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Foreign Affairs Officer

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

Summary

Located in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM), Security Negotiations and Agreements (SNA). SNA is the primary organization for interagency coordination of such agreements with U.S. embassies, regional and functional bureaus within the Department, and with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, and Combatant Commands.
If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
04/15/2022 to 05/04/2022
Salary
$106,823 to - $138,868 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
Washington, DC
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - Some domestic and overseas travel may be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
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-2022-0030
Control number
649026300

Duties

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  • Manages the negotiation and implementation process of binding and non-binding international security agreements, and various transit and access agreements that directly impact the safety and security of U.S. Department of Defense personnel overseas
  • Serves as the primary focal point in Security Negotiations and Agreements, to State Department officials, and officials of other USG agencies on U.S. treaty practices and international security agreements in assigned areas of responsibility.
  • Provides consultations and advises the principal U.S. negotiator in Security Negotiations and Agreements to ensure that all relevant statutory requirements are met and all relevant treaty and security agreement policies and procedures are followed.
  • Drafts diplomatic notes, routine agreements, and other formal correspondence to amend, extend, or bring into force treaties and security agreements.
  • Drafts material for inclusion in reports prepared for Congress and drafts or reviews instructions for Posts explaining and applying standard international security agreement procedures.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
  • Statement of Employment & Financial Interest required prior to appointment.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements 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-12 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 analyzing treaty and/or security cooperation agreement provisions, precedents, and the practices of other countries to provide guidance in solving problems.
  •  Experience assisting with negotiations and ensuring international agreement policies and procedures are followed.
  •  Experience establishing and maintaining liaison with officials throughout the foreign affairs community, domestic and abroad.

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.

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. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: www.naces.org/members.php.



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 OAA@state.gov.
  • If eligible, telework and remote work agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. Please note that any approved remote work arrangement is subject to the locality pay area of the alternative telework worksite.
  • Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.  If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other similar positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department for up to 240 days.  Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions. 

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the application process is complete, a review of your resume will be conducted and compared against your responses to the assessment questions to determine if you are qualified for this job.  Note:  Responses to questions that are not fully supported by the information in your resume may result in adjustments to your rating. 

Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements, as described in the “Qualifications” section of this announcement, will be assigned a score between 70 and 100.  The assessment is used to measure the degree in which your background matches the competencies (knowledge, skills, and abilities) required for this position. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies:

  1. Ability to provide advice, guidance, and consultation based on results of analyses
  2. Knowledge of the realm of foreign policy / international affairs
  3. Ability to establish and maintain liaison with officials throughout the foreign affairs community
  4. Ability to communicate orally
  5. Ability to communicate in writing
  6. Ability to communicate persuasively

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.

Agency Career and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP and 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.


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