Economist

**Duties**:
As an Economist, you will direct or conduct research on developments in finance, banking, food sector, and general and rural economy. Specific duties include:

- Conducting research and preparing various complex economic analyses of factors impacting Farm Credit System (FCS) Institutions or the System.
- Conducting research on financial institution risk and stability using quantitative modeling.
- Constructs and maintains databases containing financial, economic, and environmental information to support the Agency's risk evaluation activities and management's decision-making processes.
- Tracks conditions and changes in finance, banking, food sector, and both the general and rural economy.
- Develops and uses a wide range of sources including structured and unstructured data, publications, agency documents and contacts with industry, professional, regulatory and policy groups.
- Leads and/or participates in joint projects requiring financial, credit, policy, or economic research and analysis.

**Requirements**:
**Conditions of Employment**:

- Must be a U.S. citizen.
- One year probationary period, unless previously served.
- Suitability for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
- Submission of a financial disclosure report may be required.
- Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
- Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required.

**Qualifications**:
**You may qualify at the VH-38 (GS-12) band level **if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the VH-37 (GS-11) band level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position.
- Experience using and maintaining databases containing financial, economic and environmental information to support risk evaluation activities.
- Experience conducting or assisting in research developments in finance, risk, banking, food sector and general and rural economy.

**You may qualify at the VH-39 (GS-13) band level** if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the VH-38 (GS-12) band in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position.- Experience developing and maintaining tools and models for evaluating financial and economic impacts.
- Experience conducting research and preparing economic analyses.

**You may qualify at the VH-40 (GS-14) band level** if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the VH-39 (GS-13) band in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position.- Experience participating in or leading projects requiring financial, credit or economic research and analysis.
- Experience presenting oral and written briefings for agency management and staff on financial, economic and policy developments.

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, knowledge, and skills 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**:
**Pass/Fail Courses**: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

**Graduate Education**:One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

**Foreign Education**: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show 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.

**Additional information**:

- Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
- FCA's supplemental ethics