Description

Summary

This position is located in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist, (OCE) in Washington, DC. The position will reside within the Immediate Office of OCE and is responsible for evaluating the economic impact of policy options relating to complex issues that cut across agricultural trade and commodity areas, particularly related to commodity input markets.

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Duties

• Conducts background studies on crop-physiology weather relationships for assigned foreign agricultural areas. Works with Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
• Coordinates weather data requirements with National Weather Service analysts for crop-weather assessment.
• Coordinates with other USDA agencies and government-sponsored research groups on the development and implementation of quantitative crop assessment techniques.
• Works with a team of meteorologists as a principal crop-weather expert for specific international crop areas specializing in the analysis/interpretation of weather/crop conditions to support USDA's global situation and outlook program.
• Applies professional knowledge and skills to a wide variety of complex projects that enhance agricultural weather assessments and improve global crop production estimates.
• Develops new products/processes/procedures that enhance the quality and substance of analytical outputs, including the Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin, operational crop weather assessments, and briefings delivered to commodity analysts and managers.
• Serves on various USDA commodity estimate committees as one of WAOB's agricultural weather experts and provides weather input to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand report and the Crop Production report.
• Represents Office of the Chief Economist (OCE)/World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) at interagency task force meetings/briefings as a principal international crop-weather expert.
• Leads WAOB's effort to compile a more comprehensive regional-level crop production data base through extensive contacts with other interagency experts.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.

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 Requirements:

1. Degree: meteorology, atmospheric science, or other natural science major that included:
   
   1. At least 24 semester (36 quarter) hours of credit in meteorology/atmospheric science including a minimum of:
      
      1. Six semester hours of atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics;*
      2. Six semester hours of analysis and prediction of weather systems (synoptic/mesoscale);
      3. Three semester hours of physical meteorology; and
      4. Two semester hours of remote sensing of the atmosphere and/or instrumentation.
   2. Six semester hours of physics, with at least one course that includes laboratory sessions.*
   3. Three semester hours of ordinary differential equations.*
   4. At least nine semester hours of course work appropriate for a physical science major in any combination of three or more of the following: physical hydrology, statistics, chemistry, physical oceanography, physical climatology, radiative transfer, aeronomy, advanced thermodynamics, advanced electricity and magnetism, light and optics, and computer science.
   
   
   * There is a prerequisite or corequisite of calculus for course work in atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics, physics, and differential equations. Calculus courses must be appropriate for a physical science major.
   
   or
2. Combination of education and experience course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

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.

Specialized Experience:

For the GS-15: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:

• The position requires a recognized expert in International Agricultural Meteorology with a broad understanding of global crop production-covering crops such as corn, soybeans, cotton, rice, and wheat-and a strong grasp of crop developmental stages, regional production challenges, and the analytical ability to produce sound, well-supported yield projections.
• Experience developing new meteorological analytical products that support decision makers in forecasting global agricultural production, along with a demonstrated ability to identify and implement improvements to existing products and services to strengthen their overall effectiveness.
• Ability to work as part of a team with a diverse group of analysts to produce agricultural forecasts, along with demonstrated experience mentoring junior analysts in commodity outlook and global agricultural production.

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

All applicants must meet the educational requirement for the Meteorology Series 1340 as outlined in the above Qualifications section. Transcripts must be supplied with application materials

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP or RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.

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 here.

Incentives may be authorized.

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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.