Agricultural Economist

This Agricultural Economist position is with Risk Management Agency (Department of Agriculture) in Phoenix, AZ. This position is located in the Risk Management Agency (RMA), Deputy Administrator for Product Management, Actuarial, Prices & Filling Division, Prices Branch. The incumbent will serve as professional economist in the Actuarial and Product Design Division, Prices Branch. As such, the employee is responsible for applied and theoretic research pertaining to the crop insurance programs and serves as team leader on special projects and offers professional guidance to lower level personnel. Key duties: • Identify, analyze, and interpret supply and demand factors for federally insured crops to develop price projections (price elections) for the upcoming crop year. • Develop relationships and collaborate with universities, research organizations, commodity groups, handlers, other government agencies, producers, and processors to gather data and information about crops and crop markets. • Plan and direct special studies on price elections quality adjustment factors, distribution of liability for various crops, and other factors needed to evaluate actuarial adequacy and equity. • Serve as a resource and spokesperson of the Prices Branch at Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), senior management, producer group, and insurance and agricultural lenders meetings • Ensure that price elections and corresponding data for insured crops are entered into databases accurately to guarantee accurate population of all relevant insurance offers. This will require developing knowledge of large and complex databases • Write reports containing background research, program analysis, data and information sources, relevant agricultural economic principles, market structure and dynamics, price projection methodologies, and results of any statistical analysis. • Reports will also include conclusions regarding how all this information culminates in expectations for the future and the expected impact on prices. Submission of reports must adhere to strict deadlines. Qualifications: In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts. Basic Requirement: GS-0110 Series: Degree: economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus. OR Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Evaluation of Experience Examples of qualifying experience include: individual economic research assignments requiring planning, information assembly, analysis and evaluation, conclusions and report preparation; supervisory or project coordination assignments involving a staff of professional economists, and requiring the evaluation and interpretation of economic information; or 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 the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education listed below. Specialized Experience Requirement For the GS-09 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: Frequently producing or assisting on annual or monthly surveys, research reports, or other similar types of agricultural or economic work products. This experience may include the development of a study; the collection, compilation, and analysis of data from primary or secondary sources following detailed and exact procedures and regulations; or drafting preliminary interpretive reports, or portions of such reports. OR Education at the GS-09 grade level: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: economics or a related field from an accredited university. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience as listed above. 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. View the full announcement and apply on USAJOBS.gov.