Financial Economist

About the role

The Division of Economic and Risk Analysis is seeking applicants to fill several Financial Economist positions. As a Financial Economist, you will be part of a team that has a track record of creative thinking, strong empirical research abilities, and excellent communication skills. We seek individuals with a keen interest in finance, securities markets and public policy.

What you will do

• Applying advanced economic concepts and methods to the evaluation of federal financial rules and policies, including their impact on individuals, businesses, market efficiency, competition, and capital formation.
• Analyzing economic, financial, and administrative data to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of federal financial and securities regulations and policies.
• Designing, implementing, and maintaining quantitative and qualitative models to risk-rank market participants, financial entities, and market events, providing decision-ready assessments of systemic vulenerabilities.
• Planning, organizing, and prioritizing tasks to address needs, emerging issues, and meet timelines, while working collaboratively and flexibly with multi-disciplinary team members, including lawyers, data analysts, and finance policy experts.
• Discussing, evaluating economic research, comments, and analysis authored by federal agencies, international organizations, standard setting bodies, academics and other experts to determine their relevance and implications for federal financial rules and policies, or broadly systemic risk.
• Providing economic guidance and research expertise to a broad range of activities, including federal policy, rule-making, enforcement actions, market risk assessment, and other regulatory initiatives, with opportunities to specialize in policy areas.
• Reviewing draft analyses and reports to ensure accuracy, precision, and clarity of presentation of economic issues and data.

Education

You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims.

Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course.

If you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, you must submit a copy of your unofficial transcripts or equivalent by the closing date of the announcement. Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Internal Applicants: OHR will verify education qualifications for internal applicants using documents in the Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF). If required transcripts or certificates are not present in your eOPF, you will be required to provide them to OHR. If selected, a start date will not be established until official transcripts are received.

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. For more information, click here.

Applicants may also find the following helpful: National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) is an association of 19 credential evaluation services with admission standards and an enforced code of good practice.

Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE) is an association of 10 credential evaluation services with a board of advisors and an enforced code of ethics.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this position based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this announcement. This position is being advertised through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Delegated Direct-Hire Authority (5 U.S.C. Section 3304 and 5 CFR Part 337, Subpart B) and is open to All U.S. Citizens.

Under this authority, competitive rating, ranking and veterans' preference procedures do not apply. Your resume and application package will first be reviewed to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements outlined in the announcement. Please do not submit an Accomplishment Record at this time.

If you are found minimally qualified, the Office of Human Resources will contact you to request an Accomplishment Record. You will have 3 business days from the date of the request to submit it.

Failure to submit the Accomplishment Record on time will remove you from further consideration.

A response is required even if an Accomplishment Record was submitted at time of application. Because of the short turnaround time, you are strongly encouraged to begin preparing your Accomplishment Record in advance. Once your Accomplishment Record is received, a rating panel will review both your resume and your narrative responses.

Your Accomplishment Record must clearly demonstrate your proficiency in the competencies listed in the Qualifications section. Click here for guidance on writing your Accomplishment Record. Your resume must provide evidence that supports the claims in your Accomplishment Record.

Each narrative must describe one specific, relevant example from your experience or training. Responses are limited to 300 words per competency; any text beyond this limit will not be reviewed.

Accomplishment Record Format: Competency Title Position title and dates from your resume that this experience was obtained Describe the situation (i.e., the challenged faced, the problem solved) Describe the specific actions you took State the outcome, results, or long-term impact of your accomplishment Name and email address of someone who can verify this information Reference checks may be conducted as part of the final selection process, and you will be notified before any contacts are made.

Basis for Rating: The rating panel will evaluate applicants' accomplishment records and resume, and then place them into one of the following categories: Pass - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and has at least a moderate amount of skills and experience in most of the job related competencies.

Fail - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but has only limited experience in several of the job related competencies. Passing applicants will be referred to the hiring office for further review and consideration.

The hiring office may directly contact recommended candidates for interview(s). *If you are invited to participate in the interview stage, you may be asked to provide a job market paper related to economic theory and research for which you are the author or co-author.

You may also be asked to present the paper and discuss your research approach and findings.* To preview the Questionnaire, click ***

Documents you must provide

• Your responses to the Questionnaire.
• Required: Resume - Resumes should include relevant work experience, with specific employment dates, that demonstrates qualifications for the specialized experience and competencies as outlined above.
• If your resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of these qualifications, you may not receive consideration for the position.
• Resumes that exceed two pages will be deemed ineligible and receive no further consideration.
• For resume writing tips, visit USAJOBS and the SEC careers page.
• Required: Unofficial Transcripts - If education is a required qualification for this position, you must submit unofficial transcripts with your application demonstrating that you meet the specified degree and/or coursework requirements.
• Failure to provide transcripts showing completion of all required degree and coursework requirements may result in a determination that you are ineligible for further consideration.
• Official documents will be required if selected.
• Required, if applicable: CTAP/ICTAP documentation (a copy of a separation notice or other proof of eligibility for priority selection; a copy of an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing current position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location; AND a copy of your most recent performance appraisal.)

What to expect next

You will be notified of your application status through USAJOBS at four points during the hiring process, as applicable.

You can check the status of your application by accessing the USAJOBS website at *** and clicking on "Track Your Online Application." By submitting your application, you are certifying the accuracy of the information contained in your application.

If you make a false statement in any part of your application, you may not be hired, you may be terminated after you begin work, or you may be fined or jailed. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation.

You will be required to submit official documentation before appointment.

The agency will then verify the information provided on your application (i.e., degree, Veterans' Preference, certification of disability, etc.). Candidates external to the SEC will be allowed to submit a comprehensive resume for pay setting purposes after a tentative offer is made.

If the applicant fails to provide the comprehensive resume by the specified deadline, the resume submitted at the time of application will be used to determine pay. No additional documentation will be accepted after the deadline.

Additional information

Supplementary vacancies may be filled in addition to the number stated in this announcement and may be filled from any division or office within the agency. SEC COMPENSATION PROGRAM: Total salary (base pay + locality) is dependent upon duty location.

The overall salary range listed above is provided for informational purposes; a selectee's initial pay will be established below the maximum rate of the range. The pay for current SEC employees will be determined according to the procedures specified in the agency's policy. Please click here for a compensation overview.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SURPLUS OR DISPLACED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not I/CTAP eligible.

To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; the questionnaire asks you to identify your ICTAP/CTAP eligibility (2) be rated well-qualified; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. View information about I/CTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

Reasonable Accommodation: If you are an applicant who needs a reasonable accommodation to participate in the SEC application process due to a medical disability, please contact ***. For religious-based accommodations, please contact *** .

Please be sure to submit your request at least 5 business days in advance of the date you need the requested accommodation. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Information for SEC Job Applicants: For more information, please click here.

The Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant.

An applicant may submit a complaint, or any other information, to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged non-compliance by contacting the Legal and Policy Office in the Office of Human Resources at ***.