Department of Agriculture

Economist

Washington, District of Columbia Full time

Economist

Department: Department of Agriculture

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia

Salary Range: $69923 - $131826 Per Year

Job Summary: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides leadership on food and agriculture issues based on public policy, the best available science and effective management. The USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) links U.S. agriculture to the world, improves foreign market access for U.S. food and agricultural products, builds new markets, improves the competitive position of U.S. agriculture in the global marketplace, and provides food aid and technical assistance to foreign countries.

Major Duties:

  • The duties described are for the full-performance level. At developmental grade levels, assignments will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity.
  • The duties may include, but are not limited to:
  • Conducts in-depth analysis for use in the formulation of U.S. agricultural trade policy positions and recommendations developed by FAS.
  • Assists in preparing complex analytical material in connection with USG participation in international meetings and negotiations, produces briefing materials and conducts briefings for senior USDA officials.
  • Participates in negotiating teams representing FAS and participates in major projects which are central to the agency's mission.
  • Analyzes and evaluates the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other international agreements and legislation, as well as trade barriers to discern the impact on U.S. trade relations.
  • Produces written and oral interpretive reports on agricultural trade policy issues.
  • Represents the agency at meetings with other USG agencies, foreign governments, industry, and other stakeholders. Consults with staff of domestic and foreign industry and trade associations.

Qualifications: Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. BASIC REQUIREMENT: 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. In addition to meeting the Basic Requirement, you also need to meet the following: TIME-IN-GRADE: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. FOR THE GS-09 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-07 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates Applying economic analysis in areas such as agriculture, food policy, or international trade. Assisting with collecting, evaluating, and analyzing current and historical trends of economic or agricultural data; and Preparing tables, charts, graphs, or maps to better illustrate or support analytical conclusions. OR a Master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in international relations, international economics, international business, international trade, business administration or related degrees or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level. FOR THE GS-11 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-09 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Working with and manipulating data from numerous sources or databases; and Applying economic theories, concepts, and techniques in a professional setting. Writing, reviewing, or editing economic or agricultural reports and other written materials. OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in international relations, international economics, international business, international trade, business administration or related degrees, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., if related. Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level. COMBINATION OF EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-09 and GS-11 GRADE LEVELS: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level. To learn more about combining education and experience for this series, click the following: Combining Education and Experience for Administrative and Management Positions FOR THE GS-12 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-11 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Applying economic techniques and principles using mathematical and/or econometric models, statistical techniques, and software in a professional setting. Independently collecting, evaluating, and analyzing current and historical trends of economic or agricultural data for use in policy proposals or research projects. Preparing and presenting tables, charts, graphs, or maps to illustrate or support analytical conclusions in a professional environment. Preparing written reports or other written materials analyzing economic or agricultural market conditions; OR writing or reviewing economic studies, working papers, briefing papers, talking points, or decision reports. Note: There is no education substitution for this grade level. TRANSCRIPTS are required if: You are qualifying for the position based on education. You are qualifying for this position based on a combination of experience and education. This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university. 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.

How to Apply: Clarification from the agency A present or former member of the Foreign Service may be considered for this opportunity if s/he: previously appointed under the Foreign Service Act of 1946, as amended, the Foreign Service Act of 1980, or legislation that supplements or replaces the latter Act; served in the Foreign Service under an unlimited, career-type appointment and, immediately before separation from that appointment, completed one year of continuous service under one or more non-temporary appointments in the Foreign Service, which may include the service that made him/her eligible for the career-type appointment; and is appointed within three (3) years after separation from the Foreign Service, or completed at least three (3) years of substantially continuous service under one or more non-temporary appointments in the Foreign Service immediately before his separation from the unlimited, career-type appointment in that Service which may include the service that made him/her eligible for such appointment, or s/he is entitled to preference under Section 2 of the Veterans' Preference Act of 1944, as amended. Any Foreign Service Officer appointed under this provision becomes a member of the competitive service in a career-conditional or career appointment, based on service time. Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing. Resumes must not exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov. It is recommended that as part of your profile you set up automatic email notification to be informed when the status of your application changes. If you choose not to set up this automatic notification, then you will have to log into your USAJOBS account to check on the status of your application. Step 2: Create a Resume with USAJOBS or upload a Resume into your USAJOBS account. You may want to customize your resume to ensure it documents duties and accomplishments you have gained that are directly related to this position in order to verify that qualifications are met. In addition, your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire (you may preview the online questionnaire by clicking on the link at the end of the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement). Step 3: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the Occupational Questionnaire and attach any additional documents that may be required. You can update your application or documents anytime while the announcement is open. Simply log into your USAJOBS account and click on "Application Status." Click on the position title, and then select "Update Application" to continue. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.

Application Deadline: 2026-01-05