Supervisory Agricultural Economist

Summary

This position is located with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Economic Research Service (ERS), Office of Food Markets, Kansas City, MO In this position, you will serve as the Branch Chief of Food Access and Nutrition; planning, directing, and managing agricultural economic research, analysis, and information dissemination.

Responsibilities

Analyze the consequences of public policies that relate to specialized work on food access and availability, food and nutrition assistance, food consumption, nutrition and health, and food safety and provide economic analyses on appropriate subjects.

Target the dissemination of basic statistics and data, research findings, and policy analyses toward key client groups

Manage several technically complex projects that involve selecting or developing the most appropriate and current research methodologies and apply them to complicated economic problems.

Identify research activities and resources required to complete the work assigned to the branch.

Serve as the focal point for research and analysis of appropriate topics and represent the branch within the department.

Represent the branch, office, agency, and department in various high-level meetings concerning assigned areas of responsibility.

Provide technical and administrative supervision to a staff of professional economists who perform work through participation in project teams led by team leaders.

Consult with employees regarding training needs and submits final recommendations; keep employees informed regarding personnel and other administrative programs; and maintain morale, discipline, and constructive employee relations.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Basic Requirements: Degree: economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus. OR Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. AND In addition to the basic requirements above, all applicants must also meet the following minimum qualification requirements: Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-15 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to the GS-14 which is directly related to the work of this position, and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is serving as the primary author of influential papers, models, theories, or techniques that are widely recognized or adopted to advance the field of food, agriculture, diet and health, food markets, food assistance, or food security economics; and analyzing the results of public policies that relate to specialized areas such as food access and availability, food and nutrition assistance, food consumption, nutrition and health, and food safety. 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.

Education

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.