Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative - DAUSTR Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. USTR-EOP-12785135-25-TW-IMP Department Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Salary $167,603.00 to $195,200.00 Grade 15 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 8/19/2025 Close Date 8/26/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

The positions are located in the following offices: African Affairs, Agriculture, Environment, Labor and Services and Investments

**Notice: More than one selection may be made within 90 days of the issuance of the certificate, if additional vacancies occur.


This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Only current United States Trade Representative (USTR) Permanent Federal Employees are eligible to apply.

Duties

As a Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative, GS-301-15, your typical work assignments may include the following:

  • Lead or participate in U.S. delegations to international trade negotiations and conferences on issues affecting assigned countries and issues.
  • Prepare positions and strategies for consultations and negotiations with foreign governments on trade issues in assigned area. Assist in these consultations when required.
  • Plan and conduct economic analytical studies and develop reports and recommendations for U.S. policy positions on issues related to negotiation, administration of trade agreements with foreign governments, and enforcement relating to assigned area.
  • Prepare Congressional testimony, respond to controlled correspondence, briefing materials, summary statements and speeches for the U.S. Trade Representative and Deputy U.S. Trade Representatives on trade issues related to assigned area.
  • Explain and defend the Administration's trade policies to foreign governments, the public, the press and the Congress.
  • Represent USTR in contact with interagency counterparts, foreign government officials, and stakeholders regarding assigned area.
  • Assist in management of the staff and administrative functions in the assigned office, including serving as Acting Assistant USTR in the absence of the AUSTR.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be an employee of United States Trade Representative (USTR).
  • Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: All applicants must meet the qualification requirements outlined below to be considered minimally qualified for this position. The qualification requirements are in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Applicants possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level or pay band in Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector.

ALL QUALIFICATIONS MUST BE MET BY THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have a minimum of one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility comparable to the next lower grade or comparable pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector.

You may qualify at the GS-15 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector performing the following duties:
1) Serving as principal expert or senior advisor to senior government officials on trade negotiations or trade initiatives; AND
2) Leading U. S. delegations or participates as the senior representative for a government department or agency to international trade negotiations, engagement, or conferences; AND
3) Explaining or defending trade policies to foreign governments, the public, the press, and the Congress; AND
4) Planning and conducting analysis or legal/policy analysis regarding international trade issues in connection with the negotiation, administration, and enforcement of international trade agreements; AND
5) Directing or serving as the lead department or agency representative in interagency working groups or task forces on international trade.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills 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

There is no substitution of education for specialized experience.

Additional information

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy Statement: http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/index.cfm

Employment Information Resources - Resource Center: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Main_Page

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternative Application.

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.

Review our 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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience.

When the application process is complete, we will review your resume to ensure you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this announcement.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

If after reviewing your resume and supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and/or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities or you may be found ineligible/not qualified.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

All eligibility, qualifications, and time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Required Documents

Applicants who do not submit required documentation to determine eligibility and qualifications will be eliminated from consideration. Other documents may be required based on the eligibility/eligibilities you are claiming.

To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes:

1. Resume: For qualification determinations, your resume must contain hours worked per week and dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as insufficient and you will not receive consideration for this position. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, provide your pay plan, series and grade, i.e. GS-0301-09. Your resume must include detailed information as it relates to the responsibilities and specialized experience for this position. Evidence of copying and pasting directly from the vacancy announcement without clearly documenting supplemental information to describe your experience will result in an ineligible rating. This will prevent you from receiving further consideration. Note: If you upload more than one resume, the last resume received will be the one utilized for consideration. Please limit your resume to 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

2. A complete Assessment Questionnaire.


3. Current United States Trade Representatives Employees: You must submit a legible copy of a SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action. The SF-50, block 24 must contain "1" or "2" AND block 34 must be a "1". Promotion Consideration: If you wish to be considered as a promotion candidate and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one-year time-in-grade requirements. You will need to provide additional SF-50s which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within-Grade, Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old).

6. Other Optional supporting documents:
  • Cover Letter
  • Most recent Performance Appraisal
Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents contain personal information such as Social Security Number (SSN) and Date of Birth (DOB) and some documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove said personal information before you submit your application.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.

  • To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
  • Follow the prompts to select your résumé and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
  • You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. To ensure full consideration of your experience and education we encourage you to use the USAJOBS resume builder to prepare your resume or to guide you in preparing your resume. See http://www.usajobs.gov/Content/pdfs/Tutorials-Resume.pdf for more information.

PLEASE NOTE: It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and/or uploaded, (i.e., resume) is received, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. You may verify your documents have been processed with your application package successfully. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.

Human Resources WILL NOT modify or change any answers submitted by an applicant.

Application packages will NOT be accepted via mail or e-mail. All resumes/applications received at the addresses listed in the Contact Information or Agency Information will not be considered for this vacancy announcement.

Click the following link to view and print the occupational questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12785135.

Agency contact information

Client Services EOP - OA
Address
Office of the United States Trade Representative
725 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20503
US

Next steps

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position. After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application.

After a tentative job offer, we will conduct a security background investigation and drug screening. If the drug screening is negative and security background is cleared, then a formal job offer will be extended to candidate.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.