Economist (RAMP)

Research Assistant Mentorship Program (RAMP)

Selected candidates will serve as RAs in a two-year developmental program working closely with senior level economists providing economic research and critical support for data management and policy evaluation. Each RA will be assigned to a mentor Ph.D. economist, who will oversee their progress and offer regular feedback throughout the program. The first year involves training with data analysis, database management, computer systems, programming skills, statistics, and econometrics. Each RA will complete assigned projects that could include developing code, writing or presenting summaries of findings, and generating new ideas. The second year focuses on developing and conducting research with mentors. Potential research topics include housing programs, housing markets, house price indexes, financial institutions, secondary mortgage market operations, climate and natural disaster risk in housing markets, appraisal valuation, survey analysis and other related topics to identify significant and emerging risks such as market, interest rate, operational and credit risks. Opportunities may involve any or a combination of research, policy, or analysis.

The Economist duties listed below are at the EL-09 level. Depending on the grade level selected, the incumbent will perform the following duties with varying levels of supervision and difficulty:
Provides analytical support for the DRS. Projects may include research and the identification of emerging risks and trends in the housing market as well as monitoring programs, all developed by senior staff. These monitoring programs are designed to analyze the business practices of FHFA's regulated entities. The incumbent supports the development and operation of the monitoring programs by collecting, validating, transforming, and analyzing data from the regulated entities, using a variety of tools such as Microsoft Excel, SAS, Stata, R, Python and others to organize data and support technical conclusions. Database skills include experience in accessing databases via standardized and ad hoc query tools, assisting or participating in validating and correcting newly acquired and existing data, and monitoring data using programming, reporting, analysis and/or data visualization tools. This responsibility requires developing and maintaining familiarity with best practices and trends through continuous training inside and outside FHFA.
Assists in drafting monitoring reports, which, on occasion, includes providing supporting information for recommendations. The input is reviewed and approved by other staff members.
Participates in other economic or financial research or banking projects that are key to the DRS overall supervisory program. Works with teams consisting of other economists and financial analysts across the agency.
Responds to inquiries from staff and approved non-FHFA sources for technical and analytical support.
Supports the preparation of written policies, procedures, and manuals by documenting assumptions, methodologies, and procedures used for generating standardized reports.
Performs other duties as assigned.
This is a term appointment not to exceed 2 years. Term appointments are non-status, non-permanent appointments of limited duration of more than 1 year, but not more than 2 years, with the possibility to extend for no more than an additional two years subject to funding. Should the need warrant, term appointments may be extended without further competition up to a maximum year limitation, subject to funding. The appointment to a term position does not confer eligibility for permanent employment.