Foreign Affair 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 refer to the “Education Requirement” section for a list of the regional and functional bureaus and/or offices covered. Responsibilities Monitors political situations or issues of administrative management. Analyzes political, economic, and other reporting from a wide variety of sources. Serves as an initial point of contact for all incoming actions regarding the assignment from Departmental offices , U.S. embassies/posts, other U.S. government agencies, international organizations, foreign governments, non-governmental organization. Participates in meetings with agencies of foreign governments and multilateral organizations to contribute detailed technical analyses and assessments of complex issues and alternatives to decision makers. Advocates and defends policy interests in dealing with specific Foreign Assistance program proposals and other USG activities focused on or affecting countries assigned to the incumbent . Requirements Conditions of Employment 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.) Applicants must have the required experience or education as described below and meet any selective factors, when specified. In addition to, you must have the following below: If you are applying for the 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 evaluating the impact of regional or global developments related to U.S. foreign policy objectives and programs to determine significance of social, economic, political and/or military developments to foreign programs and/or policies. Experience assisting analyzing and evaluating program and/or policy information derived from a variety of sources in order to communicate analysis and evaluation. 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. If you are applying for the 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 monitoring developing political or economic issues (political affairs; arms control and international security, civilian security, democracy, and human rights; economic growth, energy, and environment; and public diplomacy and public affairs) for policy development. Experience clearing analytical products and modifying drafts for policy development. If you are applying for the 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 assessing political, social, economic conditions in an assigned region through analysis of reporting as well as on-site interviews and observation and determine the appropriate course of action to advise to leadership to achieve policy objectives. Experience interpreting the significance of events or developments to make recommendations on U.S. foreign policy. Experience drafting, clearing, and issuing policy and procedures implementation guidance for use by posts in assigned 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. 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: This vacancy is for the following Bureau's and Offices within the Under Secretary of State office of Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment: 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) Office of the Executive Director (E/EX) OCE- Office of the Chief Economist 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 View email address on click.appcast.io. 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 View email address on click.appcast.io. 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.