Federal Housing Finance Agency

Position Title/Short Description

Full Text of JOE Listing:

Research Economist

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is an independent federal agency established by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) to build a better secondary mortgage market.

FHFA is currently responsible for the oversight of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the Federal Home Loan Bank System, which includes the 11 Banks. FHFA’s mission is to ensure the safety and soundness of those regulated entities to serve as a reliable source of liquidity and funding for housing finance and community investments.

FHFA is seeking to bolster its capacity as a world-class regulator by hiring Ph.D. economists to work within the Division of Research and Statistics. We may hire for several positions simultaneously including specialized research in environmental changes and climate risk factors as well as general research in sustainable homeownership and access to mortgage credit. Candidates should indicate their preference for consideration.

For the specialized research positions, a specialized background is sought to better understand environmental changes and climate factors that affect housing, finance, mortgage markets, or real estate. Helpful research interests might include asset or insurance exposures (flood, wind, or hail damage), disasters (earthquake, hurricane, or wildfire), liabilities (contamination, clean-up, or emission/discharge), natural resources (soil, water, or conservation), or infrastructure (transit or energy). An environmental or climate risk expert should be able to identify, evaluate, and assess the level of adverse, positive, or distributional consequences associated with climate change. These risks should be translatable into modeled scenarios, simulations, or forecasted estimates for risk management, cost-benefit analysis, or impact evaluation.

For the general research positions, a background is sought with policy-related research interests in areas such as banking, housing, finance, forecasting, industrial organization, labor, macrofinance, mortgage markets, real estate, or urban economics. Candidates should have interests in applied research on topics like housing programs, house price indexes, financial institutions and markets, banking or macro stability, mortgage lending, secondary mortgage market operations, or identify significant and emerging risks such as market, interest rate, operational, climate, or credit risks.

Ideal candidates are highly motived and can demonstrate experience with statistical or computational programs and database software. The person should be comfortable with cleaning, transforming, and analyzing large datasets. A specialist should be familiar with geographic information systems, mapping layers, and visualization tools. Experience with statistical software (SAS, Stata, or R) is required, while experience in a query (SQL) or scripting (Python) language is desirable though not necessary. Familiarity with a Unix environment is also helpful but not necessary.

Economists are expected to conduct applied research, participate in policy work, contribute to projects related to market monitoring for safety and soundness, present work for feedback at internal, academic, and industry conferences, and conduct original research for publication in academic and professional journals. The position would be appropriate for individuals who enjoy a combination of team-oriented work and independent research.

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in economics, finance, environmental science, or a related field, with strong quantitative and data skills. Coursework should include at least 21 semester/31 quarter hours in economics and 3 semester/4 quarter hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus. An appropriate background could also be demonstrated through work experience or additional coursework in fields such as computer science, environmental science, geography, public policy, or natural resource management. Candidates must demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills. Salary is dependent on education and experience. The preferred start date is May 2022.

FHFA employees enjoy all the standard federal benefits plus additional agency-specific benefits and competitive salaries not tied to the traditional Government's General Schedule pay system. The agency offers job features like dedicated research and travel funds, technology to support remote work, flexible work schedules, paid parental leave, and a high degree of job security.

Submitted materials must include affirmation of U.S. citizenship. FHFA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.

www.fhfa.gov