Policy Advisor Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 25-DO-290-DH Department Treasury, Departmental Offices
Salary $82,764.00 to $153,354.00 Grade 11 to 13
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 12/20/2024 Close Date 6/30/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

This position serves as a Policy Advisor in the Office of Investment Security (OIS), within the Office of International Affairs, U.S. Department of the Treasury. OIS fulfills Treasury's responsibilities as chair of Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS" or the "Committee"), which is an interagency committee authorized to review certain transactions involving foreign investment in the United States to determine the effect of such transactions on the national security.

Duties

In this role, you will work on cutting-edge policy, legal, and operational issues at the nexus of national security, emerging technologies, and international economics and finance. Applicants to this announcement can be selected for one of Office of Investment Security's four offices: the Office of Review & Investigation, which reviews and investigates transactions to identify and mitigate national security risks; the Office of Compliance & Enforcement, which oversees and enforces compliance with mitigation agreements; the Office of Non-Notified Detection and Response, responsible for searching for and identifying non-notified transactions; and the Office of Policy & International Relations, which leads rulemaking activities, private and public sector stakeholder engagement, and coordination with U.S. allies and partners to promote investment screening and national security. The following are the duties of this position at the GS-13. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties, and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

  • Serve as an expert on a full range of complex policy issues related to investment security.
  • Lead and conduct in-depth reviews and provide recommendations on CFIUS's authority to review transactions, national security risks posed by transactions, and the options available to mitigate national security risk.
  • Coordinate with CFIUS member agencies, as needed, to facilitate consensus and ensure timely progression and effective monitoring and compliance of cases in coordination with Treasury staff, the interagency, and parties to transactions.
  • Brief and advise senior Treasury officials on the issues raised by transactions and pertinent information for decision making on high-profile or potentially controversial cases and issues.
  • Monitor compliance with national security agreements, review and respond to parties' submissions, conduct site visits, and perform testing of compliance and security controls.
  • Investigate statutory violations and breaches of a mitigation agreement, condition, or order and pursue enforcement actions for violations, where appropriate.
  • Perform all-source research and diligence on international transactions.
  • Engage with foreign governments, investors, interagency Committee members, and foreign and domestic stakeholders.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Key Requirements:

  • Must be U.S. Citizen or U.S. National.
  • A one-year probationary period may be required.
  • Must successfully complete a background investigation.
  • All new hires will be required to comply with federal ethics laws. A review of financial or other interests may be conducted to determine if they create any real or apparent conflict of interests with official Treasury duties.
  • Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
  • Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
  • If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
  • Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
  • Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
  • File a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of appointment and annually from then on.
  • Undergo an income tax verification
  • Please refer to the "Additional Information" section for additional Conditions of Employment.

Qualifications

This is an open continuous announcement with the following cut dates to review application packages:
  • 1/31/2025
  • 2/28/2025
  • 3/31/2025
  • 4/30/2025
  • 5/31/2025
  • 6/30/2025
You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

GS -13 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: For the GS-13, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience for this position requires experience meeting both A and B below:

A. Working independently with stakeholders or researching issues and developing work products involving business, economics, finance, international affairs, law, national security, public policy, or science and technology; OR
Conducting analyses of foreign direct investment to identify economic or national security risks; AND
B. Communicating results of research and analysis and making policy recommendations to senior decision makers.

GS -12 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: For the GS-12, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience for this position requires experience meeting both A and B below:

A. Working independently with stakeholders or researching issues involving business, economics, finance, international affairs, law, national security, public policy, or science and technology; OR
Experience with international financial and investment policy issues to identify economic or national security risks; AND
B. Experience communicating results of research and analysis to senior decision makers.

GS -11 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: For the GS-11, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience for this position requires experience meeting both A and B below:

A. Conducting research or engaging stakeholders on issues involving business, economics, finance, international affairs, law, national security, public policy, or science and technology; OR
Experience with a international financial policy issues; AND
B. Communicating results of research and analysis to supervisors.

OR EDUCATION: You may substitute education for general or specialized experience as follows: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related.

OR COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: You may qualify by a combination of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience. To combine education and experience, the total percentage of experience at the required grade level compared to the requirement, as well as the percentage of completed education compared to the requirement must equal at least 100 percent. Only graduate level education in excess of the first 36 semester hours (54 quarter hours) may be combined to be considered for qualifying education.

The experience may have been gained in either the public, private sector or volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your resumé.

Education

The education generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions.

