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Research Economist

Department of the Interior
Geological Survey
Fort Collins Science Center
This job announcement has closed

Summary

What General Information Do I Need To Know About This Position?

Denver locality pay
GS-12: Salary: $87,491 (Step 01) to $113,743 (Step 10);
GS-13: Salary: $104,038 (Step 01) to $135,247 (Step 10);
GS-14: Salary: $122,941 (Step 01) to $159,823 (Step 10);
NOTE: First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/07/2022 to 09/22/2022
Salary
$87,491 to - $159,823 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 14
Location
Fort Collins, CO
Few vacancies
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel up to 3 nights a month for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
15
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
USGS-DEN-22-11554254-DE-MBA
Control number
675052600

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Duties

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As a Research Economist within the Fort Collins Science Center, some of your specific duties will include:

  • Analytical skills: Ability to design data collection and apply statistical analysis techniques to conduct economics investigations
  • Economics theory and approaches: Demonstrated skill in applying economics theory and approaches to address complex natural resource management issues
  • Interdisciplinary teams: Demonstrated skill in working on interdisciplinary science teams to address complex natural resource management issues
  • Breadth of research: Develop new techniques and approaches in order to extend currently accepted information and introduce new directions for future research
  • Communication: Transfer results to resource managers, field scientists, the scientific community, and the public via published papers in the scientific literature, management-oriented technical media, presentations at meetings and workshops, consultations, publications in popular literature, and the internet
  • Develop proposals: Act as a principal investigator individually or in collaboration with other scientists to secure funding for original social science research.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Key Requirements:

  1. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
  2. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
  3. Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period.
  4. More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.
  5. Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record.
Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position?
  • If selected you may be asked to provide information regarding your COVID-19 vaccination status for the purposes of implementing workplace safety protocols, such as those related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.
  • Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment. Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued.
  • A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
  • Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.

Qualifications

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: Applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic education requirement for Economist, all grade levels.

  1. Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in economics that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semesters hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus.
  2. Combination of education and experience-course work as shown in "A" above, plus appropriate experience and/or additional education for a total of 4 years. The education or combined education and experience must be comparable in type, scope and thoroughness to that acquired through successful completion of a 4-year course of study as described in "A" above.(CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE)

For GS-12:

In addition to the basic education requirement as stated above, applicants must have one year of appropriate professional experience in economics this is equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal service.

Specialized Experience for this position is defined as experience in applying economics theory and methods in the context of natural resource management and conducting research to aid in the conservation and management of public lands and waters. This includes: assessment of research needs; proposal development; research design; collecting data to measure market or nonmarket economic values or impacts associated with natural resource and public lands management and policy. Experience applying existing theory or methods to areas previously investigated, but under unique conditions, or involve adapting previous studies while accounting for changes in theory or improved techniques and methods. Experience in making contributions that add to scientific and professional knowledge or support developing new or improved methods and techniques

For GS-13:

In addition to the basic education requirement as stated above, applicants must have one year of appropriate professional experience in economics that is equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service.

Specialized Experience for this position is defined as experience in applying economics theory and methods in the context of natural resource management and conducting research to aid in the conservation and management of public lands and waters. This includes: assessment of research needs; proposal development; research design; collecting data to measure market or nonmarket economic values or impacts associated with natural resource and public lands management and policy. Experience working in contexts that have a broad and complex scope, requiring a series of comprehensive and conceptually related phases and studies. Experience working on subject matter that is difficult to define, require sophisticated research techniques, or involve the development of new or unconventional methods or approaches.

For GS-14:

In addition to the basic education requirement as stated above, applicants must have one year of appropriate professional experience in economics this is equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the Federal service.

Specialized Experience for this position is defined as experience in applying economics theory and methods in the context of natural resource management and conducting research to aid in the conservation and management of public lands and waters. This includes: assessment of research needs; proposal development; research design; collecting data to measure market or nonmarket economic values or impacts associated with natural resource and public lands management and policy. Experience functioning as a team leader for projects addressing research problems that are exceptionally difficult and have considerable breadth and depth. Experience designing research approaches that may require modifying existing techniques and design of new methods; and may require developing innovative research techniques for applications that have rarely or never been encountered. Experience developing interdisciplinary research teams while acting as a principal investigator and leader of these teams.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

  • 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.
  • Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.usgs.gov/about/organization/science-support/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs .

Additional information

Other Information:

  • Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
  • The full performance level for a Research position is GS-15; however, promotion eligibility is dependent upon the scientific contributions of the incumbent as evaluated by a peer panel.
  • Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position.
  • USGS employees are subject to Title 43, USC Section 31(a) and may not: (a) have any personal, private, direct or indirect interest in lands or mineral wealth of lands under survey; (b) have any substantial personal, private, direct or indirect interests in any private mining or mineral enterprise doing business with the United States; or (c) execute surveys or examinations for private parties or corporations.
  • The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.
  • DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.
  • The Department of the Interior (DOI) places a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspectives and encourages applications from all interested eligible candidates. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are fundamental principles that guide the Department and allow us to successfully achieve our mission.
  • THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.
Agency Benefits:

How you will be evaluated

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

--Vacancy Related Questions: As part of the online application process, you will need to respond to a series of questions designed to assess your possession of the following knowledge skills, abilities and/or competencies:

  • Analytical skills
  • Economics theory and approaches
  • Interdisciplinary teams
  • Breadth/novelty of research
  • Communication
  • Develop proposals
--Basis of Rating:

Category rating will be used in the ranking and selection process for this position. The quality categories are Best-Qualified, Well-Qualified and Qualified. If you meet the basic qualification and eligibility requirements of this position, you will be contacted via email after the vacancy announcement closes and given 10 dayscalendar days to submit narrative responses that address the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required to perform the duties of this position. You will be rated and ranked based on the information you provide in your resume as well as the responses you submit to the required KSAs. Veterans' preference rules for category rating will be applied.

The knowledge, skills, and abilities required for this position are as follows:
1. Analytical skills - Knowledge designing and applying data collection methods and statistical analysis or analytical modeling techniques using social science data in contexts such as: climate adaptation; biological threats; environmental health; species management; and public land and water management.
2. Economics theory and approaches - Ability to formulate research projects that use economics theory and approaches to address applied questions in the context of public land and water management, including developing and implementing research plans that engage with the scientific literature and address stakeholder needs.
3. Interdisciplinary teams - Experience in developing research programs that bring together diverse, transdisciplinary teams thinking across discipline boundaries (e.g., scientists, managers, stakeholders) in contexts such as: climate adaptation; biological threats; environmental health; species management; and public land and water management.
4. Breadth/novelty of research - Experience developing new research directions, approaches, and tools to conduct research in contexts such as: climate adaptation; biological threats; environmental health; species management; and public land and water management.
5. Communication - Skill in communicating technical results in writing through peer reviewed publication of journal articles and technical reports and verbally through lectures and presentations.
6. Develop proposals - Ability to develop proposals for the implementation and management of research projects using initiative and judgment in planning the approach to the study, the methods to be used, data collection, interpretation of data, and publication of results.

--NOTE: If it is determined that you have rated yourself higher than is supported in your description of experience and/or education as described in your resume/application, or that your resume or application is incomplete, you may be rated ineligible, not qualified, or your score may be lowered.

To preview the announcement questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11554254

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