This position is located in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, Office of Global and Functional Affairs (H/RGF) where the incumbent serves as a Foreign Affairs Officer. He or/she acts as an official representative of the Department with the United States Congress to provide the Department with long-term continuity on legislative matters concerning the assigned portfolio and directs various aspects of the Department’s work with the Congress on issues for assigned portfolio.

Duties

S/He develops and manages strategies and approaches that enhances support for the Department and closely tracks legislation, policy, and management issues of interest on Capitol Hill, reporting in a timely and responsive manner. Serves as a senior adviser and expert to H senior Bureau leadership, provides expert advice on a range of complex, cross-cutting issues, and formulates recommendations on congressional matters for Department principals and the interagency. Coordinates the preparation of testimony, briefing materials, and written and/or oral communications to the Congress either by the Office of Legislative Affairs or, when more specialized expertise is required, by the appropriate Bureau. Prepares legislative options and strategies for assigned areas and serves as a chief H point of contact on economic, business, and environmental matters with implications for the Department, as well as arranging meetings, briefings, and hearings. The FAO deals with legislative matters regarding foreign affairs budget, authorization, and/or appropriation in the Senate and for arms transfers and security assistance. Compiles and analyzes congressional activities and international topics.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
• 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/

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-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:  Experience working with Congress, the interagency, and the National Security Council. Experience evaluating and interpreting complex legislation and foreign policies to develop recommendations to advance legislative agenda, goals and objectives. 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. In addition, applicant's experience must also demonstrate that the candidate possesses the following qualities: Ability to assign, review, and supervise the work of others; Objectivity and fairness in judging people on their ability, and situations on the facts and circumstances; Ability to adjust to change, work pressures, or difficult situations without undue stress; Willingness to consider new ideas or divergent points of view; and Capacity to "see the job through."

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.

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%.

Contacts

• Address U.S. Department of State 1999 Dyess Ave. Charleston Reg. Ctr., E119B Charleston, South Carolina 29405 United States
• Name: Britnee McCauley
• Phone: 771-204-4427
• Email: [email protected]