Located in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Office of Commercial and Business Affairs (EB/CBA).  The Foreign Affairs Officer works to advance high-level policy initiatives involving U.S. businesses, trade associations, the interagency, and other external, non-USG stakeholders.  The incumbent will work with these constituencies to ensure that their concerns and priorities are adequately considered in developing economic, commercial, and trade agendas/policies.

Duties

Monitors political, economic, social, military, and other significant developments and trends in order to gauge the effectiveness and facilitate, efforts to achieve U.S. foreign policy objectives as assigned. Provides insight into foreign affairs and recommendations on effective U.S. policy choices in in assigned regions and/or subject matter in question. Advises on issues and problems; develops and proposes resolutions of policy and procedural issues and coordinates implementation of policy decisions. At the GS-11 and GS-12 levels, the incumbent performs essentially the same duties as outlined above; however, the scope and complexity of assignments are of less responsibility and independence and receives closer than normal supervision.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/
• 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.) 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. GS-11 IN ADDITION to meeting one of the basic entry qualifications requirements listed above, applicants applying for the GS-11 MUST also meet one of the requirements listed below: Have at least 1 year of specialized experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience must be related to the work of the position and equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following: Experience assisting with coordinating outreach on trade and economic issues to business and trade associations, and/or the private sector. Experience assisting with advancing trade and economic policies.  Experience supporting achievement of U.S. trade and foreign policy goals. OR Have 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work of the position to be filled. OR Have a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience which is equivalent to the work of the position and equivalent to the GS0-9 level in the Federal service. This education and experience must meet 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. 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. GS-12 IN ADDITION to the basic requirements, this position requires one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 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 coordinating policies and strategies concerning developments in U.S. trade relations. Experience analyzing and/or responding to incoming actions on bilateral trade issues. Experience making recommendations on policies in interagency working groups and meetings that will further develop trade with the U.S. and within the region. 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. GS-13 IN ADDITION to the basic requirements, this position requires one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 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 developing policies and strategies concerning developments in U.S. trade relations. Experience analyzing and/or responding to incoming actions on bilateral trade issues. Experience making recommendations on policies in interagency working groups and meetings that will further develop trade with the U.S. and within the region 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.) Charleston, South Carolina 29405 United States
• Name: Noelle Chandler
• Phone: 000-000-0000
• Email: [email protected]