ECONOMIST SPECIALIST

Open Period: 11/18/2024 – 12/02/2024 Format MM/DD/YYYY
Vacancy Time Zone: GMT+1
Series/Grade: LE – 1505 10
Salary: XAF FCFA23,335,933 /Per Year
Work Schedule:
Full-time – 40 hours per week
Promotion Potential:
LE-10
Duty Location(s): 1 Vacancy in Yaounde, CM
Telework Eligible: No
For More Info:  HR Section
 000-000-0000
 ydeapplicants@state.gov
Overview
Hiring Path: • Open to the public
Who May Apply/Clarification From the Agency:
This position is open to:

•  All Interested Applicants / All Sources

For USEFM – FP grade is 05. Actual FP salary authorized by Washington D.C.
Security Clearance Required:
Public Trust – Background Investigation
Appointment Type
Permanent
Appointment Type Details:
Indefinite subject to successful completion of probationary period
Marketing Statement:
We encourage you to review the Eight (8) Qualities of Overseas Employees before you apply.  


EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO):  The U.S. Mission provides equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, or sexual orientation.


« Recruiting for diversity, hiring based on merit »

Summary:
The U.S. Mission in Cameroon is seeking eligible and qualified applicants for the Economic Specialist position in the Political/Economic Section.

Supervisory Position: No
Relocation Expenses Reimbursed: No

Duties
Under the supervision of the Political/Economic (P/E) Officer, incumbent serves as the Economic Specialist in the P/E Section.  He/she is responsible for economic analysis, oral and written reporting, and assistance to USG funded projects. He/she performs factual and analytical reporting in the field of economics, more specifically on macroeconomic issues, regional economic integration, infrastructure, energy, critical minerals, agriculture, the financial sector, fiscal policy, and related areas. S/he is the primary drafter for congressionally-mandated reports within the portfolio.  The incumbent may be asked to cover commercial advocacy issues and/or environment, science, technology, and health (ESTH) issues in the absence of the Commercial or ESTH specialists.  S/he will also support overall economic analysis, reporting, and contact work for all other fields in the P/E section as required. He/she will assist in planning, implementing, and administering economic-related development assistance projects.


Qualifications and Evaluations
Requirements:
All selected candidates must be able to obtain and hold a:

Security Certificate; or
Public Trust – background investigation Security Clearance.

All selected candidates will be subject to a background investigation and may be subject to a pre-employment medical exam.

Selected candidate must be able to begin working within a reasonable period of time upon receipt of agency authorization and/or clearances/certifications or their candidacy may end.

Education Requirements:
University degree in Economics, Business, Sociology, International Development, or Environmental/health policy studies is required.

Evaluations:
You will be evaluated against the qualifications and requirements in this vacancy announcement.
You may be asked to complete a pre-employment language or skills test.
You must complete the application form and provide the required documents.  Your application must address all the position qualifications and requirements including education, experience, language, and any knowledge/skills/abilities listed.  If you fail to submit a complete application, then your application may be disqualified for this position.

Qualifications:
Experience: A minimum of five (05) years of of responsible professional-level experience in economic research, analysis and reporting in international affairs, economy or development.  Experience must include analysis and interpretation of data and the presentation of findings in written and oral form.
Language:
Fluent (speaking, reading, writing) in English.
Fluent (speaking, reading, writing) in French.
This may be tested.

Job Knowledge: The incumbent must have a thorough understanding of Cameroonian politics, history, society, economy, and institutions; regional and international development issues; and economics.  He or she should know and understand USG and Mission priorities and policies, as well as U.S. government, politics, and history as relates to the execution of his or her job in the promotion/advocacy of USG foreign policy.

The Economic Specialist must be familiar with the MS Office Suite and use of the internet for research and should have good understanding of Embassy reporting needs and procedures, including Washington’s priorities.  The incumbent must be able to serve as the “institutional memory” for information related to his or her past or present projects

Skills And Abilities: The incumbent must have excellent verbal skills and be able to tailor conversations to the level of the audience, taking conversation down to the lowest common denominator.  Must be able to influence and persuade stakeholders to meet U.S. foreign policy objectives. The incumbent must be able to diplomatically and effectively exchange with his or her interlocutors, as s/he will often be the sole representative from the USG in the dialogue.

The incumbent must be able to effectively multi-task and manage a constantly changing number of projects.  He or she must be able to quickly understand and work within the realms of specific regulations that vary from project to project.  The incumbent must exercise considerable initiative and creativity when developing new project ideas or working within the confines of project regulations.  The incumbent must have strong writing skills to be able to write reports, cables, and memos in English as well as informally interpret between French and English in meetings.

Benefits and Other Info
Benefits:
Agency Benefits:
The U.S. Mission offers a competitive compensation and benefits package for local employees.

SALARY: The annual gross salary includes: the Basic Rate, the Miscellaneous Benefits Allowance, and the End-of-the-Year Bonus. Seniority Allowance is paid in accordance with local labor law. A Cashier allowance is paid for eligible positions.

