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Foreign Affairs Specialist (State Department Liaison)

Department of Defense
Office of the Secretary of Defense
Office of the Under Secretary of War, Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSW(A&S))

Summary

Serve as the Department of State Liaison for TEAM SUBMARINE. The incumbent acts as the principal Department of War (DoW) representative and subject matter expert on defense matters to assigned bureaus and offices within the Department of State. The purpose of this position is responsible for cultivating a network of productive relationships, representing DoW equities in interagency forums, and facilitating communication and deconfliction between the Departments to advance U.S. national security.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 07/31/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 31, 2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—Situational and at the discretion of the supervisor of record
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$143,913 - $197,200 per year
Pay scale & grade
NH 4
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Secret
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
DHA-ST-13000900-26-NMP
Control number
877358600

Duties

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This is a Direct Hire Public Notice open only to current federal employees, under this recruitment, applications will be accepted for each location and/or installation identified in this Public Notice and selections are made for vacancies as they occur. There may or may not be actual/projected vacancies at the time you submit your application.

This Public Notice is to gather applications which may or may not result in a referral or selection.

This position is being filled using Direct Hire Authority (DHA) authorized under the Department of War Civilian Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project (AcqDemo) for position in the Business and Technical Management Professional Career Path (NH).

Please read this Public Notice in its entirety prior to submitting your application for consideration.


Incumbent typical work assignments may include the following:

  • Represents the DoW in interagency meetings, policy committees, and task forces, clearly articulating and advocating for the Department's positions, equities, and authorities.
  • Provides authoritative advice and guidance to State Department counterparts on DoW organization, operations, policies, and capabilities.
  • Works closely with the Australia, United Kingdom, United States (AUKUS) Integration and Acquisition (I&A) and SUB-International program offices within Team Submarine on partner nation relations.
  • Prepares and delivers concise briefings, information papers, and strategic assessments for senior DoW leaders on key diplomatic and political-military issues.
  • Facilitates the clearance and coordination of DoW reports, public statements, and strategic communications that have significant foreign policy implications, and supports senior-level engagements between DoW and State Department leadership.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration)
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
  • Must be determined suitable for federal employment
  • Required to participate in the direct deposit program
  • This position is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing
  • This position requires a Non-Critical Sensitive (Secret) clearance.
  • Travel may be required <10%.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position, you must meet the requirements described below.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: Applicants must meet the Basic Requirements for the Foreign Affairs (0130) series which includes:

  1. Degree: major or equivalent, or a combination of courses totaling 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 12 semester hours in one of the above disciplines and 12 semester hours in statistics/quantitative methods.
OR
  1. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major, or a combination of related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
OR
  1. Experience: four 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.

In addition to the Basic Requirement, the following specialized experience must also be met:

You may qualify at the NH-04 (GS-14/15) level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to the NH-04 (GS-13) grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrates your ability to Represent in interagency meetings, policy committees, and task forces to advocate for department equities, while providing authoritative guidance to counterparts on military organization, policies, and capabilities. Analyzing foreign policy developments and diplomatic initiatives to assess their impact and leading the coordination and deconfliction of activities to ensure defense and diplomatic efforts are aligned. Coordinating with program offices to manage and facilitate partner nation relations and information sharing. Preparing concise strategic assessments, briefings, and information papers while facilitating the clearance of high-level reports and public statements with significant foreign policy implications.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

All qualifications and education requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume.

Your resume may not exceed two (2) pages
. For qualifications determinations, it is recommended that applicants include their months and hours worked per week for each employment listed on their resume. If a determination is not able to be made about the duration of your creditable experience for qualification requirements, you will be removed from consideration.

Read more about what should I include in my federal resume at https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include

ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS: Federal agencies treat active duty service member as veterans, disabled veterans, and preference eligible, when they submit, as part of their application package, a "certification" of active service in lieu of a DD-214, indicating the service member is otherwise eligible and will be discharged or released within 120 days from the date of submission.. A "certification" letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the character of service. This "certification" must include your rank, dates of active duty service, type of discharge and character of service (i.e. honorable), and date any terminal leave will begin. It must be signed by, or by direction of, the adjutant, personnel officer, or commander of your unit or higher headquarters. Active duty members that fail to provide a valid "certification" of service with their initial application will be found "not eligible". Members may be appointed before the effective date of their military retirement/separation if they are on terminal leave.

Current or Former Political Appointees: Agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level. If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Human Resources Office.

Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume.

Education

ARE YOU QUALIFYING BASED ON EDUCATION or A COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE?
You must provide sufficient documentation of your education in your resume. You MUST provide a copy of official or unofficial transcripts or degrees in your application package. It may also be acceptable to document your applicable course listing in your resume (course number, credits earned, etc.). Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency. If selected, an official/sealed transcript will be required prior to appointment.

PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

Probationary Periods: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

  • your performance and conduct;
  • the needs and interests of the agency;
  • whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
  • whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing an online application, you may request an alternative application. Please send an email to the following address for information on how to obtain an alternative application: whs.job.application.assistance@mail.mil

Reemployed Annuitants: Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants (DODI 1400.25, volume 300). http://www.esd.whs.mil/DD/DoD-Issuances/140025/

Nepotism: Under the provisions of 5 USC 3110, an individual may not be appointed into a position if the position is under the supervisory chain of command of a relative.

Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.

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.

You will be evaluated for this job based on whether you meet the basic minimum qualifications and eligibility requirements outlined above.

We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate your relevant work experience as it relates to the fundamental competencies required for this AcqDemo NH-0130-IV position.

Direct Hire Authority (DHA) Procedures Apply:
Traditional rating and ranking of applications do not apply to this vacancy. Because this position is being filled under a Direct Hire Authority (DHA), Veterans' Preference and traditional category rating procedures are not applied.

All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications and submit a complete application package will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Hiring managers may use objective methods, such as interviews and reference checks, to further evaluate the candidates' relevant experience and performance appraisals prior to selection.



Office of the Secretary of Defense

The Office of the Secretary of War (OSW) is the principal staff element of the Secretary of War in the exercise of policy development, planning, resource management, fiscal, and program evaluation responsibilities. OSW includes the immediate offices of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of War, the Under Secretaries of War, the Assistant Secretaries of War, General Counsel, Director of Cost Assessment & Program Evaluation, Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, the Chief Information Officer of the DoW, the Director of Administration and Management, and such other staff offices as the Secretary establishes to assist in carrying out assigned responsibilities.

Agency contact information

Washington HQ Services
Email
whs.job.application.assistance@mail.mil
Address
Office of the USD for Acquisition and Sustainment
Human Resources Directorate
4800 Mark Center Drive
Alexandria, VA 22350
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Office of the Secretary of Defense, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

http://www.defense.gov/About-DoD/Office-of-the-Secretary-of-Defense

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