Job Title:	Economist GS-110 - 9/11/12
Salary Range:	46,625.00 - 87,893.00 USD /year
Series & Grade:	GS-0110-09/12
Promotion Potential:	12
Open Period:	Friday, October 23, 2009 to Friday, November 13, 2009
Position Information:	Full Time Career/Career Conditional
Duty Locations:	1 vacancy - New Orleans Metro area, LA
Who May Be Considered:	United States Citizens

Job Summary:

The Department of the Interior is devoted to protecting and preserving the natural resources of this great nation, including National Parks, Landmarks, and the well-being of communities, including those of Native American, Alaska Natives and affiliated Islanders.

 

If you are looking for a position that offers a variety of training and an opportunity for career advancement please apply today! This is an excellent opportunity for recent college graduates as well as experienced professionals!

 

The Office of Leasing and Environment serves as the principal staff to the Regional Director for environmental resource location, identification, and evaluation on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and adjacent coastal areas of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. This staff is responsible for analyses of probable social, economic, and environmental effects of Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) permitted activities on the OCS. In addition, the staff is responsible for analyzing the potential socioeconomic and environmental effects of alternative use decisions.

 

If you are interested in working with the development of new technology and alternative energy studies please apply today!

 

If selected you will serve as an Economist for the Office of Leasing and Environment, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region of Minerals Management Service located in Jefferson, Louisiana.

This position is being advertised concurrently with (MMSS-SS-09-56), using Merit Promotion procedures.

Key Requirements:

• Applicants must be U.S. Citizens
• This position is subject to a pre-employment background investigation
• Relocation expenses ARE authorized
• You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit

Major Duties:

The selectee will have the following responsibilities:

• Serves as an Environmental Assessment Section, Social Sciences Unit Economist and Leasing and Environment advisor on matters related to human factors affected directly and indirectly by oil and gas industry activities.
• Participates in the preparation of Environmental Assessments (EAs) and Environmental Impact Statements (EISes) prepared in compliance with the OCSLA Section 25(e) concerning EIS declaration for development and production. May participate in EIS scoping and planning process, may perform environmental analyses appropriate to technical expertise and experience, and may author certain sections of EIS documents for supporting materials.
• Contributes to researching regional and subregional areas of the Gulf of Mexico to identify and assess key socioeconomic issues and effects associated with oil and gas activities.
• Assists in developing and maintaining and information base relevant to the key socioeconomic factors of interest. The information base will be maintained on a variety of storage media including hard copy and digital (spreadsheets, databases, and a geographic information system).
• Assists in using economic impact modeling software to help predict important aspects of economic change, including employment and population impacts, for use in Environmental Impact Statements and Environmental Assessments analyzing the effects of offshore oil and gas leasing and production.

Qualifications:

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date (Friday, November 13, 2009) of this announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review in our office, in other Federal agency personnel offices, and on OPM's web site at: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications .

To Qualify For This Position: 

To qualify for this position you must meet the (1) Basic Educational Requirements and (2) Specialized Experience (or education substitution where applicable) for the grade to which you are applying. 

 

(1) Basic Educational Requirements:

You must meet the basic education requirements as defined below to qualify for this position.

Economist GS-0110

1. Degree: economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus.

OR

2. Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

1. Examples of qualifying experience include: (a) individual economic research assignments requiring planning, information assembly, analysis and evaluation, conclusions and report preparation; (b) supervisory or project coordination assignments involving a staff of professional economists, and requiring the evaluation and interpretation of economic information; or (c) 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.

(2) Specialized Experience Requirements:

 

GS-9

 

Specialized Experience: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-07). Examples of specialized experience include: researching socioeconomic issues and effects; assisting in the preparation of environmental documents (such as Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements) prepared in compliance with environmental laws and regulations; and experience applying statistical knowledge in order to solve problems.

-OR-

You may substitute education for experience at the GS-9 level if you have achieved: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree.

 

*A Substitution of an Appropriate Combination of Experience and Education For Experience

Only education in excess of the first two years of progressively higher level graduate education toward a masters. or the equivalent graduate degree may be used toward this combination.

 

GS-11

 

Specialized Experience: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-09). Examples of specialized experience include: identifying and assessing socioeconomic issues and effects; preparing environmental documents that include Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements that are in compliance with environmental laws and regulations; and experience organizing and developing statistical data into spreadsheets, databases, and/or geographic information systems.

-OR-

 

You may substitute education for experience at the GS-11 level if you have achieved: A Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M. if related

 

*A Substitution of an Appropriate Combination of Experience and Education For Experience

Only education in excess of the first two years of progressively higher level graduate education toward a Ph.D. or the equivalent graduate degree may be used toward this combination.