MEDICAL BENEFITS: The U.S. Mission in Yaoundé directly reimburse eligible employees for covered medical expenses incurred for them and/or eligible dependents, subject to the stated limits of the Local Compensation Plan.

LEAVE BENEFITS: Subject to the stated limits and rules of the Local Compensation Plan, employees are entitled to the following types of leaves: Annual Leave, Sick Leave, Maternity Leave, Special Leave.

HOLIDAYS: The U.S. Mission in Yaoundé and the Embassy Branch Office in Douala observe American and Cameroonian public holidays, about 19 holidays per year.

For Eligible Family Member (EFM) applicants, benefits should be discussed with the HR Office. The pay plan is assigned by the HR Office and confirmed by Washington, D.C.

Other Information:
HIRING PREFERENCE SELECTION PROCESS: 

A hiring preference is extended to eligible and qualified applicants in the order listed below.  It is essential you accurately describe your status in your application, failure to do so may result in a determination that you are not eligible for a hiring preference.

HIRING PREFERENCE ORDER

Appointment Eligible Family Member (AEFM) / U.S. citizen Eligible Family Member (USEFM) who is a preference-eligible U.S. Veteran*

AEFM / USEFM

Foreign Service (FS) on Leave without Pay (LWOP) and Civil Service (CS) with reemployment rights **

* IMPORTANT:  US citizen Eligible Family Member (USEFM) applicants who claim status as a preference-eligible U.S. Veteran must submit a copy of their most recent DD-214 (“Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty”) preferably Member Copy 4, Letter from Veterans’ Affairs which indicates the present existence of a service-connected disability, equivalent documentation, or certification.  A “certification” is any written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active-duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions within 120 days after the certification is submitted by the applicant. The certification letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the character of service.  Acceptable documentation must be submitted in order for the preference to be given. 

** This level of preference applies to all FS employees on LWOP and CS with re-employment rights back to their agency or bureau.

For complete definitions of AEFM, USEFM, EFM, Member of Household, etc., please visit the 3 FAM 7210 Definitions.    

ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT CONSIDERATIONS

The following apply to EFMs, USEFMs, and AEFMs only:    

Current employees who used a hiring preference to gain employment who are within their first 90 calendar days of employment are not eligible. This does not apply when the hiring mechanism is TEMP or the work schedule is intermittent or irregular.    

Candidates with a hiring preference who have already accepted a conditional offer of employment may NOT be extended a second conditional offer of employment unless and until they withdraw their candidacy for the first position in writing.

The following apply to Locally Employed (LE) staff only:   

Current employees serving a probationary period are not eligible.

Current employees with an Overall Summary Rating of Needs Improvement, Unsatisfactory, or an MBC score of less than 100 points on their most recent Employee Performance Report are not eligible.  

How to Apply:
Click the “Apply to This Vacancy” button at the top of the page to begin your application.  For an instructional video on how to apply click here.

Please address all relevant experience, education, language skills (including English), and job-related skills or requirements in your application.

You may edit your application any time before the vacancy closing date. If you fail to submit a complete application by the vacancy closing date of this vacancy, then your application may be disqualified for this position.

For a copy of the complete position description, please contact the HR Office.

To request a reasonable accommodation, please contact the HR Office.

We foster a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible workplace where employees can be themselves.  We invite qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply.

Required Documents:
Please upload all applicable documents to your application. If you fail to submit a complete application, then your application may be disqualified for this position.

All Applicants:

Residency Permit (if applicable)

Work Permit (if applicable)

University degree or equivalent

Work Attestation(s)

In addition, Eligible Family Member (EFM) Applicants must submit:

Copy of Sponsor’s Travel Orders/Assignment Notification (or equivalent)

Passport copy

DD-214 – Member Copy 4, Letter from Veterans’ Affairs, or other supporting documentation (if applicable)

SF-50 (if applicable)

Next Steps:
Once the Vacancy Announcement (VA) closes:

Applications meeting the minimum education and experience requirements will be screened by HR Office and the Selecting Official(s).

ONLY shortlisted applicants will be contacted by email for mandatory language and/or subject matter tests.

ONLY successful tested applicants will be contacted by email for interviews.

ONLY tested and/or interviewed applicants will be notified by email of the results.

For Selected Applicants:

HR Office will send a Conditional Offer with the security certification and medical clearance requirements.

The security certification is a 2–4-month process and is done by the Regional Security Office (RSO), who will contact the applicant once he/she completes the requirements provided with the Conditional Offer.

The medical clearance is covered by the U.S. Embassy, and will be completed by the applicant separately, during the security certification process.

Once HR Office receives the medical clearance and the security certification, the applicant will receive a Formal Offer with an agreed start date.

For more information on applying for jobs or employment with us, please visit the U.S. Mission website https://cm.usembassy.gov/jobs/#apply

Thank you for your application and your interest in working with us

All applications must be submitted ONLINE at : https://bit.ly/3cImd1A