Foreign Affairs Specialist

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• One year trial/probationary period may be required.
• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• Applicants must comply with the Exceptional Family Member Program requirements as outlined in the DoD Instruction 1315.19.
• Must be able to satisfy the requirements of the 26JUL12 DODI 1400.25 V1230, DoD Civilian Personnel Management System: Employment in Foreign Areas and Employee Return Rights.
• The incumbent requires a top secret/sensitive compartmented information (TS/SCI) security clearance.
• This is a testing designated position. Employee must pass screening for illegal drug use prior to appointment and subsequent periodic drug screening thereafter.
• Duties of this position entail alternative duty schedules (e.g., extended shifts exceeding 12 hours; nights, weekends, or holidays; being recalled for urgent situations; working overtime without notice in response to time-sensitive matters).
• Must obtain/maintain Country/Theater Clearance per the Foreign Clearance Guide, maintain no-fee passport and Visa, obtain pertinent vaccinations and immunizations and complete any pre-employment screening.
• This position requires the incumbent to possess, or obtain and maintain, a valid regular or official U.S. Passport.
  
  

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected.

• 30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans
• Current Army Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS) Employee
• Current Department of Army Civilian Employees Applying to OCONUS Positions
• Current Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army)
• Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce
• Excepted Service Overseas Family Member Appointment
• Family Member Preference (FMP) for Overseas Employment
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
• Military Spouse Preference (MSP) for Overseas Employment
• Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer
• People with Disabilities, Schedule A
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible
• Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998
  
  

In order to qualify, you must meet the education/experience requirements described below. 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. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application.

Basic Requirement For Foreign Affairs Specialist:

• Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) with a 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 B. 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 C. Experience: Four years of appropriate experience in one or more of the fields, as shown in A above, in work associated with international organizations, problems, or other aspects of foreign affairs. 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. 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 of a high level of difficulty and responsibility in one or more of these fields. This high level experience must have been in such specialized activities as (1) formulation of instructions and policy guidance for United States representatives in international organizations; (2) transport and communication involving knowledge of economic, political, and technical aspects of international aviation, shipping, inland transport, or radio, telephone, and telegraph, etc.; (3) cultural affairs involving formulation and operation of policy on large-scale international cultural exchange programs; (4) occupied area affairs involving problems of occupation of conquered or liberated countries, regions, or zones; or (5) other specialized international affairs such as analyzing public opinion and attitudes, evaluating specific conditions, trends, or forces in a foreign country, formulating policy on problems of petroleum resources or fisheries, etc., representing foreign interests, protecting American property or interests, arranging for conferences, or similar activities.

In Addition To Meeting The Basic Requirement Above, To Qualify For This Position You Must Also Meet The Qualification Requirements Listed Below:

AND Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes: 1) Preparing reports and other written analytical and technical material in areas such as foreign affairs or strategic national security concerns to support deliberations and decisions by management; and 2) Ensuring programs and policies in an Area of Responsibility (AOR) are aligned with strategic objectives. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-12).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:

• International Engagement Action Planning
• International Engagement Assessment & Analysis
• International Engagement Policy Development
• Resource and Program Management
  
  

Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-12).

Education

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.

Additional information

• Direct deposit of pay is required.
• U.S. citizens overseas under ordinarily resident status are not eligible for appointment under the Status of Forces Agreement.
• Locality pay does not apply in the overseas area.
• If an employee brings a child to an overseas location and that child is entitled to attend a DoD school on a space-required basis in accordance with DoDEA Regulation 1342.13, the DoDEA and the Military Department responsible for providing related services will ensure that the child, if eligible for special education, receives a free appropriate public education, including related services pursuant to DoDI 1342.12 and DoDM 1342.12.
• If an employee brings an infant or toddler (up to 3 years of age) to an overseas location, and that infant or toddler, but for the child's age, is entitled to attend the DoDEA on a space-required basis in accordance with DoDEA Regulation 1342.13, then the Military Department responsible for EIS will provide the infant or toddler with the required EIS in accordance with the eligibility criteria consistent with DoDI 1342.12 and DoDM 1342.12.
• Employees (and family members) who require medical or dental care in the overseas location will be responsible for obtaining and paying for such care. Access for civilian employees and their families to military medical and dental treatment facilities is on a space-available and reimbursable basis only.
• Pay retention may be offered to selected applicants for positions at overseas locations. Pay retention will not be offered as an incentive for employees moving between overseas positions.
• Selectees may receive certain foreign area benefits such as: Living Quarters Allowance (LQA) or government quarters, home leave, etc. Selectees will have their eligibility for foreign area benefits determined at the time of hire in accordance with Department of State Standardized Regulation (DSSR) and DoDI 1400.25 volume 1250.
• For positions in a foreign country, that country's laws or international agreements may have a direct impact on the ability of an employee's same sex domestic partner or spouse to accompany the employee and receive certain benefits.
• This is a(n) 60 - Foreign Affairs & Strategic Planning Career Field position.
• The initial length of this overseas tour is 36 months.
• Defense National Relocation Program will not be authorized.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable.
• Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations.
• Recruitment/ Advanced Rate In-Hire/Advanced Leave Accrual incentive may be authorized if determined to be in the organization's interest.
  
  

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