International Relations Specialist job in Washington, D.C.

Position description

As an International Relations Specialist, you will maintain current understanding of international issues and labor standards relevant ILAB's overall mission.

This position is inside the bargaining unit.

This position is subject to a 5-day per pay period minimum on-site work requirement.

As an International Relations Specialist, you will support senior team members of the Monitoring and Enforcement of Trade Agreements (META) Division, while providing research and analyses of trade partner countries' laws and practices related to labor issues and assessing their compliance with the labor obligations of free trade agreements. Those duties include:

Formulating and writing analyses of countries' deficiencies or compliance with international labor standards and labor provisions of U.S. trade and economic agreements.
Support META's efforts to monitor existing labor provisions in current trade and investment agreements; to engage with trade partner countries to assess compliance with, and secure adherence to, those labor provisions; and to strengthen partner governments' and other stakeholders' commitments to advance workers' rights within supply chains.
Develops and prepares in-depth analyses of assigned issues, initiatives, or programs at multiple levels to provide inputs for reports and other research.
Develops and maintains an understanding of the labor provisions of trade, investment, and development finance agreements and programs and ILAB's role and responsibilities in administering those provisions.
Develops and maintains an understanding of the underlying policy and political interests that drive ILAB engagement and positions regarding these agreements and programs.
Monitors beneficiary countries' compliance with labor provisions of programs, investment agreements, and development finance programs.
Prepares analyses of beneficiary countries' compliance with labor provisions of these agreements and programs.
Analyzes and evaluates complaints or allegations that labor rights commitments have been violated under relevant trade or investment agreements and/or programs, including developing or executing plans to investigate these complaints.
Develops and evaluates analysis of office issues and initiatives through study and monitoring of relevant legislation, bills, and proposed legislation regarding existing policy and standards, pertinent ILO and other international organizations standards and decisions, overseas developments, reports, cables, and other relevant documents, books, and articles, as well as discussions with foreign and U.S. officials, academic experts, trade union leaders, human rights and other non-governmental representatives, and business representatives.
Coordinates policy positions and work products across ILAB offices, other DOL agencies, and outside stakeholders to advance ILAB missions regarding research, technical assistance, and policy engagement.
Research and report on the impact of international trade, economic policy, supply chains, development finance, labor markets, international development, or livelihoods policies on workers, U.S. Government (USG) policy priorities or DOL/ILAB policy interests.
Producing and executing effective strategies and/or action plans to address labor, trade or development issues at the country, regional or sectoral levels, including for inter-agency or multilateral policy processes.
Develops and prepares in-depth analysis of assigned issues at national, regional, and global levels to provide inputs for reports and other research projects as well as for the development of policies and programs.
Prepares remediation plans to bring countries into compliance with labor provisions of these agreements and programs.
Represents ILAB in international, interagency, and intra-agency working groups, committees, international meetings, conferences, etc. in the capacity of DOL or ILAB spokesperson to present and clarify DOL/U.S. policy related to the mission.
Provides training and technical guidance on methods, concepts, tools, usage, etc. to internal, external, and international audiences on mission-based activities.

Serves as a liaison for the agency while coordinating with other U. S. Federal and State government officials and with representatives of international agencies to develop strategies and work plans to implement.

Qualifications

Conditions of Employment

Must be a U.S. Citizen.
Must be at least 16 years old.
Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.
Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.
Subject to pre-employment and random drug tests.

Qualifications

You must meet the Basic Requirements listed in the Education Requirements section and the Specialized Experience to qualify for International Relations Specialist, as described below.

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. This position has a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify Specialized Experience/Education Substitution Statement(s):

Degree:
major or equivalent, or a combination of courses totaling 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 12 semester hours in one of the above disciplines and 12 semester hours in statistics/quantitative methods.

Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major, or a combination of related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours, in one or more of the social sciences, or in the humanities, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Experience: four 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.

In addition to the basic requirements of this position, applicants must also possess 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the Federal Service or private sector.

For GS-11: Applicant must have 52 weeks of experience equivalent to at least a GS-9 in the Federal Service or private sector.

1) Conducting research on worker rights; AND
2) monitoring of company or country's policies or practices for compliance with international labor standards.

3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (related to the position to be filled);

Combination of education and experience.

For GS-12: Applicant must have 52 weeks of experience equivalent to at least a GS-11 in the Federal Service or private sector.

1) Conducting research on worker rights; AND
2) analyzing company or country policies or practices for compliance with international labor standards; AND
3) formulating policy recommendations related to labor rights.

For GS-13: Applicant must have 52 weeks of experience equivalent to at least a GS-12 in the Federal Service or private sector.

1) Conducting research on worker rights; AND
2) analyzing company or country policies or practices for compliance with international labor standards; AND
3) formulating policy recommendations related to labor rights and equitable economic growth; AND
4) building and maintaining relationships with internal and external organizations

Education

Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.

If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

Application instructions

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