Foreign Affairs Officer

Summary

This position is located in the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions, Office of Sanctions Policy and Implementation (EEB/TFS/SPI). Assists the Office Director in the coordination of international coalition building, formulation of sanctions policy, development of sanctions targets, and providing foreign policy guidance to the Departments of Treasury and Commerce on over eight thousand license requests a year.

Duties

• •Provides subject matter expert guidance to senior officials on the development, coordination, and management of economic sanction policies for Department officials and interagency contacts for countering activities that threaten U.S. interests.
• •Analyzes the economy of potential sanctions on target countries to identify economically critical sectors where targeted sanctions would most effectively exert pressure on the host government.
• •Directs sanctions policy implementation across office, directorate, and Bureau by leading interagency meetings, drafting memoranda for senior and seventh floor principals, and preparing and defending authoritative policy positions.
• •Develops comprehensive analytical products to inform potential sanctions activity and global diplomatic engagement, particularly as they relate to impact assessments on targets, foreign economies, and the interests of the U.S. and its allies.
• •Provides authoritative guidance to Department leadership and other U.S. Government (USG) agencies, foreign partners and allies, and private sector entities on sanctions analysis, including methodologies utilized to consider targets.

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. IN ADDITION to the basic requirements, this position requires one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 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 with USG agencies involved in the development and implementation of economic sanctions and preparing congressionally mandated reports. Experience providing recommendations, advice, and/or guidance, both in writing and orally, to senior officials on unique and/or highly visible U.S. foreign policy programs. Experience establishing liaison at all levels throughout the foreign affairs community to exchange and gather information. Experience implementing the full economic sanctions life cycle, including petitions for removal, general and specific licensing processes, and identifying potential targets for designation.

Education

See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements.