Foreign Affairs Officer

U.S. Mission to the United Nations
  • Location
    New York, New York
  • Sector
    Government
  • Experience
    Early Career / Mid Career
  • Posted
    May 22

Position description

NOTE: This is an Excepted Service position and does not confer eligibility to be converted to the Competitive Service. 

This is a Term Appointment Not-to-Exceed 5 Years but may be extended. 

This announcement may be used to fill one or more vacancies. 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS ONLY OPEN TO U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE EMPLOYEES (GS OR GG).  

The position is located in the Global Development Unit, Economic and Social Section in the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (USUN/ECOSOC). ECOSOC represents the United States on the intergovernmental bodies which oversee the UN’s normative work on economic, social and human rights issues and the UN’s field operations in the areas of development, post-conflict peacebuilding, and humanitarian assistance. It also serves as the primary liaison with the UN’s Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs, the Department for Economic and Social Affairs, UNICEF, the UN Development Program (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Development Fund for Women (UN Women), and other UN bodies.  

Responsibilities 

  • Leads efforts to advance strategic U.S. policy priorities and oversight for more than $17 billion in revenue operationalized by the UN’s largest development agencies headquartered in New York. 
  • Advises senior USUN, departmental, and USG officials on UN international development assistance issues and develops policies and strategies that advance U.S. foreign policy and national security interests in this critical area. 
  • Serves as the USG lead on the overall strategic direction of U.S membership on the executive boards of the UN development system and related reforms and funding discussions. 
  • Analyzes reform and transparency proposals and initiatives from member states, UN organizations, and international organizations; assesses their likelihood of adoption by the UN and/or UN agencies, impact on reform efforts, probability and level of success, and impact on USG objectives; and advises Mission, departmental, and USG officials on their impact on UN management and oversight reforms and USG priorities. 

Travel Required: Occasional Travel 

Qualifications 

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements, including education, and any selective placement factors 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 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. All new employees to USUN (except Presidential and former USG employees who have served a trial period in the competitive service) are required to serve a one-year trial period. 

Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 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 negotiating across all UN organizations. 
  • Experience on advising USG and non-USG policy makers on foreign and national security policies.  
  • Experience in foreign affairs policies relating to the UN development. 

This position is an excepted service position covered by the United Nations Participation Act of 1945. Pursuant to the United Nations Participation Act, appointment to this position is made "without regard to the civil-service laws," which means that the selectee is not covered by many of the civil service laws that apply to civil service employees. 

EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROGRAM (E-Verify) – U.S. law requires organizations to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States - either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization. This agency utilizes E-Verify to compare information from the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) Knowledge records to confirm employment eligibility. If the employee’s information does not match DHS and/or SSA records, the employee is given an opportunity to resolve the problem. If eligibility cannot be verified, employment will be terminated. 

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED 

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume: 

  • Ability to negotiate across party lines. 
  • Knowledge of foreign affairs policies. 
  • Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. 
  • Ability to implement strategic planning.  
  • Ability to coordinate U.S. membership. 

Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work. Your resume should include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week. 

Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any supporting documentation by the closing date of this announcement. Your application package must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement. 

Conditions of Employment 

1.       Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance. 

2.      One-year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation 

3.      U.S. Citizenship is required. 

4.      Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing. 

5.      Verification of employment eligibility in the United States is required. 

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. 

Marketing:https://careers.state.gov/ 

Fair & Transparent 

The Federal hiring process is setup to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy 

The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor. 

Reasonable Accommodation Policy 

Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process should follow the instructions in the job opportunity announcement. For any part of the remaining hiring process, applicants should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. 

A reasonable accommodation is any change to a job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done that enables an individual with a disability to apply for a job, perform job duties or receive equal access to job benefits. 

Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodations when: 

  • An applicant with a disability needs an accommodation to have an equal opportunity to apply for a job. 
  • An employee with a disability needs an accommodation to perform the essential job duties or to gain access to the workplace. 
  • An employee with a disability needs an accommodation to receive equal access to benefits, such as details, training, and office-sponsored events. 

You can request a reasonable accommodation at any time during the application or hiring process or while on the job. Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis. 

Learn more about Accessibility & Accommodations (OAA) (sharepoint.com) 

Legal and regulatory guidance 

Application instructions

All required documents listed below by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. 

  1. Resume and Cover letter - your resume or any other written format you choose should contain the required information as specified in the “How You Will Be Evaluated” section. Insufficient information will result in an ineligible rating. 
  2. Current DOS employees (per 3 FAM 2313.4(a)(5)), including current employees applying under a non-competitive hiring authority, must submit a SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) that shows: effective date, position title, series, grade, salary, tenure, position occupied, full promotion potential, and name of agency to the following mailbox with your application: [email protected].   
  3. Current eligible DOS employees are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of their most recent (i.e., usually within the last 18 months) final (i.e., not a mid-year review) official (i.e., signed by the rating official and in original format) annual performance appraisal for the hiring manager’s consideration. If a performance appraisal is not available, you may provide a statement and/or a statement from your supervisor explaining the reason one is not available and your servicing HR Office contact information (name, email address, phone number).  Please send to the following mailbox with your application: [email protected]  

Note 1: You may be requested to provide an appraisal to the hiring official if one was not provided with your application. 

Note 2: To receive a promotion, the 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 two business days of request. Servicing HR Offices may be contacted to verify performance ratings. 

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

Additional information 

For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or [email protected].  

Please email your most recent SF-50 and Performance Evaluation to [email protected]v after submitting your materials on Idealist. 

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on Globaljobs.org