Foreign Affairs Officer

Summary

The position is located in the Office of Central American and Panamanian Affairs (CEN), Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA), Department of State (DOS). The Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA) advances U.S. interests throughout the Western Hemisphere by promoting regional security , democratic governance, economic prosperity, and cooperation on shared transnational challenges.

Duties

• •Serves as Senior Nicaragua Desk Officer and provides analysis and recommendations concerning political, economic, security, migration, governance, and social developments affecting U.S. interests and foreign policy objectives in Central America.
• •Develops policy options, analytical assessments, briefing materials, decision memoranda, correspondence, talking points, and other products for use by Bureau and Department leadership.
• •Facilitates high-level communication and information sharing among Department offices, U.S. embassies, interagency partners, and other stakeholders on sensitive, complex issues to ensure coordinated implementation of approved policies and initiatives
• •Provides guidance and mentorship to develop junior officer (s) policy analysis, development, and implementation skills and representational prowess related to interagency and stakeholder engagement and foreign assistance review.

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 analyzing developments within the Western Hemisphere to recommend policy options to senior leadership. