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Historian

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

Summary

This position is in the Policy Studies Division, Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute (FSI/OH/PS). The Division focuses on researching and evaluating the history of the U.S. Department of State’s role in executing U.S. foreign policy with special emphasis on the dynamics of bilateral relations between the United States and other nations.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
05/26/2022 to 06/09/2022
Salary
$74,950 to - $97,430 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
Washington, DC
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expect to travel for this position.
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
Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
DFAS/FSI-2022-0041
Control number
656516900

Duties

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  • Researches topics relating to the history of U.S. bilateral relations with other nations and the conduct of U.S. diplomacy in those nations and regions.
  • Provides professional historical analysis, perspective, and insight to policymakers and diplomats through complex written products, briefings, and other means of conveying historical information at all classification levels.
  • Collects, processes, enriches, and analyzes datasets of historical information to derive patterns, trends, and historical insights of interest to Posts, Bureaus, Department officials, and the public
  • Contributes to the Office's public engagement mission through presenting institutional historical research to public audiences in written publications, public talks, academic conference presentations, and other venues.
  • Participates in Office, Department, and USG-level cooperative working groups to address issues of common concern such as data collection and analysis, records management, diversity and inclusion, and notable historical commemorations.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
  • Obtain/maintain eligibility to access Sensitive Compartmented Information
  • 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 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. 

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 history;

OR

Have a bachelor's or graduate degree from an accredited college or university in a field related to history that included at least 18 semester hours in history;

OR

Have a combination of education and experience where your coursework was equivalent to a major in history, or a major in a related field, that included at least 18 semester hours in history, PLUS appropriate relevant experience OR additional education.

Note: All applicants 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.

Specialized Experience:

IN ADDITION to meeting one of the basic entry qualifications requirements listed above, the applicant MUST also meet one of the requirements listed below:

Have at least 1 year of specialized experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience must be related to the work of the position and equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

  • Experience planning and executing complex historical research projects involving both archival and non-archival sources.
  • Experience with advanced historical research methods, including evaluating the contextual significance of both digital and non-digital source materials.
  • Experience drafting complex narrative and analytical projects that synthesize historical information from multiple sources.
  • Experience collecting, maintaining, and/or deriving insights from historical datasets.

OR

Have 3 full years of progressively higher- level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work of the position to be filled.

OR

Have a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience which is equivalent to the work of the position and equivalent to the GS0-9 level in the Federal service. This education and experience must meet 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

Note: All applicants 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 agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. 
  • 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 to one of three quality categories:

  1. Qualified - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications, applicants must demonstrate a basic level of the required competencies (knowledge, skills and abilities) for the position.
  2. Well Qualified - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications, applicants must demonstrate proficiency in some but not all of the required competencies (knowledge, skills, and abilities) for the position.
  3. Highly Qualified - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications, applicants must fully demonstrate proficiency in all of the required competencies (knowledge, skills and abilities) for the position.

Highly Qualified applicants may be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview.  The category assignment is a measure of 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:

  • Knowledge of the history of US foreign relations.
  • Ability to conduct historical research.
  • Knowledge of US foreign relations archival collections, internet collections, computerized information banks and published materials.
  • Ability to write historical manuscripts based largely on primary source documents.
  • Knowledge of East Asia and Pacific regional politics, economics and society, and U.S. foreign policy toward the region.
  • Knowledge of program/project management techniques

Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the Highly Qualified category.  Other 10-point preference eligible and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligible applicants within the category in which they qualify.  View information on veterans' preference on OPM’s Fed Hire Vets website.

Agency and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP and ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never been a Federal employee, you are not CTAP or ICTAP eligible. View information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. You must be rated in the Well-Qualified category for this position and submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement to receive consideration for selection priority. 


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