Clarification from the agency

This is a Merit Promotion announcement for current and former career and career conditional Federal employees, Career Transition eligibles (CTAP & ICTAP) and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information.

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DOI PROGRAM Wide - This is a Merit Promotion announcement for career and career conditional Department of Interior employees within the Office of International Affairs (INT), Career Transition eligibles (CTAP), and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information.

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Strategic Planning: Contribute to development of short- and long-term objectives for international engagement to benefit operations of Interior and its technical bureaus.
• Foreign Technical Assistance: Prepare, evaluate, and improve proposals and programs delivering DOI expertise abroad. Select and coordinate DOI technical assistance teams, manage international project work plans, and manage international projects.
• Interagency Coordination:
  Serve as DOI's primary liaison to State, DOI bureaus, and other interagency partners on international issues and reporting.
  Review talking points, memos, and policy decisions from State Department, Department of Energy, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and other U.S. government counterparts to ensure DOI concurrence and/or compliance.
• International Engagements:
  Represent DOI in negotiations with foreign governments, NGOs, and international organizations to develop and implement programs.
  Manage and oversee international visitor programs and other meetings with international counterparts; prepare guidance and clearances to Interior employees and briefing materials for DOI senior leadership.
• Agreement Management: Oversee DOI engagement in existing international and interagency agreements. Draft, negotiate, review, and clear MOUs and other agreements with foreign governments and U.S. agencies.
• Engaging in professional Spanish-language communications with foreign counterparts, interpreters, and stakeholders to facilitate information exchange and support project activities.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Salary Range Information (Per Annum): $100,602 - $158,322. *First time hires to the federal government typically start at the beginning salary in the range for their respective grade level.

This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.

Conditions of employment

• Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
• You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary or 2-year trial period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary or trial period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will 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.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary or trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

*Additional Requirements located under qualifications*

Qualifications

Requirements Continued...

• Occasional travel required, possibly to remote areas. Ability to obtain and maintain an Official U.S. Passport.

Qualifications:

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement -08/21/2026- unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.

Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:

Selective Placement Factors: This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. If you do not provide evidence that you possess the following selective factor(s), you will be rated not qualified.

Applicants must be able to read, speak, and write in the Spanish language in order to qualify. The position will require these foreign language skills in certain instances, particularly when working in countries with a large Spanish-speaking population. The position will also occasionally require drafting briefing materials or otherwise representing the office's work in Spanish language. Work will include communication with counterparts from foreign governments or other organizations in Spanish-speaking countries. Familiarity with the cultural practices, language, and natural resource issues of the region will be critical for success.

-AND-

Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following:

Individual Occupational Requirements - International Relations Series 0131

Basic Requirements

A. 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. You must submit transcripts.

-OR-

B. Combination of education and experience: (course work as shown in "A" above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.) Courses equivalent to a major, or a combination of related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours, in one or more of the social sciences, or in the humanities, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must submit transcripts.

-OR-

C. 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.

Evaluation of Experience

Qualifying experience that provided an intimate knowledge of a foreign country or geographic area may have been gained through residence, study, teaching, business or commercial activities, military service, newspaper work, military or civil government activities, missionary or inter-national relief work, or other experience in foreign countries. It may also have been gained through teaching college-level courses in international relations or problems associated with a specific foreign geographic area.

To qualify for positions at grades GS-12 and above on the basis of experience, this experience must have included either (a) responsibility for the direction and coordination of research, analysis, or other professional work in one or more of the fields listed in A above, or (b) specialized professional work involving a high level of difficulty and responsibility in one or more of these fields.

-AND-

To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level:
Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:

1. Participating in collaboration with technical experts and government officials by collecting background information, preparing meeting materials, and assisting with routine follow-up actions under direction.
2. Providing support for regional technical cooperation activities by carrying out assigned program tasks, assisting with stakeholder outreach logistics, and helping compile monitoring or documentation materials as instructed by senior staff.
3. Maintaining project financial records by entering data, preparing standard supporting documentation, and assisting with routine expenditure tracking following established procedures.
4. Performing logistical and administrative duties such as scheduling, document preparation, records management, and coordinating routine project activities in accordance with Federal regulations and processes.

OR
Possess a Ph.D. or equivalent Doctoral degree.

To qualify for this position at the GS-13 grade level:
Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:

1. Supporting collaboration with technical experts and government officials on natural resource issues by contributing research, coordinating discussions, and assisting with follow-up actions.
2. Assisting in the management of regional technical cooperation activities related to renewable and non-renewable natural resources, including helping organize program tasks, supporting stakeholder engagement, and contributing to monitoring and documentation under the guidance of senior staff.
3. Contributing to project budget formulation and tracking by maintaining financial records, preparing supporting documentation, and assisting with reconciliation of expenditures.
4. Performing a variety of logistical and administrative support tasks within Federal regulations and systems, showing flexibility, attention to detail, and a solutions-oriented approach to ensuring smooth project coordination.

You must include hours per week worked in your resume.

Volunteer Experience: 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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed. You must include hours per week worked in your resume.

In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of the USA Hire Assessment, if required.

All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

DUE WEIGHT: Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, you must submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry.