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Economist - Direct Hire

Department of Transportation
Department of Transportation - Agency Wide
This job announcement has closed

Summary

You will serve as an Economist responsible for conducting and managing economic and financial analyses required for the assigned studies and research projects. Provides advice and technical assistance for designated parts of planning and analysis. Serves as a member on interdisciplinary teams.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
11/02/2022 to 02/02/2023
Salary
$46,696 to - $74,250 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 07 - 09
Location
Many vacancies in the following location:
Location Negotiable After Selection
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel requirements vary by agency and position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Permanent Change of Station (PCS), relocation, and/or recruitment incentives may be authorized for this position.
Appointment type
Multiple - Appointment types vary depending on agency and position (Term, Temp, Permanent, etc.).
Work schedule
Multiple Schedules - Work Schedules vary depending on agency and position (Full-time, Part-time, Intermittent, etc.).
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
09 - Career ladder promotion potential varies by agency and position.
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
DOT-2023-0039
Control number
686715300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. The 'Rule of Three', Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy. Bargaining unit participation varies by agency and position.

Duties

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As an Economist you will:

  • Assist in planning activities to determine the type, scope, and cost of economic functions. Incumbent employs current planning guidance to provide input necessary for plan formulation and decision making. Assist higher-grade employees in developing a plan or approach for economic studies.
  • Develop preliminary time and cost estimates for economic tasks for review and approval by supervisor for understanding and following the plan, including the design and techniques of study which have been decided upon by higher level economists.
  • Collect and analyze economic information to determine the feasibility and cost effectiveness of agency transportation and related projects. In addition, determine the economic impacts of projects and analyzes the financial requirements and capabilities of non-Federal sponsors.
  • Compile, analyze and evaluate data for pertinent portions of preliminary, survey and review reports, justification reports and design memoranda. Determine methods and necessary details of evaluation and conclusions, development of forecasts and the documentation and formal presentation of applicable data.
  • Identify issues to be investigated through literature review and collects the appropriate economic, social, and demographic data to describe a study area in sufficient detail to allow further analysis.
  • Communicate and coordinate technical analyses with other offices, higher-level authority, state and local governments and members of the public. Participate with interdisciplinary study teams, assisting in economics studies with formulation tasks, and design activities. Meet and communicate with non-DOT entities, to collect data and communicate study results. Prepare input to sections of reports and technical documents, describing the results of their analyses.

The ideal candidate is an individual who is seeking a challenging career as an Economist assisting in conducting parts of economic and financial analyses required for assigned studies and research projects.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date
  • Required Documents must be submitted by the closing date.
  • Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
  • BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: This position may be approved for occasional telework. The number of telework days approved is determined by the agency policy, emergency situations, the approval of your immediate supervisor, and if applicable, approval of additional officials.  You are required to report to the office on a regular basis since this is not a full-time telework position, or approved as a remote work position.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Individual Occupational Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet the additional grade level requirements.

(1) All applicants must meet the basic requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to a position under series 0110:

A. Successful completion of a degree in economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience which includes courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

For additional reference, please refer to the OPM qualifications standard for GS-0110: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0100/economist-series-0110/

(2) Upload the appropriate document(s) to your application for verification purposes.

Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within three months of the closing date of this announcement. If selected, the final transcript must be received before your start date.  Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

(3) Specialized Experience:

To determine which grade(s) you may be eligible for, review the following grade specific details.  You will be asked a few questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet this experience in your resume or you may be deemed ineligible.  

For the GS-07: You qualify for this grade level if you meet one of the following experience and/or education requirements.

 On Experience, at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-05 grade levelwhich included:

  • Experience in data collection and reporting methods to determine economic benefits from studied projects, develop project formulation and cost allocation studies, and the prepare sections of reports.

On Education, you must have:

  • 1 full academic year of graduate education or law school or a Bachelors degree with Superior Academic Achievement*.
  • Or, you can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.

*Superior Academic Achievement is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. (In order to be creditable under this provision, superior academic achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled.)

  1. Class standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.
  2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.

For the GS-09: You qualify for this grade level if you meet one of the following experience and/or education requirements.

On Experience, at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-07 grade level, which included:

  • Experience in solving basic economic and policy problems to develop and represent programming requirements and utilize those computed/model results to produce practical problem solutions.
  • Experience in data collection and reporting methods to determine economic benefits from studied projects, develop project formulation and cost allocation studies, and prepare sections of reports.

On Education, you must have:

  • 2 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or masters or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D.
  • Or, you can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.

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 area:

  1. Economics - Knowledge of economic policy, principles, and practices, market and non-market values, and the analysis and reporting of economic data.

For all types of consideration, 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

See the Qualifications section for Mandatory Individual Occupational Requirements. 

Additional information

This announcement establishes an open continuous period for this series/grade. We will perform interim reviews of all applications as positions become vacant.  You must meet all eligible requirements at the time of consideration. 

Duty locations will vary.  The difference in the salary is determined by the locality pay in each location. Salaries for all areas are available on the OPM website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2022/general-schedule/

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

If you are hired for this position; you will not receive additional consideration from this announcement.

Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will referred to the hiring manager.

How you will be evaluated

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

For this announcement, all applicants will be reviewed to determine if they meet the basic qualifications for this position, specifically the educational and specialized experience requirements. 

Applicants will not be rated or ranked.  Veteran's Preference does NOT apply.

All applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications will be referred to the selecting official.

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.  All answers provided in the on-line process must be substantiated by a resume. If, upon review, it is determined that your resume and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be removed from consideration.


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