This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/635598600. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
The U.S. Department of State is developing a rank-ordered list of eligible hires for a limited number of Foreign Service Regional Public Engagement Specialists (RPES) positions based on the needs of the Department. To learn more about the Department of State and a career as a Foreign Service Specialist, please visit us at https://careers.state.gov.
Learn more about this agency02/09/2022 to 03/01/2022
$89,702 - $143,172 per year
FP 03
No
75% or less - Applicants to some Foreign Service positions will be notified of an in-person Oral Assessment requirement in Washington D.C. or select alternate sites within the United States. For those applicants, travel and other expenses incurred in connection with the OA are solely the responsibility of the applicant.
Yes—After completing orientation and initial training in Washington, DC, a Foreign Service Specialist usually is assigned to two overseas tours, each two years in length, directed by the Department. After the initial two tours, assignments will be for periods of one to three years overseas or in the United States.
Permanent - Permanent after tenure granted by a Foreign Service Specialist (FSS) Tenure Board.
Full-Time
Excepted
01
Yes
No
RPES-2022-0001
635598600
Must be a U.S. citizen. Potential applicants should read the entire announcement to ensure that they meet all requirements and understand a Foreign Service career. Applicants may not reapply for one year after the previous application for the same position. If a State Department Suitability Review Panel denied suitability in the last two years, you may not apply (except Diplomatic Security Special Agent (SA) candidates whose denial was based solely on the unique requirements for SAs).
Foreign Service Regional Public Engagement Specialists (RPES), under the leadership of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) Office of American Spaces, and Public Diplomacy sections at U.S. missions, provide professional expertise and program support to over 600 American Spaces at U.S. embassies and consulates, and partner institutions. ECA is the Department’s bureau that works to build friendly, peaceful relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries through academic, cultural, sports, and professional exchanges, as well as public-private partnerships. American Spaces are centers to promote engagement with audiences around the world on issues of importance to U.S. foreign policy, and on U.S. culture and values. RPES serve in 23 overseas locations (Accra, Almaty, Amman, Beijing, Belgrade, Bogota, Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Dakar, Hanoi, Islamabad, Jakarta, Kigali, Kyiv, Mexico City, Nairobi, New Delhi, Pretoria, Rangoon, Riga, Rome, and Vienna) and provide professional direction and guidance to American Spaces within their assigned portfolio of 2-12 countries.
Advisory and Consultation
Counsel Public Diplomacy section (PDS) leadership on American Spaces and advise on the viability of American Space host-partnerships.
Provide guidance to ensure American Spaces programs and funding reflect U.S. interests on social, political, and economic developments in the host countries and promote U.S. foreign policy goals, and propose programming strategies in support of U.S. objectives. Assist PDS and Spaces staff in developing strategic plans. Provide expertise on programs, outreach, and applied information technology.
Evaluate American Spaces’ performance and operations, including programming content, quality of services, outreach to local and target audiences, partnerships, and affiliations. Develop and maximize the utilization of American Spaces as key venues to engage foreign publics on U.S. foreign policy matters.
Conduct site visits to American Spaces to identify and carry out related needs assessments, including training needs. Provide actionable recommendations to PDS and Spaces staff to improve the performance and capabilities of American Spaces towards long-term sustainability.
Assist PDS and Spaces in the use of data-driven decision making and in incorporating data collection applications and customer relations management software.
Supervision and Training
Conduct or facilitate training for American Spaces staff on a wide variety of platforms and digital and analytic tools in order to augment skills critical to the performance of American Spaces.
Manage an American Space and supervise American Spaces staff, as required, assuming responsibilities for professional development and performance evaluation.
Project Liaison
Serve in a liaison role for major American Spaces projects such as relocation, construction and renovation projects involving multiple stakeholders at the Department and with external partners. Serve as the Contracting Officer’s Representative, Grants Officer or Grants Officer’s Representative, as required.
