Duties

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As a Research Economist your duties will include the following:

Providing rigorous economic analyses related to derivatives (futures and swaps) markets. Evaluating market structure and trading practices in the futures, options and swaps markets for their impacts on price discovery, liquidity, and risk.

These responsibilities will contribute to the Commission's policy development and enforcement proceedings. This includes conducting research on topics within the scope of the Commission's policy agenda that can be expected to maintain and enhance the Commission's standing among its peer agencies. In addition, research will serve to inform and educate the general public about markets the Commission regulates through white papers and peer-reviewed research publications.

Among the prospective topics of study are:

• systemic risk issues related to derivatives, including theoretical and empirical analyses of margin, clearing, liquidity, optimal levels of transparency, and market design;

• econometric analysis of derivatives data (exchange-traded and over-the-counter);

• theoretical and econometric analysis of high frequency data, including order book and message data;

• models of trading activity, intermediation, and market microstructure, including network analyses of derivatives markets;

• economic and empirical analysis of regulations on markets.

Post Dodd-Frank, the regulatory data available to the Commission includes over-the-counter swap transactions and positions from over 100 registered swap dealers. This rich data augments the traditional message, transaction, and position data for listed futures markets received by the Commission. This data and other data sets will be analyzed in order to provide advice and guidance to the Chief Economist and the Commission. As such, the incumbent is expected to have technical knowledge in (1) econometric analyses of high frequency data, (2) leading edge models of financial market behavior, and (3) experience with large, complex data sets. Experience analyzing unstructured data, coupled with a deep interest in the institutional practices associated with the data, would be beneficial.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship.
• Background/Security Investigation.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• A one-year probationary period may be required.

You will be rated on the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):

• Economics and Accounting
• Research
• Oral Communication
• Written Communication

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet both the basic requirement and specialized experience for the positions.

Basic Requirement

Applicants must possess one of the following:

A) Degree: economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus. (Transcripts MUST be submitted)

-OR

B) Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. (Transcripts MUST be submitted)

In addition to the basic requirements for this position:

To qualify for this position at the CT-12 level, applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the CT/GS-11 level in the Federal service or comparable pay band system.

Specialized experience is defined as: Work that provides the usage of applied economic analysis by showing evidence of contributions to research projects in economic and finance that have led to a completed white papers, working papers, or publications. Able to convey research results both verbally and in writing by showing samples of past writings and/or formal presentations. Applicant must know how to use SAS, SQL, Python, or R for the statistical analysis of large data sets by showing completed analyses of data sets containing at least 1 million rows of data. In addition, applicant must be familiar with derivatives and derivatives markets (contingent cash flows, institutional details, exchanges vs. over-the-counter markets, commodity and financial products), shown by relevant education and work experience.

To qualify for this position at the CT-13 level, applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the CT/GS-12 level in the Federal service or comparable pay band system.

Specialized experience is defined as: Experience conducting rigorous applied economic analysis by showing evidence of publications in peer-reviewed economic or finance journals. Conveying research results both verbally and in writing by showing evidence of presentations that have been performed at an academic, industry or government conference. Applicant must also have experience using SAS, SQL, Python, or R for the statistical analysis of large data sets by showing evidence of having completed analyses of data sets which contains at least 1 million rows of data. In addition, the applicant must have an understanding of derivatives and derivatives markets (pricing methodologies, institutional details, exchanges vs. over-the-counter markets, commodity and financial products), shown by relevant education and work experience.

To qualify for this position at the CT-14 level, applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the CT/GS-13 level in the Federal service or comparable pay band system.

Specialized experience is defined as: A technical expert who has a comprehensive knowledge and experience of financial, economic, and econometric principles and theories and provides authoritative bases for research and policy positions on futures, options and swaps. In-depth experience conducting rigorous applied economic analysis by showing evidence of publications in peer-reviewed economic or finance journals. Conveying research results both verbally and in writing by showing evidence of presentations that have been performed at an academic, industry or government conference. Applicant must also have experience using SAS, SQL, Python, or R for the statistical analysis of large data sets by showing evidence of having completed analyses of data sets which contains at least 1 million rows of data. In addition, the applicant must have a thorough understanding of derivatives and derivatives markets (pricing methodologies, institutional details, exchanges vs. over-the-counter markets, commodity and financial products), shown by relevant education and work experience.

Candidate(s) who are selected must provide documentation of completing all educational requirements prior to entering on duty.

A copy of your official transcript(s) is also required prior to your first day.

Education

Experience cannot be substituted by education at this grade level; however, the basic education requirement must be met to receive consideration.

Applicants must possess one of the following:

A) Degree: economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus. (Transcripts MUST be submitted)

-OR

B) Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. (Transcripts MUST be submitted)

Candidate(s) who are selected for this position must provide documentation of completing all educational requirements prior to entering on duty.

PLEASE PROVIDE COPY OF MOST RECENT Relevant COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS. Transcripts must have the student's name, educational institution, and list all courses and semester/quarter hours.

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Applicants who have completed part or all of their education outside of the U.S. must have their foreign education evaluated to ensure that the foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the U.S. This evaluation must be provided by midnight Eastern Time on the closing date of this vacancy announcement. We will only accept the completed foreign education evaluation.

Additional information

***This is an open continuous announcement to fill multiple positions as they become available. Applications will be reviewed on a continuous basis for the duration of this announcement***

All employees are required to follow the Agency's telework policy. If selected, you will be required to report to your assigned duty station to complete all onboarding procedures.

Relocation. Relocation expenses will not be paid.

Probationary Period. Candidates selected under competitive examining procedures will subject to a one-year probationary period.

This is a Bargaining Unit Position located in the National Treasury Employee Union (NTEU) Chapter 337.

CTAP and ICTAP. Candidates will be eligible if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a rating of 85 out of 100. Information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: http://www.opm.gov/ctap/index.asp .

CTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents: 1. A copy of your specific RIF notice, written notice of your expected separation or other documentation of priority consideration status; 2. A copy of your latest SF-50 - noting current position, grade level, and duty location; 3. A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and 4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

ICTAP applicants MUST submit the following: 1. A copy of your RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate, or notice of disability annuity termination; 2. A copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action", documenting your RIF separation, noting your position, grade level, and duty location; 3. A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and 4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

The law prohibits public officials from appointing, promoting, or recommending their relatives. The law prohibits requesting, making, transmitting, accepting, or considering political recommendations for employment or other personnel actions for non-political positions. This includes recommendations from Members of Congress, Congressional employees, elected state or local officials, and political party officials and any recommendation based on party affiliation.

More than the number of positions listed may be filled through this vacancy announcement.