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-11 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: Experience regularly researching and composing written reports on commodity markets, covering at a minimum, the major fundamental factors that influence price movement. Experience includes developing external contacts, determining research and analytical methods, compiling and analyzing data, interpreting findings, making recommendations, and compiling all of this into a research report as part of your normal job duties on a recurring basis. OR Education at the GS-11 grade level: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 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. For the GS-12 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: Experience composing written agricultural commodity market research reports related to price forecasting or price movement on a frequent recurring basis with minimal, if any, oversight or assistance. These reports communicate background research, policy/program analysis, data and information sources, relevant economic principles, market structure and dynamics, price forecasting methodology options, results of any statistical analysis, decision criteria, and conclusions regarding how all this information culminates in expectations for the future and the potential impact on future prices. The process includes initiating and conducting research, acquiring and reaching out to contacts for market information, compiling and analyzing data, evaluating alternative methods, interpreting findings, and making recommendations. For the GS-13 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: Experience independently composing agricultural commodity market research and price forecasting reports as part of your normal job duties on a frequent recurring (weekly or monthly) basis. These reports communicate background research, policy/program analysis, data and information sources, relevant economic principles, market structure and dynamics, price forecasting methodology options, results of any statistical analysis, decision criteria, and conclusions regarding how all this information culminates in expectations for the future, the resulting potential impact on price, and your price forecast. The recommendations in these reports are used for risk management purposes, market speculation, or some other purpose where financial decisions are made based on these recommendations. The process for creating such reports includes independently initiating and conducting research, acquiring and reaching out to contacts for market information, compiling and analyzing data, evaluating alternative methods, interpreting findings, and making recommendations. SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION IS NOT PERMISSABLE AT THE GS-12 AND GS-13 LEVELS. 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.