Summary This position serves as an Industry Economist in the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). OGC reviews, monitors and, if necessary, takes action to enjoin antitrust-exempt agreements filed by ocean common carriers and/or marine terminal operators. The Commission also identifies and takes necessary steps to address unfavorable shipping conditions caused by foreign governments or foreign carriers and monitors the rates and other activities of carriers owned or controlled by foreign governments. Responsibilities The duties of an Industry Economist cover a range of economic analysis in the field of international transportation. The position involves frequent collaboration with attorneys in the Office of the General Counsel and requires contact with regulated entities and their representatives. The major duties of the position are: Apply economic and data science techniques, akin to antitrust merger review, in reviewing proposed or existing agreements between or among carriers and marine terminal operators to determine their competitive impact on the shipping market and to identify potential market distortions, including unreasonable increases in rates or unreasonable decreases in service. Prepare expert economic testimony for and participate in formal hearings before the Commission and, as appropriate, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Monitor activities in assigned trade areas to detect and refer for further action possible carrier involvement in prohibited acts, including carrier activity that might cause unfavorable conditions in US trade or constitute otherwise concerning actions under the applicable statutes. Meet with industry representatives to discuss the impact of agreements, methods, and practices of carriers and marine terminals subject to the Shipping Act. Build and maintain relational databases and runs queries using SQL to produce reports and analyses. Employs web scraping techniques to fetch data from websites and retrieves data from application programming interfaces (APIs) across the supply chain. Requirements Conditions of Employment Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Probationary Period: A one-year probationary period may be required. May be required to successfully complete a probationary period. Males born after 12-31-1959 must be registered for Selective Service. Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation. Required to participate in the Direct Deposit program. May be required to obtain and use a government-issued charge card for business-related travel. May be required to file a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of appointment and annually from then on. Qualifications In addition to the above minimum requirements, you must meet the following: GS-11: One or more years of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 federal grade level that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience must have been demonstrated by conducting economic research to provide analysis of markets and competition, utilizing common programming languages to build datasets and automate data retrieval from public sources; and applying economic and quantitative analytical techniques to provide recommendations to senior staff OR You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related OR You may qualify by a combination of experience and education. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described above for this grade level, that, when combined with education, equals 100% of the total requirement. (Please note that education beyond what is required for a master's degree, 36 semesters hours, leading to a Ph.D., may be used in this calculation). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. GS-12: One or more years of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 federal grade level that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience must have been demonstrated by performing duties such as by performing duties such as applying economic and data science techniques and principles in reviewing the competitive impact of agreements, proposed mergers, or other activities subject to competition or antitrust scrutiny. GS-13: One or more years of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 federal grade level that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience must have been demonstrated by performing duties such as assisting legal staff by providing expert testimony or analysis in litigation. This involves the development, analysis, and evaluation of economic evidence introduced or to be introduced in such a proceeding and the provision of assistance to senior personnel in their defense of conclusions and findings under cross-examination The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector, or volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. It is your responsibility to ensure your resume states complete information for each job entry. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year (MM/YYYY), and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume. If your resume does not provide enough information regarding your work history for us to make a creditable qualification determination, your application package may be rendered disqualified, and you will no longer be considered for this position. Free Response Essay Questions: Applicants are to required to certify that they are using their own words, and did not use a consultant or AI (such as a large language model [LLM]). To reduce the burden on candidates, the responses cannot exceed 200 words per question. How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience. In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes. How would you help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired. How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples, and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position. Education Basic Requirement: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's degree in economics that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting or calculus. (Master's in economics preferred, but not required.) or Have a combination of education that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting or calculus AND experience that involve the use and understanding of economic principles and theories. 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 (a) personal research that produced evidence of results, (b) direction of graduate theses in economics, or (c) service as a consultant or advisor on technical economics problems. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications; applicant's resumes and supporting documentation should only reflect education received from schools accredited by such institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following Website: https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency (a U.S. private organization's interpretation that such education has been deemed at least equivalent to conventional U.S. education programs) with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For more information regarding evaluation of foreign education for federal employment, please visit the U.S. Department of Education webpage on the Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. Additional Information This position may be filled at the GS-11, GS-12, or GS-13 grade levels. If selection is made at the GS-11 or GS-12 level, promotion to the next higher levels may occur without further competition. The agency may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. Federal employees are required to adhere to the 14 Principles of Ethical Conduct. This is a non-bargaining unit position. Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the contact listed on the vacancy announcement. The decision to grant a reasonable accommodation is made on a case-by-case basis. The Commission encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the FMC mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement. Reasonable Accommodation Requests for USA Hire Assessment: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable\Accommodations\for\USA\Hire Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