Foreign Service Regional Public Engagement Specialists are experienced professional leaders with expertise in project management, budgeting, and personnel oversight. They are expected to interact with the worldwide network of American Spaces, U.S. embassies and consulates, partner institutions, and the hundreds of U.S. government and partner staff who operate them.
A Regional Public Engagement Specialist must adhere to the highest standards of integrity, dependability, attention to detail, teamwork and cooperation while accepting the need to travel, to live overseas, and when necessary, to live away from family.
Specialized Experience demonstrates that the applicant has acquired, and is able to apply, a combination of specific knowledge, skills and abilities appropriate to a Foreign Service Regional Public Engagement Specialist position. Applicants must demonstrate that their job-related experience has been at progressively increasing levels of performance and responsibility through such indicators as promotions, raises, increases in duties and responsibilities, and organizational and employee impact. At the time of application, applicants must possess at least five years of Specialized Experience out of the past ten years.
Examples of Specialized Experience include:
In addition to meeting the requirements above, applicants should demonstrate a strong command of the English language to include grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Foreign Service Specialists must consistently meet a high standard for English, both written (overall structure as well as grammar, spelling, and punctuation) and spoken (overall structure as well as delivery, clarity, and succinctness).
Formal experience studying a foreign language or demonstrated ability using a foreign language is desirable, but not required.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
The education, work experience, and other qualifications evaluated for evidence of the following knowledge, skills, abilities and other requirements have been identified as important to successful job performance as a Regional Public Engagement Specialist based on extensive job analysis research. Not all of these attributes need to be met by a candidate; the attributes will be used as a set to evaluate candidates.
Knowledge of:
Skills in:
Ability to:
At the time of application, applicants MUST possess a Master’s degree from an accredited U.S. graduate program in Library and Information Science; Media, Culture and Communication; Media and Strategic Communication; or, a closely related field, and 5 years of Specialized Experience out of the last 10 years.
A Master’s degree in Library and Information Science is preferred.
You MUST submit a copy of your university transcript(s) with your application. If you do not submit this documentation to demonstrate your educational achievements, you will not be given credit and your candidacy will not continue.
Official or unofficial transcripts may be submitted with your application. Your transcript MUST include your name, the school’s name, degree and date awarded, and have no missing pages. A transcript missing any of these elements will not pass the minimum qualifications and the candidacy will not continue. Copies of diplomas may not be submitted in lieu of transcripts above high school level.
Education from a program or institution within the United States must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation.
Education completed in foreign high schools, 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.
Only accredited organizations recognized as specializing in the interpretation of foreign education credentials that are members of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE) are accepted. If documentation from an accredited organization is not provided, your candidacy will not continue.
NACES: www.naces.org/members.htm
AICE: https://aice-eval.org
For further information on the evaluation of foreign education, please refer to the Office of Personnel Management and the U.S. Department of Education. The U.S. Department of State neither endorses nor recommends any individual evaluation service.
OPM: www.opm.gov
U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov
*EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROGRAM (E-Verify) – Verification of employment eligibility in the United States is required.
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.
**The Department of State Suitability Review Panel and standards are defined in Chapter 3 of the Foreign Affairs Manual. For more information please visit: https://fam.state.gov.
***For more information about Veteran’s Preference and how it is applied in the selection process, please visit: http://careers.state.gov/faqs/faqs-wiki/are-veterans-given-hiring-preference.
No applicant will be considered who has previously been separated from the Foreign Service under sections §607, §608, §610 or §611 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended, or who resigned or retired in lieu of separation under these provisions. In addition, no applicant will be considered who has previously been separated for failure to receive a career appointment under section §306 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended, or who resigned or retired in lieu thereof.
A Foreign Service Specialist separated for failure to receive a career appointment under section 306 may not re-apply to be a Foreign Service Specialist in the same skill code but may apply for another skill code or to be a Foreign Service Generalist.
Executive Branch agencies are barred by 5 US Code 3303 as amended from accepting or considering prohibited political recommendations and are required to return any prohibited political recommendations to sender. In addition, as mandated by 5 US Code 3110, relatives of federal employees cannot be granted preference in competing for these employment opportunities.