 

GS-12

 

Specialized Experience: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11). Examples of specialized experience include: independently prepares environmental documents that include Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements that are in compliance with environmental laws and regulations; performs environmental analysis, researches and analyzes socioeconomic issues and effects associated with energy activities (which would include population, labor, employment, public service, human health and safety and traditional cultures) and a familiarity with economic impact modeling software to help predict important aspects of economic change for use in developing environmental impact statements and environmental assessments.

 

*To determine whether your combination of experience and education is “appropriate”:

First determine your total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for this grade level; then determine your experience as a percentage of the experience required for this grade level; finally, add the two percentages.  The total percentage must equal 100 percent to qualify. 

Education: If this position requires specific educational coursework to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide transcripts as proof of meeting the requirements. Failure to provide the documents will result in you receiving an ineligible rating.  

Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp .

Requirements: As part of the on-line application process, you will need to respond to a series of questions designed to assess your possession of the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and/or competencies and it takes approximately 30 minutes to complete:

Analytical Skills and Experience

Teamwork

Computer Skills

Proactive Problem-solving Skills/Self Starter

 

If you are a status applicant (current permanent Federal employee or former permanent Federal employee with reinstatement eligibility), or  are eligible under a special appointing authority and you are selected under this vacancy, you may be subject to serving a new one-year probationary period.

 

If you are a male applicant who was born after 12/31/1959 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.

How You Will Be Evaluated:

Basis of Rating: You will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of the position. If you are eligible, you will receive a numerical rating based on your on-line responses to the application questions.   These responses must be substantiated by your resume. If you do not respond to the application questionnaire you will not be considered for this position.

To preview this questionnaire and determine if your experience matches the skills required for this position, click the following link: View Assessment Questions

Veteran's Preference: If you are claiming 10-point Veterans Preference, you MUST submit an SF-15, DD-214 and supporting documents as outlined on the SF-15.  If you are claiming 5-point Veteran's Preference, you MUST submit a DD-214 that identifies your type of discharge.  This information must be received by the closing date ( Friday, November 13, 2009 ) .

For more information on Veterans' Preference visit:  http://www.opm.gov/veterans/html/vetguide.asp .

Note: If it is determined that you have rated yourself higher than is supported in your description of experience and/or education as described in your resume/application, or that your resume or application is incomplete, you may be rated ineligible, not qualified, or your score may be lowered.

Benefits:

The Federal Government offers a number of exceptional benefits that are unmatched by most other organizations.  The following web address is provided for your reference to explore the major benefits offered to most Federal employees.   This link also provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal employees. http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/ei61.asp .

Other Information:

Important Note:  All Department of the Interior (DOI) employees are subject to conflict of interest restrictions and may be required to file a Financial Disclosure Report.  Please refer to the Minerals Management Service webpage for Ethics located at:   www.mms.gov/adm/ethics.html  for additional information.  DOI employees are subject to the Conflict of Interest Restrictions imposed upon all employees of the Executive Branch of the Federal government.  Employees of DOI and MMS are restricted concerning their holdings of Federal lands and resources administered or controlled by the Department of the Interior.  This includes the holding of stock in corporations engaged in mining activities on Federal lands (e.g.: oil, gas, coal, alternative energy resources, etc.).

Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate.  Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly.  Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Identification of promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date.

If you are claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, you must submit proof by the closing date of the announcement that you meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(a) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP or you will not receive priority consideration.  The proof includes a copy of the agency notice, your most recent Performance Rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty station.   To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, you must earn a minimum score of  85 or above (prior to the assignment of veteran's preference) on the rating criteria for this position.

If you are selected for this Federal position, you will be required to complete a "Declaration of Federal Employment", (OF-306), prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.  If you do not answer all questions truthfully and completely, or provide any false statements on your application, that may be grounds for not hiring you, or dismissing you after you begin work, and may be punishable by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).

Your application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a).   The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.

Recruitment methods and selection procedures will be based solely on merit after fair and open competition, and will be made without regard to political, religious, or labor organization affiliation or non-affiliation, marital status, race, color, sex, national origin, non-disqualifying disability, sexual orientation, or age.

How To Apply:

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package, which includes both of the following parts:

1.  Your responses to the on-line Assessment Questionnaire; and

2.  Your résumé and any other documents specified in the Required Documents section of this job announcement.

We highly recommend using Application Manager for convenience and the quickest processing. Track your progress to a Complete Application Package using the My Application Packages checklist and status displays in Application Manager. Your Application Package status must be Completed AND Submitted by  Friday, November 13, 2009.

Step 1

Instructions for Applying Online: If your résumé is coming from the USAJOBS Résumé Builder, you begin the process by clicking the "Apply On-line" button near the bottom of this page. Your résumé will be attached only to the Application Package you complete and is submitted immediately after you click the "Apply On-line" button for this job announcement and not to any Application Packages you may have already created. If your résumé is going to be one you have prepared outside of USAJOBS Résumé Builder, click this link to begin the process: Online Questionnaire.

