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Foreign Affairs Officer

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

Summary

Located in the Office of Global Programs and Initiatives, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/GPI). Serves in PM/GPI's Security Forces Capacity Building (SFCB) Division. The SFCB Division oversees the program planning, management, and execution of programs to increase partner nation security sector governance and institutional capacity, including the Global Security Contingency Fund (GSCF), the Global Defense Reform Program (GDRP), and the Security Force Professionalization Program (SFP).

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/22/2021 to 04/28/2021
Salary
$122,530 to - $159,286 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
Washington, DC
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel may be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Announcement number
HRSC/T/PM-2021-0021
Control number
599074500

Duties

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  • Guides the development and oversees the execution of security forces capacity building activities—including the provision of technical assistance, advisory support, and training—in support of global security forces capacity building efforts.
  • Supports the development of U.S. Government security forces capacity building policies and objectives. Analyzes the impact of security sector governance on, and implication for, U.S. policy goals and program objectives.
  • Identifies shortcomings in the capacity of foreign countries to support U.S. Government objectives and recommends measures to improve security sector governance, institutional capacity, and professionalization, as well as global fragility.
  • Represents the PM Bureau in various formal and ad hoc interagency forums established to identify institutional capacity-building requirements, and provide recommendations on USG policies, positions, and programs related to capacity building issues.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
  • Verification of employment eligibility in the United States is required.
  • One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
  • Statement of Employment & Financial Interest required prior to appointment.
  • U.S. Citizenship is required.

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.

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-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 developing, executing, and implementing institutional capacity building activities in support of improving security sector governance and global security force capacity building efforts. 
  • Experience preparing and managing contracted projects through internal acquisition methods and interagency agreements.
  • Experience managing financial processes to ensure the efficient and effective management, movement, and tracking of funds allocated for the various security forces capacity building activities globally.

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.

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) 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

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

Your application will be evaluated and rated under the Category Rating and Selection procedures. Based on your responses to the job-specific self-assessment questions, eligible candidates are placed for selection consideration into one of three pre-defined quality categories as described below:

Highly-qualified Category - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications for the position, candidates must fully demonstrate proficiency in all major aspects of the position.

Well Qualified Category - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications, candidates must demonstrate proficiency in some, but not all of the major aspects of the position.

Qualified Category - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications, applicants must demonstrate a basic level of knowledge, skill and ability of the position.

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:

  • Ability to interpret and apply knowledge of policy, legislation, and practices to assess program impact.
  • Ability to communicate persuasively.
  • Knowledge of conflict and stabilization foreign policy.
  • Ability to develop briefings for senior management.
  • Ability to communicate policies and/or procedures.

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.

Application of Veterans Preference: The Category Rating Method does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three," but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each pre-defined quality category. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent (i.e., CPS and CP) must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) candidates must be rated "Well Qualified" for the position to receive consideration for selection priority. Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any required 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 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.


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