Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Foreign Affairs Officer-Direct Hire Authority

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

Summary

The position is located in the Office of China Coordination, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP/CHINA). You will provide foreign affairs policy advice regarding a range of issues impacting U.S-China relations.  

This serves as public notice for the use of an Agency-specific Direct Hire Authority. Applicants 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

Help
Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
12/23/2024 to 12/30/2024
Salary
$99,200 to - $128,956 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
Washington, DC
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—Situational
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Some travel may be required 25% of the time.
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
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes - Bargaining Unit:3524-CS Professional Org.
Announcement number
EUR-2025-0004
Control number
825523900

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

This public notice is to gather applications that may or may not result in a referral or selection.

Duties

Help
  • Functions as an action officer and point of contact for planning, coordinating and executing a host of high-profile events between the United States and the People's Republic of China (PRC).
  • Researches and analyzes effective approaches and strategies that promote positive U.S.-China relations and supports EAP leadership tasked with engaging with the PRC.
  • Confers with other analysts and points of contact to organize and execute high-profile bilateral engagement events and applies proficiency in Mandarin in liaising with PRC counterparts.
  • Participates in the development, implementation and analysis of policies associated with the PRC’s domestic situation and relationship with the United States.

Requirements

Help

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.)

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 researching and analyzing strategies that promote positive U.S.-China relations.

Experience providing foreign affairs policy advice regarding a range of issues impacting U.S-China relations.

Experience planning, organizing and executing high-level bilateral engagement events between the U.S. and the PRC.

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 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.

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 assessed to determine if they 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.  All applications that meet the required qualifications will be referred to the selecting official in the order in which the applications were received.

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 current U.S foreign policy objectives, programs, priorities and relationships regarding the PRC. 
  • Ability to apply proficiency in Mandarin in order to liaise with PRC counterparts.
  • Knowledge of US foreign and security policy in the Indo-Pacific region.
  • Ability to establish liaisons and maintain relationships with officials throughout the foreign affairs community.
  • Ability to communicate in writing.

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.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.