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Economist

Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The position is assigned to the FHWA Office of Transportation Policy Studies, Economic Investment Strategies Team and is responsible for formulating and conducting economic studies of legislative and policy issues of major importance to FHWA and DOT; leading the development and application of benefit-cost analysis tools to prepare Congressional reports and research papers. A principal focus area is the projection of future investment needs for our nation’s transportation infrastructure assets.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
02/18/2021 to 03/01/2021
Salary
$122,530 to - $159,286 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington, DC
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Some travel is required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Relocation will be paid
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Full Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
FHWA.HPL-2021-0001
Control number
592562900

Duties

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As the Economist, you will:

  • Develop and manage a program of applied research and systems analysis projects to evaluate the relationships between Federal, State, and local highway and bridge capital investments and national highway system performance.
  • Provide advice and guidance on the application of benefit-cost analysis and other economic analysis tools to the evaluation of public policy issues, including the evaluation of legislative initiatives and regulations.
  • Provide expert policy analysis that can be relied upon by top-level policy makers in the FHWA, DOT and other Federal agencies for use in national policy formulation. Coordinates and conducts research on key transportation issues, themes, policies, and latest technologies.
  • Develop and implement new theoretical approaches to the assessment of highway and bridge financing and performance management options. Provides guidance on the application of economic analysis tools to analyzing investment tradeoffs among competing performance objectives, and to setting performance targets at both the Federal and State levels.
  • Provide leadership in promoting the objectives of the FHWA economic research program. Serves as an expert on transportation advisory groups, such as the Transportation Research Board, and presents papers at technical and policy conferences.
  • Represent FHWA at meetings related to the application of economic principles to infrastructure investment decision making, and serves as FHWA's point of contact with high-level staff working on cost-benefit analysis procedures in the Office of the Secretary of Transportation.

The Ideal Candidate for this position is a seasoned professional with expert knowledge of economic principles and their application in the analysis of transportation policy issues. The ideal candidate should have strong writing skills, and the ability to formulate, guide, and conduct in-depth economic studies of legislative and policy issues.  The incumbent leads the development of economic modeling tools and should be skilled in the application of such tools in developing materials for a variety of audiences.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
  • You must meet specialized experience to qualify.
  • Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection.
  • TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
  • DEU REQUIREMENTS: Applicants selected under delegated examining procedures may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet the experience qualifications.

To qualify for the GS-14, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-13, it must include:

  • Experience in applying economic principles and investment decision methods to analyze programs and/or policy issues.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

Economics (General and Transportation-Related)

Economic Research, including Technical Contract Management

Strategic Planning, Policy Analysis, & Program Evaluation

Ability to effectively communicate

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 can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link:  https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date.

Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

In order to qualify for this series, you must meet the following:

Degree in economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus.

OR

Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in economics, as indicated above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Additional information

This vacancy may be used by any DOT agency to fill similar positions within 90 days.

How you will be evaluated

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

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. 


To compete with U.S. Citizens:  If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of four categories: Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze, which is based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference that have provided supporting documents will receive selection priority over non-veterans. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position.


To compete with other competitive status government employees: If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be scored based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.

Eligible Federal employees also seeking consideration for noncompetitive reassignment for this position, must indicate interest in the assessment. In eligibility question 14: select Yes/Other/Former Incumbency of a Position brought into the Competitive Service. Noncompetitive federal candidates must have competitive status on a SF-50, meet minimum qualifications, have served at the same grade or higher, and held or exceeded the promotion potential of this position.

All applicants:  Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package.  If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated on your behalf or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating.


To preview questions please click here.

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