Additional information

OTHER INFORMATION:

  • We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
  • This is a non-bargaining unit position.
  • A recruitment incentive may be offered.
  • Relocation expenses will not be paid.
  • We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules.
  • This position requires that the successful candidate undergo personnel vetting, which includes a background investigation and enrollment upon onboarding into "Continuous Vetting." Enrollment in Continuous Vetting will result in automated record checks being conducted throughout one's employment with Treasury. The successful candidate will also be enrolled into FBI's Rap Back service, which will allow Treasury to receive notification from the FBI of criminal matters (e.g., arrests, charges, convictions) involving enrolled individuals in near real-time. For more information about individual rights, Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights - FBI, FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI, and SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.gov).

Our comprehensive benefits are very generous. Our benefits package includes:

  • Challenging work, opportunities for advancement, competitive salaries, bonuses and incentive awards.
  • Eleven paid holidays, 13 days of sick leave, and 13 to 26 days of vacation time each year.
  • Access to insurance programs that may be continued after you retire.
  • A wide choice of health insurance plans, coverage for pre-existing conditions, and no waiting periods. We pay a substantial amount (up to 75%) of the health insurance premiums.
  • A retirement program which includes employer-matching contributions.
  • Learn more about Federal benefits programs at: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Pay_and_Benefits

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.

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.

This announcement is issued under the "direct-hire" authority. Consistent with 5 U.S.C. 3304(a)(3) and OPM regulations (5 CFR 337 Subpart B) on direct-hire: All candidates who meet all the qualifications and other eligibility requirements may be referred for consideration. Competitive examining rules providing for rating and ranking and veterans' preference do not apply.

Your application includes your resumé, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resumé includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resumé may result in a "not qualified" determination.

Rating: Your application will be evaluated in the following areas:

Referral: All candidates who meet all the qualifications and other eligibility requirements may be referred for consideration. Competitive examining rules providing for rating and ranking and veterans' preference do not apply.

If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)) you must have a score of 85 or better to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.

Required Documents

A complete application includes:

1. A resume: All applicants are required to submit a resumé, either by creating one in USAJOBS, or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.)

  • Please limit your resume to 5 pages. If more than 5 pages are submitted, your resume will still be accepted, however only the first 5 pages will be reviewed and considered for qualifications and eligibility determination in whether or not the minimum qualifications for the position have been met.
  • To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/date/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resumé.
  • It is suggested that you preview the entire announcement and online assessment questionnaire, to ensure that your resumé thoroughly describes how your skills and experience align to the criteria defined in the "Qualifications" section of this announcement and support your responses to the online assessment questionnaire.
  • For resumé writing guidance, please visit USAJOBS Resources Center.
2. Vacancy assessment question responses: All applicants are required to complete vacancy question responses by clicking the apply online button of this vacancy announcement.

3. Submission of any required documents identified below, if applicable: Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).
  • CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (CTAP) OR INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP) DOCUMENTATION: If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents you must submit in order to be eligible.
  • EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION:
    • You are not required to submit transcripts for this initial phase of the application process. Candidates will be referred for consideration based on their self-certification. If you are selected for a position which has a positive education requirement (as described in the vacancy announcement) and/or you are qualifying solely on your education, you will be required to submit official transcripts verifying your qualifications prior to a job offer being issued.
    • A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions.

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

DO has partnered with the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service to provide certain personnel services to its organization. Fiscal Service's responsibilities include advertising vacancies, accepting and handling applications, and extending job offers.

The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on the announcement's closing date.

Are you unsure how to write your federal resume? We are here to help. The Treasury Recruitment Service regularly offers Writing Your Federal Resume training sessions, and other career-related information sessions, to assist you in your career search journey. To register for a session, click here to go to our Career Information Sessions webpage.

The Bureau provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.

  • 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 resumé 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 (USAJOBS Login). A list of announcements in which you have applied is at the Welcome screen.
-Under "application status," click "Track this application" and you will be taken to the agency website where you can check your application status.

For more information regarding the job and applicant status, please refer to https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/

If you wish to make changes/updates to your application and the vacancy is still open, you can click on the job announcement and "Update Application" to be taken back to your application. No updates can be made once the announcement has closed.

Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

For additional information on how to apply, please visit the Partnership for Public Service's Go Government website.

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Treasury and its bureaus from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Treasury by email at, FairChanceAct@treasury.gov.

To learn more, please visit our page at: Treasury.gov/fairchanceact.

To preview the assessment questionnaire: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12652914

Agency contact information

Applicant Call Center
Address
International Affairs - Investment Security
Administrative Resource Center
Parkersburg, WV 26101
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once the online questionnaire is received, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. We will review your resumé and transcript(s) (if appropriate) to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided and may interview the best-qualified applicants. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct any required suitability and/or security background investigation.


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


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