International Economist (Direct Hire)

Position description

This position is located in the Office of the Chief Economist, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of State.  You will be responsible for conducting analytical tasks for the formulation of U.S. Policy.  

This serves as public notice for the use of OPM’s Direct Hire Authority. Applicants who meet the qualification requirements will be forwarded to the selecting official for consideration. We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

Duties

• Undertake analysis of issues such as economic, strategic, and security concerns related to international economics, trade, supply chains, economic impacts of industrial policy, as well as trade and investment restrictions.
• Analyzes matters such as international macroeconomics and finance, including global capital flows; productivity drivers; transmission of global shocks through goods and financial markets; and development.
• Assesses international economic policies and outlines or evaluates policy options; prepares analysis in support of the Department’s foreign policy objectives as they relate to and impact global economic developments and policy interests.
• Develops analysis that provides new perspectives for the understanding of complex political, economic, social, environmental, and/or geographic issues based on data that is often vague, unsubstantiated, or contradictory.
• Prepares analytical papers and recommendations on major economic policy issues and presents to the Chief Economist or Deputy Chief Economist for review and decision. Performs research in the formulation and direction of international economic policy.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
• Obtain/maintain eligibility to access Sensitive Compartmented Information
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements described below by the closing date of this announcement. If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript with your application. 

Applicants must meet ONE of the required basic entry qualification requirements described below:

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

Have an undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited college or university in economics, that INCLUDED at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus;

OR

Have a combination of education and experience where my coursework was equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in Choice 1 Above, PLUS appropriate relevant experience or additional education;

OR

Have a combination of education and experience where my coursework was equivalent to a major in economics, (as shown in above), PLUS appropriate relevant experience OR additional education.

Examples of qualifying experience include: (a) individual economic research assignments requiring planning, information assembly, analysis and evaluation, conclusions and report preparation; (b) supervisory or project coordination assignments involving a staff of professional economists, and requiring the evaluation and interpretation of economic information; or (c) teaching assignments in a college or university that included both class instruction in economics subjects and one of the following (1) personal research that produced evidence of results, (2) direction of graduate theses in economics, or (3) service as a consultant or advisor on technical economics problems.

IN ADDITION to meeting one of the basic entry qualifications requirements listed above, the applicant MUST have at least one year of specialized experience that has equipped them with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience is related to the work of the position and equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the Federal service.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

• Experience with economic methods and techniques to produce policy-relevant assessments that involve the research and analysis of information derived from a variety of sources, such as Excel, Python, R, and/or STATA, and data visualization tools.
• Experience with theories and tools of international economics, finance, and macroeconomic policy in order to assess geo-economic policy.
• Experience in oral and written communication for expert, policy, and economist audiences.

Note: All applicants MUST submit transcripts as verification of educational requirement by the closing date of this announcement. If you fail to provide requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you WILL lose consideration for this position.

Education

 

See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: www.naces.org/members.php.

 

 

Qualifications

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

 

This position is being filled through the government wide direct hire authority for Economist positions. Under the provisions of the Direct-Hire Authority, veterans’ preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply. For this announcement, all applicants will be forwarded to the selecting official for further consideration, and you may be subject to assessments during the selection process (e.g., technical writing sample or other work sample, structured interview, etc.). If you are selected, we will review your resume and required documents to determine if you meet the qualifications for this position, specifically the education, specialized experience, and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) necessary to perform the work of the position.

Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following KSAs and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

• Ability to conduct research to analyze economic programs in order to formulate recommendations.
• Ability to effectively communicate orally, maintaining liaison with officials throughout the International Economics community.
• Ability to effectively communicate in writing to prepare analytical documentation to present recommendations.

Agency and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP and ICTAP) candidates must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for selection priority. Candidates are considered well qualified if their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) exceed the minimum qualifications described in the announcement.

You may preview questions for this vacancy.

 

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Required Documents

 

All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to our automated system by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

1.  Resume showing relevant work/volunteer experience, education and training. Include the start and end dates (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours per week worked/volunteered. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must support your answers to the completed online assessment questions. 

2. Transcripts, if applicable and you are qualifying based on education.  See the Qualification and Education sections of this announcement for more information. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment. 

3.  Veterans’ Preference Documentation, if applicable. Veterans’ preference does not apply to this vacancy. Any supporting documentation received from veterans will be retained to document veteran’s status for appointment purposes, if selected.

• To claim 5-point preference, submit a copy of your DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty.
• To claim 10-point preference, submit all required documentation outlined on the SF-15 (Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference) to support your claim (e.g., DD-214, official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs, etc.).  If we cannot verify your 10-point preference claim, your application will be reviewed for 5-point preference.
• To claim 10-point derived preference (i.e., spouses, widows, widowers or mothers of veterans), submit a completed SF-15 and all required documentation listed on the SF-15 to support your claim.
• To claim 0-point Sole Survivorship preference, submit a copy of your DD-214 or another form of official documentation showing that your discharge or release from active duty occurred on or after August 29, 2008 and was based on a sole survivorship discharge.
• For all preference claims:
  • DD-214 Member 4 copies are preferred and must show the dates of service, type of discharge, and any qualifying service campaign medals.
• For more veterans’ preference information, visit the USAJOBS Help Center.

4.  ICTAP/CTAP documentation, if applicable. Visit our agency’s ICTAP and CTAP sites for required documentation.

 

 

Application instructions

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on tendersglobal.net