Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

CBP ATTACHE

Department of Homeland Security
Customs and Border Protection
Office of International Affairs
This job announcement has closed

Summary

As our nation navigates the COVID-19 pandemic, CBP is committed to delivering our mission to safeguard America's borders and enable legitimate trade and travel. Staffing mission critical positions remains a high priority. Be reassured that CBP is still hiring, despite potential hiring process step delays due to restrictions to in-person activities.

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
01/27/2021 to 02/10/2021
Salary
$110,460 to - $143,598 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 15
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Beijing, China
Seoul, South Korea
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Temporary promotion - 2-5 Years
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
15
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
INA-IMP-11013807-CAC
Control number
590380300

Duties

Help

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of International Affairs, International Operations Directorate, Asia Division located in Beijing, China and Seoul, South Korea.

This position is located in the American Embassy of a specified foreign country and works in full cooperation with the Ambassador or COM in his/her AOR. The purpose of the Attaché is to represent the Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and its components, at country team meetings and with the host foreign government and overseas representatives of all other U.S. Federal departments. In addition, the Attaché is responsible for the overall planning, organization, administration, and coordination of all CBP activities throughout the foreign Area of Responsibility (AOR).

This position starts at a salary of $110,460.00 (GS-15, Step 1) to $143,598.00 (GS-15, Step 10) with promotion potential to $143,598 (GS-15 Step 10).

  • Serving as liaison between CBP and the designated authorities of foreign governments on matters arising under the administration of reciprocal treaties, and represent CBP in negotiations with foreign representatives in the settlement of controversies or specific cases involving manufacturer, exporter, and shipper concerns, and migration officials regarding U.S. border enforcement and repatriation concerns.
  • Exercises overall responsibility for the planning, directing, managing, and organizing all operations for CBP in the area of responsibility to include diplomatic and foreign policy engagement through effective partnerships with foreign officials and other government agencies'.
  • Maintains situational awareness on developments in the area of responsibility in terms of supplementary legislation, new forms, and other similar materials.
  • Assessing and reporting on administrative interpretations of foreign relevant laws and practices, and impact on border and trade enforcement as appropriate.
  • Develop and utilize specialized and sophisticated enforcement and investigative techniques and procedures to direct and manage activities impacting CBP's missions and operations.
Temporary Position: This assignment is being filled on a temporary basis not-to-exceed (NTE) two years with possible extension(s) for a maximum of five year(s) in the order of a two and one year increment. Upon conclusion of the NTE assignment, the incumbent will be returned to the home office of record to a former position or to a different position of equivalent grade and pay as the one from which the incumbent was previously assigned, and that the return is not subject to the procedures found in 5 C.F.R. §§ 351, 432, 752, and 771. While serving on a NTE assignment, management has the discretion at any time to return the incumbent to the home office of record to a former position or to a different position of equivalent grade and pay as the one from which the incumbent was previously assigned.

If you are at the full-performance level of the position announced, the action that will result is a permanent reassignment. You may be returned to his or her former/or a similar position, based on a mobility agreement.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
  • Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below)
  • You may be required to pass a background investigation
  • CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures

Qualifications

Competencies: The following required competencies must be addressed in your resume:

  • Leading Others: Inspires, motivates, and guides others toward goal accomplishment; ensures that staff members are appropriately selected, utilized, and appraised; develops others through coaching and mentoring; identifies and takes steps to prevent situations that could result in unpleasant confrontations; manages and resolves conflicts and disagreements in a positive and constructive manner; identifies training needs; provides constructive reinforcement; coaches others on how to perform tasks; acts as a source of information.
  • Team Building: Consistently develops and sustains cooperative working relationships in all aspects of the job; encourages and facilitates cooperation within the agency and between the agency and other organizations; fosters commitment, pride, trust, and group identity.
  • Performance and Results Management: Takes steps to achieve quality end products; is committed to continuous improvement; ensures that effective controls are in place; holds self and others accountable for meeting expectations; coordinates with other parts of the organization to accomplish goals; develops short and long-range plans that are realistic and appropriately comprehensive; includes contingency plans, as appropriate; monitors and evaluates plans; determines material and human resource requirements and ensures that needed resources are available; focuses on results and on measuring attainment of outcomes.
  • Decision Making and Problem Solving: Identifies and analyzes problems; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information to make logical judgments; provides solutions to individual and organizational problems; draws correct inferences from available information to make sound and well-informed decisions.
  • Creativity and Innovation: Develops insights into situations and applies innovative solutions to make organizational improvements; creates a synthesis of information from many sources; designs and implements new or cutting-edge programs and processes.
  • Technical Credibility: Has mastery of the technical knowledge required to perform the job and the jobs of those supervised; knows where to find key information that does not need to be memorized; understands near-term and long-range plans and determines how best to run the program to achieve organizational goals.
AND

