Duties

Summary

THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020.

This position is assigned to Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Business Center (BC), Economic and Policy Analysis Division, Program and Operational Analysis Branch.

Duties include, but not limited to:

- Develop/conduct comprehensive economic studies, analyses and appraisals.
- Evaluate and/or analyze legislative alternatives/proposals.
- Prepare program budget estimates.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Develop and conduct comprehensive economic studies, analyses and appraisals that involve supply and demand for a commodity or commodities, and budget projections, or finance and credit issues, estimating the impacts of program/policy alternatives.
• Evaluate and/or analyze legislative alternatives and proposals developed by the Agency, Department, members of Congress or others. Determine the impacts of these proposals on markets, program efficiency, farm income and government costs.
• Develop analytical forecasting techniques that are relevant to markets for use in projecting economic variables.
• Prepare program budget estimates as part of the annual President?s Budget and Mid-Session Review.
• Advise Agency officials of situations that have an imminent or potential impact on FPAC programs, which includes appropriations, legislative changes, proposed policies, and national and international public and private sector developments.
• Evaluate and analyze legislative alternatives and proposals developed by the Agency, Department, members of Congress or others.
• Determine the impact of these proposals on agricultural commodity and/or credit markets, program efficiency, farm income and government costs; and makes recommendations on policies relating to programs.
• As an economic adviser on agricultural policies and programs, the incumbent supports technical consultation to high-level program officials throughout USDA.
• Prepare special position papers on a wide variety of topics, as required by FPAC or USDA officials obtaining clearance through appropriate levels of management.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

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.
• Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
• 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 https://www.e-verify.gov/.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement (all grades)
To meet the basic requirement for the position, you must have a degree in economics that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus. Please remember to upload your transcript with the date degree was awarded.

Specialized Experience:
At the GS-13 level: To qualify for the GS-13 you must possess specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Specialized experience is defined as, experience that demonstrates a mastery of economic issues regarding safety net and/or credit programs to include the following: 1) Providing professional contributions to a broad and coordinated program of complex economic studies; 2) Evaluating, analyzing, and determining impacts of legislative alternatives and proposals; AND 3) Stays abreast of developments in programs and policies and makes recommendations to provide policy alternatives, observed economic phenomena, and forecasts of economic movements.

At the GS-14 level: To qualify for the GS-14 you must possess specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Specialized experience must demonstrate a mastery of economic issues regarding safety net and/or credit programs to include the following: 1) Developing comprehensive and complex economic studies, 2) evaluating, analyzing and determining impacts of legislative alternatives and proposals and dissemination to policy officials; AND 3) serving as authoritative technical advisor to provide informed interpretation of policy alternatives, observed economic phenomena, and forecasts of economic movements.

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the 11/23/2020 of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined above.

Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

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 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

EDUCATION IS REQUIRED TO MEET THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE POSITION.

EDUCATION CANNOT BE USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AT A GS-13 OR GS-14.

Additional information

• Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): 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/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP 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/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.
• Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA).
• 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.
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Refer to PUBLIC LAW 114-47-AUG. 7, 2015 for more information.
• 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.
• Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.

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, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies listed below:

• • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Oral Communication
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Program Management
  • Technical Credibility
  • Written Communication

Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates 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; i.e. the online questionnaire. 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/10960416

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Credentialing

Required Documents

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.

• Resume that includes: 1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) other qualifications.
• If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, official transcripts will be required prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. 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 NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
• Current Permanent Federal employees:
  • Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing you are/were in the competitive service, highest grade held (or promotion potential) on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND
  • Most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable. A performance plan is not an acceptable substitute.
• Current permanent FSA County employees must submit your most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing your highest grade (or promotion potential) held on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) per above.
• Veteran Hiring Authority: VEOA, DD214 (member copy 4), or Certificate of Release from Active Duty, that shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. If currently on active duty you must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted. Veteran's preference must be verified prior to appointment.
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act: Copies of Notification of Personnel Action(s) (SF-50) showing the employee served in eligible appointment(s) for a period(s) of more than 24 mos w/o a break between appointments of two+ years. Include initial hire actions, extensions, conversions and separation SF-50s for each period. Submit performance rating(s) showing acceptable performance for each period counted towards eligibility signed by supervisor(s). If documentation does not exist for one or more periods, submit a statement from supervisor(s) indicating acceptable performance. Applicants who do not have performance documentation for any period shall provide a reason why the documentation is not available and statement that performance for all periods was at an acceptable level.
• Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.