Foreign Affairs Officer

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Department of State career or career conditional status employees in the competitive service; employees who are on temporary or other non-status appointments who have reinstatement or non-competitive eligibility for a competitive service appointment (e.g., career Foreign Service employees, employees on an excepted service appointment at the USUN who have previous career status, etc.); and CTAP

• Advises on foreign assistance program issues and problems; develops and proposes resolutions of program policy and procedural issues and coordinates implementation of management decisions on assigned program.
• Contributes to program design, planning, implementation, and monitoring/evaluation for high-profile foreign assistance programs and Western Hemisphere policy priorities.
• Serves as the point of contact for diplomatic missions and civic organizations that represent the interests of assigned country or countries to the United States, directing their inquiries to appropriate parties and facilitating their requests.
• Produces written products on highly technical topics including position papers, briefings, official discussions in meetings and memoranda, talking points, and written Congressional testimony and associated background material for use by principals.
• Develops recommendations for decision makers that detail a range of program and policy choices intended to constructively address the issue or issues that have been identified, analysis of positive and negative implications of each possible choice.

Conditions of employment

• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements described below by the closing date of this announcement.

If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript with your application. 

NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements, by the closing date of this announcement.

Time-In-Grade Requirements: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions, per 5CFR 300, Subpart F.

Applicants must have the required experience or education as described below and meet any selective factors, when specified.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

Have a bachelor's or graduate degree from an accredited college or university in international law, international relations, political science, economics, history, sociology, geography, social or cultural anthropology, law, statistics, or in the humanities; 

OR

Have a bachelor's or graduate degree from an accredited college or university that included a combination of courses, with at least 24 semester hours in international law and international relations, political science, economics, history, sociology, geography, social or cultural anthropology, law, statistics, or in the humanities; 

OR

Have 12 semester hours in one of the above disciplines and 12 semester hours in statistics / quantitative methods. 

OR

Have a combination of education and experience where your coursework was equivalent to a major, or a combination of related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours, (as shown above), PLUS appropriate relevant experience OR additional education.

OR

Have completed at least 4 years of appropriate experience in one OR more of the fields listed above in work associated with international organizations, problems, or other aspects of foreign affairs. 

(NOTE:  qualifying work experience may have been gained through residence, study, teaching, business or commercial activities, military service, newspaper work, military or civil government activities, missionary or international relief work, or other experience in foreign countries.) 

IN ADDITION to the basic requirements, this position requires one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following: 

• Experience overseeing foreign assistance program proposals process and advocating for foreign policy interests.
• Experience collaborating with U.S. government agencies, foreign governments, and international organizations to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives.
• Experience developing and proposing resolutions for policy and procedural issues and coordinating the implementation of highly controversial and politically sensitive United State Government (USG) policy decisions.

Note: If you are qualifying based on education, you MUST submit transcripts as verification of educational requirement by the closing date of this announcement. If you fail to provide requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you WILL lose consideration for this position.

How you will be evaluated

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

The evaluation process consists of the ApplyGov Competency Based Assessments and a crediting plan for which applicants will be assigned a score between 70 and 100. A resume review will be conducted for minimum qualification requirements, as described in the “Qualifications” section of this announcement, of the top qualified candidates based on combined total score.  Resumes longer than two pages will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered further.  Responses to questions that are not fully supported by your resume may result in a rating adjustment. 

You will be assessed on the following job-related competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):  

Non-Supervisory: Oral Communication, Writing, Interpersonal Skills, Problem Solving, Teamwork, Technology Orientation, Customer Service, Attention to Detail and Self-Management. 

Set aside at least 2 hours to take the external assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. There are timed sections that must be completed within the allotted timeframe.

Your score from the external assessment (i.e., Non-supervisory) will remain on file for 180 days, allowing you to apply for multiple DOS-announced positions without needing to retake the assessments.

