Foreign Affairs Officer

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.

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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.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.