Foreign Affairs Officer - Direct Hire Authority

Summary

The position is in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, Office of Nuclear Energy Safety and Security (INS/NESS).

NESS is responsible for policy development, negotiation, and implementation of issues related to peaceful nuclear cooperation, nuclear export controls, nuclear reactor safety, and the physical protection and security of nuclear materials, facilities, and radiological sources.

For more info about this office, visit: ISN/NESS

Duties

• Analyzes foreign policy issues related to peaceful nuclear cooperation and nuclear export controls.
• Liaises with policy-level and senior-level officials within the Bureau, Department, interagency, and foreign governments on nuclear export control policy.
• Represents the Bureau and the Department in coordinating foreign policy initiatives related to peaceful nuclear cooperation and nuclear export controls.
• Prepares various forms of written documentation (e.g briefing memos, position papers, background or issue papers) related to nuclear export controls, diplomatic notes, and cables.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• 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 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 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.

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 and implementing foreign policy related to peaceful nuclear cooperation and export controls.
• Experience coordinating and providing policy recommendations at interagency working groups.
• Experience drafting and editing position papers related peaceful nuclear cooperation and export controls.

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.

Additional information

· For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or [email protected].

· If eligible, 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 similar positions in any Bureau/Office listed on this announcement for approximately 240 days. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.

• Benefits
  
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How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

This position is being filled through the Department of State's direct hire authority for Foreign Affairs positions. Under the provisions of the Direct-Hire Authority, veterans' preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply. For this announcement, all applicants will be forwarded to the selecting official for further consideration, and you may be subject to assessments during the selection process (e.g., technical writing sample or other work sample, structured interview, etc.). If you are selected, we will review your resume and required documents to determine if you meet the qualifications for this position, specifically the education, specialized experience, and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) necessary to perform the work of the position.

Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following KSAs and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

• Knowledge of policy issues relating to areas of nuclear non-proliferation, peaceful nuclear cooperation, and export controls.
• Skill in policy analysis.
• Ability to establish liaison with officials throughout the foreign affairs community.
• Skill in developing resolutions to policy issues.
• Knowledge of current U.S. foreign policy objectives and programs.
• Skill in written communication.

Agency and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP and ICTAP) candidates must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for selection priority. Candidates are considered well qualified if their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) exceed the minimum qualifications described in the announcement.

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