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Foreign Affairs Officer

Department of State
Department of State - Agency Wide

Summary

You can make a difference in the world with a career at the Department of State! We are hiring many experienced Civil Service Foreign Affairs Officers (FAO's) across the Bureaus within the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs (E) in various regional and functional Bureaus and/or offices.

Please follow to the "Education Requirement" section to see the various regional and functional Bureaus and/or offices that are covered. 

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted today · Apply by 06/08/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 8, 2026
Location
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—Maybe determined by agency
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$143,913 - $187,093 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Some occasional travel may be required
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Top Secret
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Announcement number
SharedCert-2026-0003
Control number
870501300

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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  • Formulates and implements U.S. foreign policies related to area of assignment.
  • Compiles, analyzes, and presents information to senior officials for use in foreign policy formulation.
  • Establishes and maintains liaison with policy level officials within the Department and with other agencies.
  • Coordinates strategic planning, policy coordination, diplomatic engagement, and strategic engagement with diverse constituencies both domestically and internationally, including private sector stakeholders

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • 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.)

IN ADDITION to the basic requirements, this position requires one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 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 formulating, implementing, and making recommendations to senior officials on complex foreign policy.  
  • Experience representing Office, Bureau, and/or Department in various forums to inform, explain, and promote foreign policy goals and objectives.
  • Experience preparing analytical reports, briefing materials, and decision memoranda for use in foreign policy program planning and implementation.

 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.

This vacancy is for the following Bureau's and Offices within the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs (E). 

Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs

Front Office (EEB/FO)

Office of Transportation (EEB/TRA)

Office of Transportation, Transportation Policy Division (EEB/TRA/OTP)

Office of Transportation, Aviation Negotiations Division (EEB/TRA/AN)

Office of Trade Policy & Negotiations (EEB/TPN)

Bilateral Trade Affairs Division (EEB/TPN/BTA)

Multilateral Trade Affairs Division (EEB/TPN/MTA)

Office of the DAS for Energy & Critical Minerals (EEB/ECM)

Office of Critical Minerals (EEB/ECM/CM)

Office of Energy Supply Chains (EEB/ECM/ESC

Office of Counter Threat Finance & Sanctions (EEB/TFS-SC)

Global Sanctions & Threat Finance Division  (EEB/TFS/GST)

Sanctions Policy & Implementation Division (EEB/TFS/SPI)

Office of International Finance & Development (EEB/IFD)

Macroeconomic Affairs Division (EEB/IFD/OMA)

Development Finance Division (EEB/IFD/ODF)

Investment Affairs Division (EEB/IFD/OIA)

Office of the US Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (EEB/PGI)

Office of Commercial & Business Affairs (EEB/CBA)

Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs

Front Office (OES/FO)

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment (OES/E)

Office of Conservation and Water (OES/E/ECW)

Office of Environmental Quality (OES/E/ENV)

Office of Space Affairs (OES/E/SA)

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans, Fisheries, and Polar Affairs (OES/O)

Office of Marine Conservation (OES/O/OMC)

Office of Oceans and Polar Affairs (OES/O/OPA)

Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy

Front Office (CDP/FO)

Office of Emerging &Critical Technology Policy (CDP/ECTP)

Office of Bilateral and Multilateral Affair (CDP/BMA)

Office of S&T Investment, Innovation & Cooperation (CDP/STIIC)

Under Secretary for Economic Affairs (E)`

Executive Office E/EX

Office of the Chief Economist (OCE)

Additional information

  • To request a reasonable accommodation for additional time on the timed sections of the assessment, please submit your request using the “Request a Reasonable Accommodation” button within the Assessment Application. 

    For all other reasonable accommodations at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations (OAA) at OAA@state.gov.    

    OAA is responsible for reviewing and adjudicating reasonable accommodation (RA) requests for the Assessment Battery being used for this announcement.  The following applies to all RA requests: 

    • RA requests cover additional time on timed sections only.   

    • Applicants submitting a RA request MUST attach supporting medical documentation signed by a licensed, treating medical provider. The documentation should describe the nature, severity, and expected duration of the condition, identify the relevant medical condition or diagnosis, and explain the basis for the requested extension.  RA requests that do not contain supporting medical documentation attachments at the time of initial request may be subject to further review.  

    • Note: the following documents do not, on their own, qualify for automatic approval of the RA request: Schedule A letters, VA benefits letters, or SSA letters. 

    • Applicants MUST submit their application before the vacancy closes, even if pending an accommodation decision.  

    • Applicants are encouraged to carefully follow instructions related to medical documentation provided in the vacancy announcement prior to beginning the RA process. 

    • Applicants will have 48 hours after their RA request is adjudicated to complete the assessment battery.  Scores generated after the allotted timeframe will not be admissible and the applicant will not be considered further for the vacancy.   

    • If a different type of RA is needed, please contact OAA directly 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 and may require a higher or lower security clearance.  Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions. 
  • Agency & Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP & ICTAP): View OPM’s  CTAP & ICTAP eligibility website for more information. You must be rated in the Well-Qualified category and submit supporting documents under the required documents section of this announcement to receive selection priority consideration. To be considered Well-Qualified applicants must: score an 85 or above, meet Minimum Qualifications, and demonstrate proficiency in some, but not all major aspects of the position. 

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.

The evaluation process consists of the ApplyGov Competency Based Assessments and a crediting plan for which applicants will be assigned a score between 70 and 100. A resume review will be conducted for minimum qualification requirements, as described in the “Qualifications” section of this announcement, of the top qualified candidates based on combined total score.  Resumes longer than two pages will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered further.  Responses to questions that are not fully supported by your resume may result in a rating adjustment. 

You will be assessed on the following job-related competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): 

Non-Supervisory: Oral Communication, Writing, Interpersonal Skills, Problem Solving, Teamwork, Technology Orientation, Customer Service, Attention to Detail and Self-Management. 

Your score from the external non-supervisory assessment  will remain on file for 180 days, allowing you to apply for multiple DOS-announced positions without needing to retake the assessments.

Top applicants may be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration. The assessment is used to measure the degree in which your background matches the competencies and KSAs required for this position. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies: 

  • Ability to provide advice, guidance, and consultation based on results of analyses
  • Ability to develop and recommend policy
  • Ability to make decisions based on information from a wide variety of sources
  • Skill in oral and written communication

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. 

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 may result in your removal from consideration. 


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Department of State - Agency Wide

Agency contact information

Shared Certificate Program
Phone
000-000-0000
Email
SharedCert@state.gov
Address
U.S. Department of State
1999 Dyess Ave
Charleston, South Carolina 29405
United States

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