It is the policy of the Federal Government to treat all of its employees with dignity and respect and to provide a workplace that is free from discrimination whether discrimination is based on race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity or pregnancy), national origin, disability, political affiliation, marital status, membership in an employee organization, age, sexual orientation, or other non-merit factors.
The Department of State provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodations for any part of the application or hiring process should so advise the Department at ReasonableAccommodations@state.gov, within one week of receiving their invitation to the oral assessment. Decisions for granting reasonable accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Candidates will be evaluated on their total background including experience, education, awards, training, and self-development as it relates to the position. Selection for this position will be made only from among candidates possessing the best qualifications. Part-time work experience will be prorated.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all required documents are uploaded and the application is complete before the closing deadline of this announcement. Any missing required documents or incomplete applications will result in your application not being considered further.
Accomplishments Questionnaire and Statement of Interest
These required questions provide an opportunity to describe examples and accomplishments from your education, life, and/or work experience that demonstrate your qualifications for becoming a Foreign Service Specialist. Examples can be drawn from any part of your professional or personal experience. Each response is limited to 300 words or fewer (maximum length 2,000 characters) for each item. You should compose your replies carefully, as one of the skills necessary to succeed as a Foreign Service Specialist is the ability to write clearly and concisely. Answers to all of the items in the Accomplishments Questionnaire and Statement of Interest are required and must be completed in the online application.
Accomplishments Questionnaire questions:
Required narrative Statement of Interest which discusses your:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Submit your application early, not waiting for the deadline, as application packages must be complete, submitted, and received by the closing date to be considered. There are no exceptions.
1. From this Vacancy Announcement, click on “Apply.” Go to the USAJobs Log In screen and log in to your USAJobs account or follow the link and instructions to create an account.
2. Follow the USAJobs Application Process and provide your required USAJobs federal online resume.
3. USAJobs will transfer you to the State Department agency online application site, Monster Government Service (MGS). Follow the instructions to answer the online questions. Your Accomplishments Questionnaire and Statement of Interest responses must be completed in the online application. You may save your work and can return to the application from USAJobs at any time prior to the deadline.
4. Submit required documentation using one of the three methods the application system allows: Transfer documents from a USAJOBS portfolio; upload documents from your computer; or, resubmit documents from a previous application.
5. After attaching all required supporting documentation, answering all required application questions, and completing the application steps, review the entire application packet, including the links for submitted documents.
6. Confirm and submit your application package, which will be used to evaluate your qualifications for this position.
The application submission deadline is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date of this announcement.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all required documents are submitted and the application is complete before the closing deadline. Any missing required documents or incomplete applications will result in your application not being considered further. There are no exceptions.
Submit your application early and verify that your documents are attached. You may make changes as often as needed, up until the closing date of the announcement.
If you are having technical difficulty with the application process, please contact the Monster Help Desk by calling 1-866-656-6830 or by emailing mgshelp@monster.com. The Monster Help Desk is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time.
For more information on Foreign Service Specialist hiring processes, please visit our FAQs at http://careers.state.gov/faqs. If you have any questions regarding Foreign Service careers, please visit our Careers.State.Gov site and post your question(s) on the appropriate Forum in the Connect section: http://careers.state.gov/connect/forums.
After the close of the announcement, the application status in USAJobs will say "Reviewing Applications." This status on USAJobs will not be updated further. You can click on "Track this application" for more information. Applicants will be notified by e-mail from the U.S. Department of State about the outcome of the initial application review and if they will be further considered for this Foreign Service position. We recommend adding the Department of State domain (@state.gov) as an approved sender.
Due to the high volume of applications, we ask all applicants to remain patient and await communication. It is not uncommon for several months to pass before you are informed of the results of your applications.
For more information, please visit http://careers.state.gov/work/foreign-service/specialist/selection-process.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/635598600. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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