Lead Foreign Affairs Officer

Overview
Accepting applications

Open & closing dates
Opening and closing dates06/08/2021 to 06/14/2021
Service

Competitive

Pay scale & grade

GS 14

Salary
$122,530 to $159,286 per year
Appointment type

Permanent

Work schedule

Full-time
Duties SummaryThis position is located in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Office of Assistance Coordination (NEA/AC). NEA/AC is responsible for coordinating all foreign assistance across all accounts -approximately $7 billion each year - throughout the NEA region, and for the management and implementation of several foreign assistance-funded programmatic initiatives.ResponsibilitiesRepresents the Department in interagency meetings, provides guidance to Department policymakers, briefs members of Congress, and serves as an expert in MENA region policy and foreign assistance issues. Advises on and performs research and other professional work in support of the formulation and direction of U.S. foreign policy bearing on U.S. relations with foreign governments in the MENA region and international organizations. Evaluates information and initiates research to validate existing policy or programming or to recommend changes or new policy, programming, guidance, or resource allocation.Designs and manages foreign assistance-funded projects, and serves as a Grants Officer Representative (GOR).Leads a team of Foreign Affairs Officer in performing the policy analysis and programming work assigned to the team.Travel Required25% or less - Some travel may be required occasionally.
Supervisory status

No

Promotion Potential

14
Requirements Conditions of EmploymentIncumbent will be subject to random drug testing.Verification of employment eligibility in the United States is required.One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.U.S. Citizenship is required.Statement of Employment & Financial Interest required prior to appointment. QualificationsApplicants must meet all the required qualification requirements, including education, and any selective placement factors 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.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 providing policy analysis on a variety of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regional issues.Experience conducting assessments of technical information related to the MENA region such as political, cultural, educational, social and economic trends.Experience performing grants management duties such as monitoring on going awards, drafting project proposals and collecting information on problems and possible solutions related to foreign assistance program implementation.EducationSee the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements, if applicable.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. Click on the link for a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials.Additional informationFor reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or ReasonableAccommodations@state.gov.If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department.EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROGRAM (E-Verify) - U.S. law requires organizations to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States - either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization. This agency utilizes E-Verify to compare information from the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm employment eligibility. If the employee's information does not match DHS and/or SSA records, the employee is given an opportunity to resolve the problem. If eligibility cannot be verified, employment will be terminated. How You Will Be EvaluatedYou will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:- Knowledge of the Middle East and North Africa region- Knowledge of Foreign policy/international affairs.- Ability to manage staff.- Ability to perform management and program analyses -Ability to establish and maintain liaison with officials throughout the foreign affairs community.Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. 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). Your resume should include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week. For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.Qualified candidates are assigned a score between 70 and 100. Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) candidates must be rated "Well Qualified" for the position and earn a score of at least 85 (when applicants are rated in a range of 70 to 100) to receive consideration for selection priority. If, after reviewing your resume and self-assessment questionnaire responses and a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, a score will be manually determined that reflects your documented experience. This may result in a lower score, which may also eliminate you from consideration for this position.Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any required supporting documentation by the closing date of this job opportunity. Your application package must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. 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.To preview questions please click here.Background checks and security clearanceSecurity clearance
Top Secret
Drug test required
Yes
Position sensitivity and riskHigh Risk (HR)Trust determination processSuitability/Fitness, National securityThis job is open to
Individuals with disabilities

Federal employees - Competitive service

Current or former competitive service federal employees.

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.

Land & base management

Certain current or former term or temporary federal employees of a land or base management agency.

Military spouses

Family of overseas employees

Family members of a federal employee or uniformed service member who is, or was, working overseas.

Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista

Special authorities

Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed above, but defined in the federal hiring regulations.

Veterans
Clarification from the agency
Status Candidates, Noncompetitive, Former Federal Employees with Reinstatement Eligibility, Land & base management, VEOA, Individuals with Disabilities, Military Spouses, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Vista, Eligible Family Member, Special authorities, ICTAP, and CTAP