travel.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
FEMA-20-RD-326085-DH
Control number
563280800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This announcement will close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) (Tuesday, 4/07/2020) OR at 11:59 p.m. ET on the date the 200th application is received, whichever comes first. This job is open to: U.S. Citizens

Duties

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When disaster strikes, America looks to FEMA. Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce.  Please visit www.fema.gov for additional information.

EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.

In this position, you will serve as an Actuary in the Actuarial and Catastrophic Branch under the Risk Management Division. Typical assignments include:

  • Performing profitability analyses of multiple risk transfer methods (i.e. reinsurance, insurance-linked securities) at both portfolio level and across lines of business and geographies
  • Developing and implementing pricing and benchmark tools using sound actuarial principals and methodologies
  • Updating pricing model parameters around industry trends, loss distributions and development factors
  • Interpreting and analyzing data to perform stochastic risk capital modeling
  • Providing risk management support such as exposure and loss cost reporting
  • Preparing and presents analytical summaries explaining and defending studies and model results to various internal and external groups

Promotion Potential: Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to be considered for this position.
  • You must successfully pass a background investigation.
  • Selective Service registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
  • You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card.
  • Please review "Other Information" section for additional key requirements.

Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below.

Qualifications

The qualification requirements listed below must be met within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

You qualify for this position at the GS-11 level (starting salary $72,030) if you possess the following: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-07) in the Federal Service.  This experience may have been gained in the federal government, a state or local government, a non-profit organization, the private sector, or as a volunteer; however, your resume must clearly describe at least one year of specialized experience.  Specialized experience for this position includes:

  • Reviewing actuarial policy and recommendations,
  • Performing statistical and actuarial projections for insurance coverage,  
  • Conducting studies on insurance programs, etc.

In addition to the specialized experience you must possess the following:

A bachelor's degree or higher that included courses in actuarial science, mathematics, relevant statistics, business, finance, economics, insurance, or computer science totaling at least 24 semester hours from a 4 year college or university. This course work must have included a minimum of 12 semester hours of mathematics that included differential and integral calculus and one or more courses in mathematics for which these calculus courses were prerequisites.


OR

Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D in actuarial science, mathematics, statistics, business, finance, economics, insurance, or computer science that included courses in actuarial science, mathematics, relevant statistics, business, finance, economics, insurance, or computer science totaling at least 24 semester hours. This course work must have included a minimum of 12 semester hours of mathematics that included differential and integral calculus and one or more courses in mathematics for which these calculus courses were prerequisites.

OR

A minimum of 24 semester hours of courses in actuarial science, mathematics, relevant statistics, business, finance, economics, insurance, or computer science at a four year college or university. This course work must have included a minimum of 12 semester hours of mathematics that included differential and integral calculus and one or more courses in mathematics for which these calculus courses were prerequisites; and have successfully completed three of the Society of Actuaries (SOA) or the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) examinations, or have received credit for three of the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries (JBEA) examinations. 

You qualify for this position at the GS-12 level (starting salary $86,335) if you possess the following:One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-09) in the Federal Service.  This experience may have been gained in the federal government, a state or local government, a non-profit organization, the private sector, or as a volunteer; however, your resume must clearly describe at least one year of specialized experience.  Specialized experience for this position includes:

  • Reviewing actuarial policy and recommendations,
  • Performing statistical and actuarial projections for insurance coverage,  
  • Assisting in budget formulation and justification
  • Conducting studies on insurance programs, etc.

In addition to the specialized experience you must possess the following:

A bachelor's degree or higher that included courses in actuarial science, mathematics, relevant statistics, business, finance, economics, insurance, or computer science totaling at least 24 semester hours from a 4 year college or university. This course work must have included a minimum of 12 semester hours of mathematics that included differential and integral calculus and one or more courses in mathematics for which these calculus courses were prerequisites.


OR

A minimum of 24 semester hours of courses in actuarial science, mathematics, relevant statistics, business, finance, economics, insurance, or computer science at a four year college or university. This course work must have included a minimum of 12 semester hours of mathematics that included differential and integral calculus and one or more courses in mathematics for which these calculus courses were prerequisites; and have successfully completed four of the Society of Actuaries (SOA) or the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) examinations, or have received credit for three of the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries (JBEA) examinations. 



Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g. Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

NOTE: Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. For a brief video on How to Create a Federal Resume, click here.

Current or former FEMA Reservists/DAE employees: To accurately credit your experience for these intermittent positions, make sure to list the dates (from MM/YY to MM/YY) of each deployment, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.  Failure to provide this information may result in disqualification.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees.  If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. 

Education

NOTEIf you are qualifying based on education and/or are selected for a position which requires a college degree to meet minimum qualification requirements, you will be required to submit your official college transcript(s) at time of selection.

Additional information

  • To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Public Trust clearance as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined (Mythbuster), review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations.
  • If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.
  • DHS uses E-verify, an internet based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
  • The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.
  • This announcement may be used to fill one or more vacancies.
  • All candidates must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time.
  • A one year probationary period is required for new Federal competitive service employees and new supervisors and managers.
  • If selected for this position, and you have not previously completed these requirements, you are subject to (1) completion of a 2 day onboarding program at your primary duty location; and, (2) completion of a subsequent, multiple day orientation program within 90-120 days of hire, at a location to be determined.  Travel associated with the orientation portion of this requirement may be at FEMA’s expense.
  • This is a Bargaining Unit position.
  • Applicants for all grade levels must complete a minimum of 24 semester hours of courses in actuarial science, mathematics, relevant statistics, business, finance, economics, insurance, or computer science at a four year college or university. This course work must have included a minimum of 12 semester hours of mathematics that included differential and integral calculus and one or more courses in mathematics for which these calculus courses were prerequisites.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Direct Hire authority will be used to fill this position. Veterans' preference, category rating and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to positions filled under this announcement.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) / Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) Eligible: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. View information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility on OPM’s Career Transition Resources website. To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must meet the well-qualified standards for the position. A well-qualified applicant must satisfy the following criteria: In addition to meeting minimum qualifications, including selective factors, education, and experience requirements, the applicant must be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement.

All applicants who meet the basic qualification requirements at the grade level for which they are applying will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for consideration.

Interview Requirement.  Interviews may be required for this position.  Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration. 


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