Top applicants may be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration. The assessment is used to measure the degree in which your background matches the competencies and KSAs required for this position. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies: 

• Ability to establish and maintain liaison with officials throughout the foreign affairs community.
• Ability to use quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques.
• Ability to apply knowledge of administrative laws, policies, regulations, and precedents applicable to the administration of key programs.
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing.
• Ability to clearly and accurately communicate technical information to all audiences.

Applicants found to be among the top qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview.  Qualified non-competitive candidates must be deemed best qualified based on the applicant assessment in order to be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview. 

In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. We do not make assumptions regarding your experience. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application may result in your removal from consideration. 

All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to our automated system by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date of this announcement.

1. Resume limited to 2 pages showing relevant work/volunteer experience, education and training. Include the start and end dates (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours per week worked/volunteered. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must support your answers to the completed online assessment questions. Resumes longer than 2 pages will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered further.

2. Other Qualification Documentation (e.g., transcripts, certificates, certifications, etc.), if applicable.

3. Performance appraisal, if applicable. Most recent (i.e., usually within the last 18 months) final (not a mid-year review) official (i.e., signed by the rating official and in original format) annual performance appraisal must be submitted by reinstatement eligible applicants applying to a position with a higher grade or more promotion potential than previously held and current or former Land Management employees.

All other current and former Federal employees are strongly encouraged to submit their performance appraisal for the hiring manager’s consideration. If not available, you may provide a statement from you and/or your supervisor with an explanation along with your servicing HR Office contact information.

You may be requested to provide an appraisal to the hiring official if one was not provided with your application.  To receive a promotion, the current Federal employee’s most recent performance rating must be “fully successful” or an equivalent level or higher. Employees who are tentatively selected to receive a promotion will be required to provide performance documentation within 2 business days of request. Servicing HR Offices may be contacted to verify performance ratings.

4. Most recent SF-50s (Notification of Personnel Actions), if you are a current or former Federal employee (including those applying under a non-competitive, special hiring authority, or ICTAP/CTAP eligibles). The SF-50s must show: effective date, position title, series, grade, salary, tenure, position occupied, full promotion potential, and name of agency. Multiple SF-50s may be needed to show all required information (e.g., promotion, within-grade increase, and separation SF-50s). Award SF-50s often do not show the required information. 

5. Veteran Documentation, if applicable.

• Veterans who are preference eligible OR who have been separated from the Armed Forces under honorable conditions (honorable or general discharge) after 3 or more years of continuous active service may apply under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA). You must submit a DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member Copy 4 preferred) showing the dates you served as well as your type of discharge and qualifying service campaign medals OR if you are still on active duty, you MUST submit a certification on letterhead from your military branch which contains your military service dates, expected date of discharge or release, and the character of service to show that your military service was performed under honorable conditions. The expected date of discharge or release must be no later than 120 days after the certification is submitted for consideration for this job announcement. Current Federal employees applying under the VEOA must submit a qualifying SF-50 to show time-in-grade requirements.
• If you are applying as a preference eligible with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more, you must submit the documentation required by the SF-15 (Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference) to support your claim (e.g., DD-214, official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs). For applicants claiming 10-point derived veterans’ preference (i.e., spouses, widows/widowers or mothers of veterans), a completed SF-15 must be submitted with the application with all required supporting documents listed on the form.
• For more veterans’ preference information, visit the USAJOBS Help Center.

6. Non-competitive or special hiring authority eligibility documentation, if applicable. (e.g., Schedule A individuals with disabilities, RPCV or AmeriCorp VISTA volunteer, Fulbright/Gilman/CLS alumni, etc.)

7. ICTAP/CTAP documentation, if applicable (e.g., reduction-in-force (RIF) separation notice, RIF separation SF-50 personnel action (ICTAP only, if available), most recent SF-50 (CTAP/ICTAP), certification of expected separation, etc.) In addition, submit a copy of your current or last performance rating of record which must be at least fully successful or equivalent and submit all required documents listed above that apply to you.

8. Current or Former Land Management Employee documentation, if applicable. Visit the Forest Service’s site for required documentation.

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