Foreign Affairs Officer

Position description

This position is in the Office of Foreign Missions (OFM) which is responsible for implementing the requirements of the Foreign Missions Act of 1982 (22 U.S.C. 4301-4316, as amended).

This serves as public notice for the use of OPM's Direct Hire Authority. Applicants who meet the qualification requirements will be forwarded to the selecting official for consideration. We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

Duties

• Reviews and adjudicates requests received from foreign missions and their members associated with the programs and services implemented by Office of Foreign Missions, Accreditation, Services, and Benefits Division (OFM/OPS/ASB).
• Responsible for considering reciprocity prior to the extension of such benefits to foreign missions and their members in the United States.
• Provides advice and guidance to OFM’s Regional Offices and other parts of the Department and federal, state and local governments, on a wide range of programmatic and policy issues.
• Ensures that foreign representatives and other clients are treated with respect and courtesy and that their requests are met in a timely manner and that problems are appropriately addressed
• Takes actions aimed at ensuring all foreign mission members comply with the requirements of the assigned program area (s). S/he performs records checks and utilizes other compliance enforcement tools to identify instances of non-compliance.
• At the 11 level, the incumbent performs essentially the same duties as outlined; however, the scope and complexity of assignments are of less responsibility and independence and receive closer supervision than at the GS 12 level.

Conditions of Employment

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

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 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.)

For the GS-11

IN ADDITION to meeting one of the basic entry qualifications requirements listed above, applicants applying for the GS-11 MUST also meet one of the requirements listed below: Have at least 1 year of specialized experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience must be related to the work of the position and equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

• Experience assisting with researching and applying the provisions and authorities of bilateral and multilateral treaties and/or agreements governing the operation of foreign missions in the United States.
• Experience assisting in gathering information in order to provide consultative advice to senior level officials on policy, program, and operational improvements to foreign mission programs.

OR Have 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work of the position to be filled. OR Have a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience which is equivalent to the work of the position and equivalent to the GS0-9 level in the Federal service. This education and experience must meet 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. 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.

For the GS-12

IN ADDITION to the basic requirements, this position requires one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 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 researching and applying the provisions and authorities of bilateral and multilateral treaties and/or agreements governing the operation of foreign missions in the United States.
• Experience providing consultative advice to senior level officials on policy, program, and operational improvements to foreign mission programs.

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.

Education

 

See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements, if applicable.

 

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].

·         If eligible, telework agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. 

·        Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.  If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to similar positions in any Bureau/Office listed on this announcement for approximately 240 days.  Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.

 

Read more

• Benefits

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

 

Under the provisions of the Direct-Hire Authority, veterans' preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply. For this announcement, all applicants will be assessed to determine if they meet the qualifications for this position, specifically the education, specialized experience, and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) necessary to perform the work of the position.  All applications that meet the required qualifications will be referred to the selecting official in the order in which the applications were received.

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. 

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following 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 analyze data and information
• Knowledge of the Foreign Missions Act (FMA)
• Ability to establish and maintain liaison with officials throughout the national security community
• Ability to analyze and evaluate information derived from a variety of sources
• Ability to provide advice, guidance, and consultation based on results of analyses
• Ability to use quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques

Agency and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP and ICTAP) candidates must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for selection priority. Candidates are considered well qualified if their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) exceed the minimum qualifications described in the announcement.

 

Application instructions

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