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Agricultural Economist

Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Summary

This position is located in the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Office of the Associate Chief, Deputy Chief for Science and Technology, in Fort Worth, Texas.

The incumbent provides leadership and assistance for economic considerations to NRCS state level specialists in the development of complex water resource plans and reports.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
05/13/2026 to 05/19/2026
Salary
$136,736 - $177,762 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Fort Worth, TX
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
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
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
NRCS-26-12941815-MP-S&T-HB
Control number
868950400

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted only from current permanent USDA employees with competitive status; and CTAP/RPL eligible candidates, and permanent Farm Service County Office employees.

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Duties

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  • Provides NRCS-wide economics leadership for assistance to states in water resources planning. Establishes and maintains effective communication among state, regional, and national economics specialists.
  • Leads unusual and/or extremely complex economic investigations to help inventory resources, forecast conditions, formulate alternative solutions, and evaluate effects of alternatives.
  • The expert for the development of complex water resource reports and other documents that involve economics including pre-authorization planning reports, natural resource plans, investigation/analysis reports, and watershed plan supplements.
  • Provides expert guidance to national, regional, and state level teams and partners in the development, transfer, and training of procedures, standards, and technical guides for socio-economic analysis.
  • Develops and reviews economics technical materials (handbooks, manuals, tech notes, and working tools) relating to water resources planning.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. If selected, you may be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are unable to reimburse for any fees incurred.
  • Probationary and Trial Period – Successful completion of a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period unless previous federal service is creditable. Refer to Next Steps for more information.
  • Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts.

Basic Requirements: Degree: 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 shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education

In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education listed below.

Specialized Experience Requirement for the GS-0110-14

To qualify, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service, or comparable experience gained outside the Federal government. Specialized experience is defined as work that includes analyzing supply, demand, price, and outlay projections, including both long- and short-term appraisals; providing in-depth analysis of pre-decisional program changes and new program proposals; offering authoritative advice and counsel to program officials on policy and related issues; developing analytical and forecasting techniques relevant to commodity markets; and evaluating legislative alternatives and proposals originating from the Agency, the Department, or members of Congress.

Note: There is no education substitution for specialized experience at the GS-14 grade level.

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the 05/19/2026 of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined above.

Time-in-Grade Requirement: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. You must meet this requirement by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

College Transcript: If qualifying based on education, you must submit a copy of your college transcript with course number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours, and grade earned. If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g., special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college to ensure proper evaluation.

Your education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited toward qualifications. You may verify accreditation by visiting the U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs website. We will verify your education accordingly.

Foreign Education: You must submit verification that education completed in a foreign institution, was recognized by an accreditation body accepted by the U.S. Department of Education. You must include a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. Your transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.

You may submit an unofficial copy of your transcript at the initial phase of the application process. However, if selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Please refer to the "How to Apply" section for instructions on submitting transcripts.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.

Promotion Potential: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.

Telework: This position is eligible for telework as determined by the agency policy.

Bargaining Unit: This is a non-bargaining unit position.

PLEASE NOTE:
In the interest of filling these positions as efficiently as possible, we are requiring the following:

  • If called for an interview, applicants must be available to interview within 3 business days of being contacted.
  • If a tentative job offer is extended, selectee will have 2 business days in which to accept or decline.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package.

Your application will be reviewed to determine if you meet minimum qualification requirements as described in the qualifications section of the job announcement.

Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates based on the technical assessment will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities need only meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

Note: If after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12941815

Natural Resources Conservation Service

Do you want to work for a premier conservation agency whose mission is to "help people help the land?" The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), works in close partnership with farmers, ranchers, forest managers, non-governmental organizations, local and state governments, and other federal agencies to create and maintain healthy and productive working landscapes.

As part of USDA's new Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Mission Area, NRCS has 3,000 locations and covers every county in the U.S. We help stewards of agricultural lands and non-industrial private forest lands to plan and implement proven conservation systems through technical and financial assistance designed to enhance productivity, improve soil and water health, and restore wetlands and wildlife habitat.

We need people who are committed to action through public service to help ensure that all of us enjoy the benefits that come from a healthy environment and productive agriculture. Please consider joining us and helping to make a difference for generations to come.

Agency contact information

Herbert Brooks
Phone
210-961-3513
Email
herbert.brooks@usda.gov
Address
Natural Resources Conservation Service
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250
US

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