To return to Application Manager at any time, use the method selected to begin the initial process as described above, or simply go to http://applicationmanager.gov/ .

Instructions for Applying By Fax: If you are faxing a completed Form 1203-FX, do not use a separate cover page. Simply make sure that all six pages of the Form 1203-FX are on top of any other documents you are faxing. The fax number is 1-478-757-3144.  Feed all documents into your fax machine top first so that we receive them right-side up.  You can find the Form 1203-FX on the OPM website or at this link: http://opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/OPM1203fx.pdf .

 

Note:  If you do not have Adobe Acrobat and are not able to view PDF files, go to the Adobe website www.adobe.com/ to download the latest version of this software free. 

Instructions for completing Form 1203-FX: If you are applying to this announcement by completing the FORM 1203-FX instead of using the On-line Application method, please use the following step-by-step instructions as a guide to filling out the required questionnaire.

1. You will need to print the vacancy announcement and refer to it as you answer the questions. You may omit any optional information; however, you must provide responses to all required questions. 2. If the questionnaire includes narratives for you to respond to, you MUST type your responses in a separate document using Microsoft Word (.doc) or plain text (.txt) format.  3. Add that document to the bottom of your completed FORM 1203-FX before faxing.  4. Be sure to double check your application BEFORE you submit it.
View Occupational Questionnaire

Required Documents:

Step 2

Submitting Required Documents: Your résumé must contain the basic information outlined in the Optional Application for Employment OF-612:  http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/of612.pdf . 

At a minimum your résumé must contain job title (include job series and grade if Federal), duties, starting and ending date (month and year), hours per week worked and salary.  If you do not provide the minimum information requested above, this will prevent you from qualifying for this position.

Please note: if you do not have Adobe Acrobat and are not able to view PDF files, go to the Adobe website www.adobe.com/ to download the latest version of this software free. 

In addition to your résumé and the online questionnaire, the following documents are required for this vacancy announcement:

• Transcripts (if applicable)
• Qualifications (such as professional Certificate, license, etc. if applicable)
• Veterans Preference documentation (if applicable)
• Miscellaneous

If you upload your documents using Application Manager, DO NOT FAX the same documents.

Faxed documents will take 2-3 business days to process.  To fax documents, you MUST use the special cover page. Print the pre-populated cover page on the upload documents screen of Application Manager Or, you may click this link http://staffing.opm.gov/pdf/usascover.pdf to print a copy of the cover page. When faxing documents, follow the procedures outlined below:

• Include the 8-character Vacancy Identification Number MM294685,
• Provide your Social Security Number and full name in the spaces provided or we will not be able to associate your document(s) with the rest of your application,
• You may submit multiple documents for the same vacancy announcement using one cover page,
• Fax your cover page and documents to 1-478-757-3144

Faxed documents submitted with missing or incomplete information will not be processed.  Any of the following will prevent your documents from being processed:  

• Not using the special cover page mentioned above
• Missing, incomplete, or invalid Vacancy Identification Number
• Missing or incomplete Social Security Number or name

Note:  If you have documents in your Application Manager account from a previous vacancy announcement, they can be opened, copied and saved then reused as an upload file for this vacancy. Uploading your documents will speed the processing of your application for this announcement.

Once the on-line questionnaire is received you will receive an acknowledgement e-mail that your submission was successful. 

TO VERIFY RECEIPT OF YOUR FAXED AND/OR UPLOADED DOCUMENTS:

1. To verify receipt of your documents, please allow at least one hour for your documents to upload and clear the virus scan then log in to Application Manager at: https://applicationmanager.gov/ 
2. Select Vacancy Identification Number MM294685
3. You will see a list of all uploaded and faxed documents that we have received from you for this vacancy announcement.  Though your uploaded documents appear immediately, please allow at least two business days for your faxed documents to appear  If they have not appeared after two business days, you may need to re-submit them.

NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MIDNIGHT Eastern Time (Washington, D.C. time) ON THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT ( Friday, November 13, 2009). 

If you do not submit a complete on-line application, you will not be considered for this position and requests for extensions will not be granted, so double check your application BEFORE you submit it.   Most libraries and employment offices can provide access to the Internet.   If you are unable to apply on-line for any other reason, you must speak to someone in the Servicing Human Resources Office listed on this announcement PRIOR TO THE CLOSING DATE (Friday, November 13, 2009) for assistance.   The Servicing Human Resources Specialist will make a decision on a case-by-case basis.

Contact Information:

HR Assistant Phone: (703)787-1446 Email: human.resources@mms.gov

Or write: Minerals Management Service DO NOT SEND MAIL PLEASE APPLY ONLINE Herndon, VA 20170 USA

What To Expect Next:

If you are rated as one of the most highly qualified candidates, you will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and a possible interview.   We expect to make a selection within 30-45 days of the closing date of this announcement.  After a selection is made all applicants for this vacancy announcement will be notified of their status either by letter or e-mail.