Foreign Affairs Officer Direct Hire Authority

Summary

This position is located in the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA).

SPEHA leads U.S. diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad.

Duties

• Serves as the technical authority and subject matter expert on policy issues related to diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad.
• Researches and analyzes information on hostage-taking and wrongful detention; reviews emerging issues and challenges from a wide variety of sources to formulate and revise foreign affairs policy.
• Develops policies and provides analysis advice and assistance on a wide range of issues related to hostage-taking and wrongful detention.
• Drafts and coordinates hostage and wrongful detention threat briefings analyses and assessments for use within SPEHA and the Department.
• Represents SPEHA and the Department in consultations negotiations and bilateral multilateral and council-level meetings and briefings.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• 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.
• Obtain/maintain eligibility to access Sensitive Compartmented Information
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify including your rights and responsibilities visit: 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.

  Applicants must have the required experience or education as described below and meet any selective factors when specified.

  BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

  Have a bachelors 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 bachelors 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 developing and/or implementing national security and foreign affairs policies related to hostage or wrongful detention strategy.
  • Experience participating in negotiations or consultations involving foreign policy.
  • Experience preparing analytical reports briefing materials and decision memoranda for use in foreign policy 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: information

  • To request a reasonable accommodation foradditionaltime on thetimed sections of theassessment pleasesubmityour request using the Request a Reasonable Accommodation button within theAssessment Application.

    Forall otherreasonable accommodationsat the U.S. Department of State please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations(OAA)at .

    OAAis responsible forreviewing andadjudicatingreasonable accommodation(RA)requests for the Assessment Battery being usedfor this following applies to all RA requests:

    • RA requestscoveradditionaltime on timed sections only.

    • Applicantssubmittinga RA request MUST attach supporting medical documentation signed by a licensed treatingmedical provider. The documentation should describe the nature severity and expected duration of the conditionidentifythe relevant medical condition or diagnosis and explain the basis for the requested extension. RA requests that do notcontainsupporting medical documentation attachmentsatthetime ofinitialrequest may be subject to further review.

    • Note:the following documents do not on their own qualify for automatic approval oftheRA request:Schedule A letters VA benefits lettersorSSA letters.

    • Applicants MUSTsubmittheir application before the vacancy closes even if pending anaccommodationdecision.

    • 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 isadjudicatedto complete the assessment generated after the allottedtimeframewill 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 .

  • 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. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.
  • Under the provisions of the Direct-Hire Authority veterans preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply.
  • Agency & Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP & ICTAP): View OPMs CTAP & ICTAP eligibilitywebsite 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 be considered Well-Qualified applicants must: score an85 or above meet Minimum Qualifications and demonstrateproficiencyin some but notall 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.

Required Experience:

Unclear Seniority