Experience: You qualify for the GS-15 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
  • Gathering information between the United States and host country to intercept the prevent terrorist and terrorist weapons, smuggling and trafficking of aliens and contraband merchandise from entrance to the United States;
  • Conducting conferences with manufacturers and shippers in the host country to answer inquiries on the importation of merchandise into the United States;
  • Serving as a liaison between CBP and foreign governments on negotiations on treaties and controversies of law enforcement operations impacting the agency; and
  • Evaluating the effectiveness of enforcement methods, techniques and practices to improve or modify current office policies and area of responsibilities.
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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

You must:
  • Meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and
  • Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 02/10/2021.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For more information visit this link.

Secondary LEO Enhanced Retirement Requirement: This position meets the definition of secondary Law Enforcement Officer retirement coverage under the laws and regulations defined in 5 U.S.C. 8336 (6) Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and General Provisions for Law Enforcement Officers defined in 5 U.S.C. 8412(d), Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). The criterion is that knowledge, skill and ability in a position deemed to meet primary Law Enforcement Officer special retirement coverage is a mandatory prerequisite to satisfactorily perform the major duties and responsibilities of this job. The conditions for coverage of a secondary position are contained in 5 C.F.R. § 831.902 CSRS and 5 C.F.R. § 842.803 for FERS. To be eligible for this secondary law enforcement officer Retirement covered position you must have permanently served in a primary law enforcement officer Retirement System covered position, i.e. Border Patrol Agent, GS-1896, CBP Enforcement Officer, GS-1895, Air Interdiction Officer GS-1801, Air Interdiction Agent GS-1881, Marine Interdiction Agent GS-1801.

Note: if you currently serve in a permanent Secondary LEO Retirement covered position, you are exempt from this mandatory prerequisite.

Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency wavier by meeting one or more of the following conditions:
  • Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military
  • A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government
  • Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university
  • Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government
Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.

Additional information

Bargaining Unit: This position is not covered under the bargaining unit.

Mobility Agreement: Selectee(s) will be subject to a mobility agreement.

Retirement: This position is being filled on a not-to-exceed (NTE) temporary assignment, therefore in the event the incumbent becomes eligible for retirement and chooses to retire, the incumbent will be returned to their home office of record prior to filing for retirement. The incumbent will not be eligible to retire while serving on a NTE assignment in INA.

Supervisory Probationary Period: You may be required to serve an 18 month probationary period upon appointment.

Leadership Training: All newly appointed GS-15s are required to complete mandatory training. The training will be scheduled by the Office of Training and Development within the first 90 days of appointment. The duration of the training will include CBP LI five (5) weeks) of in residence training in Harpers Ferry, WV. Note: This training may be waived if previously completed.

Financial Disclosure is required.

Drug Testing: You must complete a drug test as a condition of employment for this position. Once employed, you will be subject to random and unannounced drug testing.

Firearms Requirement: You will be required to carry a firearm while on duty. Anyone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence cannot lawfully possess a firearm or ammunition (Title 18, U.S.C. Section 922 (g) (9)). You will be required to certify whether they have ever been convicted of such an offense.

Security Clearance: You will be required to obtain a Top Secret/SCI clearance for this position.

DHS uses E-Verify, an internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify including your rights and responsibilities.

Follow U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Twitter @CustomsBorder

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.

Applicants will only be considered for the Eligibilities for which they claim in the job questionnaire AND must provide the supporting documentation. Applicants will not be considered for Eligibilities for which they did not claim, regardless of the documentation submitted with the application. https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11013807

The competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job are:

  • Knowledge of the operations and scope of laws of foreign governments as they relate to cases and matters within the jurisdiction of CBP
  • Knowledge of relationships between the U.S. Federal agencies and the need to share information with them or with other governmental jurisdictions that have primary responsibility for particular kinds of issues and concerns
  • Ability to deal effectively with others, make positive decisions, and function effectively under stress
  • A comprehensive knowledge of the principles and techniques of investigations so as to be able to understand and provide material assistance to other federal and host-nation investigative efforts

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview. Preview the job questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11013807

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP eligible.View information about CTAP eligibilityon OPM's Career Transition Resources website. You must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this announcement. To be considered well qualified under CTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.