Chief International Affairs, SSC/SW

The United States Space Force (USSF) in Chantilly, VA is searching for a Chief International Affairs for SSC/SW (NH-1101-04, GS-14 Equivalent).

Description:
The ideal candidate is a senior expert in defense acquisition and security cooperation with a strong background in Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and international cooperative agreements. They possess deep experience in FMS case development, financial planning (including LOAs and P&A estimates), and navigating complex technology-transfer and export-control regulations. A skilled negotiator and communicator, they excel at building consensus among military, industry, and international partners to advise senior leadership.


Ideal Candidate:
Are you a strategic leader ready to shape the future of global space capabilities? As our Chief of International Affairs, you will serve as the principal advisor driving international collaboration within our Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio. In this role, you won't just manage programs, you will actively build and strengthen critical defense partnerships that integrate allied requirements into next-generation space acquisition programs.

On a daily basis, you will lead high-impact Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases from initial financial pricing to final execution, while negotiating complex international cooperative agreements. You will coordinate directly with the U.S. Space Force, DoD, and foreign allies to resolve technology-transfer, security, and business hurdles. If you are a visionary collaborator ready to secure our cooperative strength in space, we want you on our team.


Key Skills and Abilities:
1. Knowledge of defense acquisition and security cooperation processes, including Foreign Military Sales case development, implementation, financial execution, and lifecycle management.
2. Knowledge of FMS financial principles and business-case development, including development and review of LOAs, P&A estimates, pricing analyses, cost estimates, amendments, and financial documentation.
3. Knowledge of international cooperative agreements and export-control requirements, including MOUs, project agreements, technology-transfer considerations, foreign disclosure, information sharing, and applicable security requirements.
4. Ability to analyze complex acquisition, financial, programmatic, and industrial-base information and develop sound recommendations for senior leaders on international partnership opportunities, risks, and execution options.
5. Ability to negotiate, coordinate, and build consensus among diverse government, industry, and international stakeholders on sensitive business, financial, acquisition, and technology-related matters. 6. Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, orally and in writing, including preparation of executive-level briefings, decision papers, acquisition documentation, international agreement packages, and correspondence for senior Department of War and partner-nation stakeholders.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S Citizen.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret / SCI security clearance.
• Safeguards classified or sensitive budget-related information and/or files.
• May be required to work overtime on an unscheduled or emergency basis.
• Eligible for situational telework only, including Emergency and OPM prescribed “Unscheduled Telework”.
• This position will close after 5 business days or 75 applications, whichever comes first.
• Employee may be required to perform travel by military or commercial passenger aircraft in the performance of temporary duty assignments.
• PCS / relocation funding is authorized.
• This position is designated as a Testing Designated Position (TDP) under the Air Force Civilian Drug Testing Program.
• Subject to Temporary Duty Assignment (TDY): 45 days a year.
• Employee must within 30-days of assuming this position and by 31 October annually thereafter, file an OGE-450, “Confidential Financial Disclosure Report.
• This position has been designated as an acquisition position and is covered by the Acquisition Professional Development Program (APDP).
• The employee must meet the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) requirements applicable to the duties of the position.

Qualifications

The 1101 series does not have an individual occupational requirement that must be met. You can view the experience level requirements here. Please scroll down to the 3rd section titled Administrative and Management Positions.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies as related to the series and grade of the position being filled. Final qualifications determinations will be assessed based on OPM's General Schedule Qualifications Standards found here:

Interviews: You will be contacted by e-mail and/or telephone if your application is identified as qualifying for a position being filled. An interview may be conducted. If interviewed, you will be asked to address the same knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies used to initially qualify your application for the position.

Resume:You must submit a resume that may NOT exceed two pages, and the font size should not be smaller than 10 pts. You will not be considered for this vacancy if your resume exceeds two pages or is illegible/unreadable. Do NOT include photographs, inappropriate material, inappropriate content, nor personal information such as age, gender, religion, social security number, etc., on your resume. If the resume you submit contains such information you will not be considered for this vacancy. Your resume must provide:

1. Personal information - your full name, email and mailing addresses, phone number
2. Education information - the name of the school and the dates you attended
3. Work experience - paid and unpaid work with the following information:
   • Job title
   • Detailed duties and accomplishments
   • Employer's name and address
   • Supervisor's name and phone number
   • Starting and ending dates (If actual dates are not known, provide your best-estimated timeframes.)
   • Hours per week
   • Salary, if applicable
4. Other qualifications - skills, certifications/licenses, honors, awards, special accomplishments, and job-related training courses

College Transcripts (if applicable): Please see the Education section of this announcement for detailed information about transcripts.

Next steps