The Bureau of Legislative Affairs serves as a liaison between the Department of State (DoS) and the Congress, and is responsible for advancing the President’s and the Department’s legislative agenda in the area of foreign policy and /or strategy.  Incumbent establishes broad professional working relationships with Congressional committees that have oversight responsibilities for foreign affairs and DoS operations.

Duties

Serves as a senior adviser and expert to senior bureau leadership, provides advice on a range of complex issues and formulates recommendations on Congressional matters for Department principals. Tracks legislation, policy and management issues of interest on Capitol Hill, reporting in a timely and responsive manner to the Bureau and Department principals. Coordinates the preparation of testimony, briefing materials and written and/or oral communications to Congress. Represents the Bureau at hearings and floor debates on matters affecting the Department and participates directly in the development of legislative initiatives and strategies.

Requirements

• 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 5CF 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;ORHave 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;ORHave 12 semester hours in one of the above disciplines and 12 semester hours in statistics / quantitative methods.ORHave 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.ORHave 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-14 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: 1) Experience evaluating and interpreting complex legislation and foreign policies to develop recommendations to advance legislative agenda, goals and objectives; 2) Experience coordinating and presenting testimony, briefing materials, and written and/or oral communications relating to the development of legislative initiatives to Congress. 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.

When an applicant has less than one year of specialized experience as described in the announcement, he or she may combine successfully completed graduate-level education with experience to meet the total qualification requirements. Generally, 18 graduate semester hours is equivalent to 1 full-time year of graduate study (your school and department determine what constitutes 1 full time year of graduate study). The percentage of specialized work experience (for example, 6 months equals 50%) and the percentage of graduate study (for example, 9 graduate hours for a GS-07 equals 50% where 18 graduate hours constitute a full time year) must total at least 100%.

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.

Contacts

• Address U.S. Department of State 1999 Dyess Ave. Charleston Reg. Ctr., E119B Charleston, South Carolina 29405 United States
• Name: Stephanie M. Caluda
• Phone: 000-000-0000
• Email: [email protected]