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Foreign Affairs Officer

Department of State
Department of State - Agency Wide

Summary

This position is located in the Office of Foreign Missions (OFM), which is responsible for implementing the requirements of the Foreign Missions Act of 1982.

Office of Foreign Missions - United States Department of State

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/13/2026 to 04/24/2026
Salary
$100,059 - $154,682 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Chicago, IL
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—Situational telework agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional domestic travel
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13 - Salary will be based on the grade level for which you are selected.
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Announcement number
M/OFM-MPI-2026-0005
Control number
864645900

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

U.S. Department of State career or career conditional status employees in the competitive service; employees who are on temporary or other non-status appointments who have reinstatement or non-competitive eligibility for a competitive service appointment (e.g., tenured Foreign Service employees, employees on an excepted service appointment at the USUN who have previous career status, etc.); and CTAP.

Duties

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  • Establishes contacts with key members of the foreign diplomatic communities to identify problems that have arisen between offices, businesses and members.
  • Leads domestic emergency management, coordination, and support to interagency committees, working groups, and task forces when designated in the assigned regions.
  • Coordinates with Headquarters to propose and/or implement policies to regulate the activities of foreign missions to protect the foreign policy and national interests of the United States
  • Liaises with the governmental and non-governmental communities to inform and to explain U.S. policies and goals related to the foreign mission community.
  • The incumbent of the GS-12 position performs essentially the same duties as the GS-13, under closer supervision and decreased level of complexity.

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.

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.

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 assisting as a liaison to establish key points of contact at foreign missions, federal, state, and local government agencies.
  •     Experience assisting with planning and/or coordinating foreign missions outreach activities.
  •     Experience assisting foreign missions and local emergency management agencies during disaster response efforts.

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.

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 establishing and maintaining key points of contact at foreign missions, federal, state, and local government agencies.
  • Experience planning, coordinating, and conducting foreign mission outreach activities that affect diplomatic communities.
  • Experience leading emergency management efforts between foreign missions and local emergency management agencies.

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: Members – NACES.

Additional information

  • For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at OAA@state.gov. 
  • If eligible, situational 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.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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 limited to two pages will be conducted and evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications for this position. The evaluation process consists of an online assessment and a subject matter expert review of your resume. Resumes longer than two pages will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered further. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies:

  • Ability to establish and maintain liaison with officials throughout the foreign affairs community.
  • Knowledge of U.S. laws, regulations, policies and/or procedures relating to foreign missions. 
  • Knowledge of the Foreign Missions Act (FMA)
  • Knowledge of federal emergency management coordination.
  • Ability to defend and negotiate positions.
  • Ability to provide advice, guidance, and consultation to officials.

In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. We do not make assumptions regarding your experience. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials may result in your removal from consideration.

Resume review: Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. Your resume should demonstrate how you meet all aspects of the specialized experience statement. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., links embedded in your resume will not be opened.). If meeting basic qualifications through education only or a combination of education and experience, applicants will not be referred to the SME panel but will be reviewed by the HR Specialist for referral. 

Agency Career and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP and ICTAP) candidates must be considered well-qualified for the position and submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement to receive consideration for selection priority. To be considered well-qualified, in addition to meeting minimum qualifications, candidates must demonstrate proficiency in some, but not all of the major aspects of the position.


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Department of State - Agency Wide

The U.S. Department of State, our country’s lead foreign policy agency, provides employees with a dynamic international career whether at home or abroad and unique professional development opportunities.  Each day, our employees make a difference as they advance the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity, through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance.  We embrace our talented workforce which reflects the personal, professional, and educational strengths of our country. 

Named one of America’s Best Employers by Forbes, we offer a workplace that values and rewards leadership, collaboration, innovation, and personal and professional development. Visit careers.state.gov to learn more about what it's like to work at the U.S. Department of State, what the agency does, the wide range of careers this agency offers, and the benefits available to employees.

Agency contact information

Aaron Ellis
Phone
000-000-0000
Fax
000-000-0000
Email
ellisaj1@state.gov
Address
U.S. Department of State
Not accepting applications by Mail
Charleston, South Carolina 29405
United States

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