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Foreign Affairs Officer-Direct Hire Authority

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

Summary

This position is located in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Office of European and Eurasian Affairs (DRL/EUR). 

This serves as public notice for the use of OPM's Direct Hire Authority. Applicants who meet the qualification requirements will be forwarded to the selecting official for consideration. We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
07/09/2024 to 07/15/2024
Salary
$82,764 to - $153,354 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 13
Location
Washington, DC
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Domestic and/or 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
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
HRSC/DRL-2024-0017
Control number
798841100

Duties

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  • At the GS-11, and GS-12 level, the incumbent performs essentially the same duties as outlined; however, the scope and complexity of assignments are of less responsibility and independence and receive closer supervision than at the GS 13 level.
  • Monitors political and other significant developments and trends in assigned areas of Europe and Eurasia to facilitate efforts to achieve U.S. foreign policy objectives.
  • In partnership with DRL’s Global Programs Office, coordinates, develops, and reviews democracy promotion and human rights strategies for assigned portfolio to craft viable projects and priorities.
  • In consultation with senior staff, advises on issues and problems with regard to democratic governance and respect for human rights, developing and proposing resolutions of policy and procedural issues.
  • Drafts position papers, briefings, talking points, and associated materials, while also clearing products with relevant counterparts.

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 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 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.

For the GS-11: IN ADDITION to meeting one of the basic entry qualifications requirements listed above, applicants applying for the GS-11 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 advancing democracy and human rights internationally
  • Experience working with international democracy and human rights organizations

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: 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.

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 advancing international democracy and human rights
  • Experience presenting foreign policy issues to officials inside or outside of an organization to persuade them to take a specific action

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.

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 advancing international democracy and human rights
  • Experience presenting foreign policy issues to officials inside or outside of an organization to persuade them to take a specific action
  • Experience analyzing trends and developing foreign policy recommendations related to countries in Europe and/or Eurasia

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.

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%.

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/or remote work 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 similar positions in any Bureau/Office listed on this announcement for approximately 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.

This position is being filled through the Department of State’s direct hire authority for Foreign Affairs positions. Under the provisions of the Direct-Hire Authority, veterans’ preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply. For this announcement, all applicants will be forwarded to the selecting official for further consideration, and you may be subject to assessments during the selection process (e.g., technical writing sample or other work sample, structured interview, etc.). If you are selected, we will review your resume and required documents to determine if you meet the qualifications for this position, specifically the education, specialized experience, and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) necessary to perform the work of the position.

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following KSAs and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

  • Knowledge of European/Eurasian related issues
  • Skill in Oral Communication
  • Knowledge of U.S. Foreign Policy 
  • Ability to Liaison

Agency and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP and ICTAP) candidates must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for selection priority. Candidates are considered well qualified if their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) exceed the minimum qualifications described in the announcement.


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