Summary This position is located in Loan Guaranty Service (LGY) and reports to the Principal Assistant Director, Administration. The primary purpose of this position is to serve as an Economist responsible for providing objective, expert public policy analysis and advice to VBA Senior leadership and Loan Guaranty's (LGY) Senior Leadership team (SLT). This includes preparing objective, nonpartisan, and innovative research and analysis on public policy issues that impact the VA Home Loan program. Responsibilities Specific duties include: Providing authoritative technical advice to leadership on various economic issues affecting VA Home Loan Guaranty stakeholders, policies, and operations; recommends actions consistent with evidence-based policymaking principles. Developing and drafting of economic impact analyses, including Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) analyses, for proposed and final regulatory changes. Identifying emerging economic issues that will be of concern to the operation of the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program. Drafting economic research and studies covering a wide range of government financing matters. Written analyses reflect development and/or interpretation of complex information, comparison of policy alternatives, and recommendations and findings pertinent to public policies of national-level program significance. Reviewing VA's and other federal agencies' policies and practices to evaluate the effectiveness of the VA's Home Loan Guaranty Program and to anticipate the effect of economic, regulatory, and legislative change. Liaising with program regulatory and budget personnel to ensure budgetary estimates for proposed legislative, regulatory, and policy/program changes are accurate and complete. Assisting with contract economic services, including planning/preparing new assignments, providing ongoing subject matter expertise and support, and reviewing contractor deliverables. Promotion Potential: No promotion potential Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 6:00AM-6:00PM Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Available, as determined by the agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Economist; PD# 382370 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Requirements Conditions of Employment As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period OR a 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements I-9 Acceptable Documents. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:06/21/2026. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS-13 grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements. For a GS-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13 level. If you are a current VBA employee outside of the commuting area seeking reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-13 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least None. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. These requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement and those applying for a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-14 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: GS-14 grade level: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-13) in the federal service. Specialized experience is work experience that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience for this position at the GS-14 grade level is defined as: conducting qualitative and quantitative economic research (e.g., statistical analysis, impact evaluations, cost-benefit analysis, etc.) to clarify legislative, regulatory, or administrative policies related to federal credit, housing finance, banking, or other industry. 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. AND Education Substitution: A. Degree: economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus. -OR- B. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must meet the Basic Requirements listed above and the Specialized Experience/Education Substitution to qualify for Economist, as described below. 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. Experience in related fields that did not involve the use and understanding of economic principles and theories may not be used as qualifying experience for these positions. Special attention on this point should be given to certain @types of work that may or may not have provided professional economic experience. The following examples of work require special care in such determinations: economic statistics; industrial surveys; management of individual business enterprises, including farms; industrial planning; writing or editorial work in economic subjects; and financial market analysis Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information. Volunteer Experience: 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; religions; 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. Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Some carrying of light items may be required. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited towards qualifications. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. All education claimed by applicants will be verified upon appointment. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript to receive credit. Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Click here for more information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information)
