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Supervisory Foreign Affairs Officer

Department of State
Department of State - Agency Wide
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Position serves as the Regional Director of the Office of Western Hemisphere and European Affairs, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO/P/WHA-EUR) and provides leadership, direction and oversight of the WHA-EUR Team that is responsible for utilizing the Bureau's expertise to advance U.S. conflict prevention and stabilization priorities. Formulates and implements strategies, policies, and programs designed to anticipate, prevent and respond to conflict within the WHA-EUR region.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
01/22/2021 to 01/28/2021
Salary
$144,128 to - $172,500 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 15
Location
Washington, DC
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - Some domestic and international travel may be required, around two to three trips per year, including potential travel to the United National General Assembly High Level Week annually in September.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
15
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
HRSC/CSO-2021-0007
Control number
590021700

Duties

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  • Acts as the senior policy advisor and expert for the bureau in the WHA-EUR region providing oversight, leadership, and direction as well as working with other Department and interagency offices to set the strategic vision for the office.
  • Provides leadership and direction for the performance of conflict and stabilization analysis, strategic planning, program design, and monitoring and evaluation related to USG efforts to anticipate, prevent and respond to conflict.
  • Engages Congressional members and staff, foreign interlocutors, non-governmental and private sector organizations, and the media to advance U.S. policy objectives related to conflict and stabilization.
  • Carries out duties and responsibilities typical of a second level supervisor: oversee work; resolve disputes; equitable performance management, recruitment, grievance/complaint resolution, approve training, awards, and time and attendance.
  • Serves as senior subject matter expert and authority to high-level leadership regarding stabilization and conflict prevention goals/objectives, and strategy formulation for strategic prevention, conflict resolution and security sector stabilization.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
  • One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.
  • New supervisors must successfully complete a 1 year probationary period.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • This is a supervisory position.

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.) 

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.

IN ADDITION to the basic requirements, this position requires one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-14 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 providing subject matter expertise in analyzing the causes of conflict and response planning in support of U.S. goals to address strategic prevention, conflict resolution, and security sector stabilization.
  • Experience briefing complex analytical findings and lessons learned to high level decision makers as they develop strategy, policy, and programs on conflict prevention and stabilization.
  • Experience assessing the relevancy and implications of global political developments and events affecting the formulation, advancement, and execution of key elements of U.S. foreign policy.

In addition, applicant's experience must also demonstrate that the candidate possesses the following qualities:

  • Ability to assign, review, and supervise the work of others;
  • Objectivity and fairness in judging people on their ability, and situations on the facts and circumstances;
  • Ability to adjust to change, work pressures, or difficult situations without undue stress;
  • Willingness to consider new ideas or divergent points of view; and
  • Capacity to "see the job through."

Education

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

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click on the link for a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials.

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 ReasonableAccommodations@state.gov.

If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department.

How you will be evaluated

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

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

  • Knowledge of European regional politics, economics and society, and U.S. foreign policy.
  • Knowledge of Western Hemisphere regional politics, economics and society, and U.S. foreign policy.
  • Skill in performing conflict and stabilization analyses.
  • Ability to apply leadership traits/skills.
  • Ability to work with senior government officials.
  • Knowledge of conflict and stabilization foreign policy.

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 done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). 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. For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.

Qualified candidates are assigned a score between 70 and 100. Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) candidates must be rated "Well Qualified" for the position and earn a score of at least 85 (when applicants are rated in a range of 70 to 100) to receive consideration for selection priority. If, after reviewing your resume and self-assessment questionnaire responses and a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, a score will be manually determined that reflects your documented experience. This may result in a lower score, which may also eliminate you from consideration for this position.

Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any required supporting documentation by the closing date of this job opportunity. 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 for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. 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.


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