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Foreign Affairs Officer

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

Summary

This position is located in the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs , Office of the Assistant Secretary (INL). INL is responsible for the development of policies and the management of programs to combat international narcotics production and trafficking , to combat international crime, and to strengthen law enforcement and other rule of law institutional capabilities outside the U.S.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
10/10/2023 to 10/23/2023
Salary
$94,199 to - $145,617 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Location
Washington, DC
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Periodic travel of varying duration to posts worldwide 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)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
HRSC/INL-2024-0007
Control number
753742400

Duties

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  • Works directly with senior Bureau officials and officers to develop strategies concerning international narcotics, trafficking, anti-crime, and rule of law issues.
  • Identifies and responds to emerging issues concerning various aspects of US foreign policy that affect the Bureau's myriad policies and programs.
  • Coordinates taskings from working groups or others, develops summaries/evaluations of options, and forges consensus on recommended actions among divergent viewpoints; negotiates and integrates contributions from various offices.
  • Drafts, clears, and issues procedures and other materials for use by Bureau staff and posts abroad in managing an effective program aligned with bureau strategic priorities in order to advance INL’s implementation of strategic planning processes.
  • At the GS-12 level, the incumbent performs essentially the same duties as outlined above; however, the scope and complexity of assignments are of less responsibility and independence and receives closer than normal supervision.

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.
  • 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.) 

Applying for the GS-12

IN ADDITION to the basic requirements, this position requires one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 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 with strategic planning processes as related to foreign assistance.
  • Experience asking analytical questions to identify and address priorities, challenges, and opportunities.

Applying for the GS-13

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 with strategic planning processes as related to foreign assistance.
  • Experience asking analytical questions to identify and address priorities, challenges, and opportunities.
  • Experience developing and supporting strategies and plans within and outside an agency.

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.

When an applicant has less than one year of specialized experience as described in the announcement, he or she may combine successfully completed graduate-level education with experience to meet the total qualification requirements. Generally, 18 graduate semester hours is equivalent to 1 full-time year of graduate study (your school and department determine what constitutes 1 full time year of graduate study). The percentage of specialized work experience (for example, 6 months equals 50%) and the percentage of graduate study (for example, 9 graduate hours for a GS-07 equals 50% where 18 graduate hours constitute a full time year) must total at least 100%.

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 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:

  •  Knowledge of Foreign policy / international affairs.
  •  Ability to communicate persuasively.
  •  Ability to analyze and evaluate information derived from a variety of sources.
  • Ability to establish and maintain liaison with officials throughout the foreign affairs community
  • Knowledge of monitoring and evaluating for foreign assistance programs / projects
  • Ability to provide advice, guidance, and consultation based on results of analyses.

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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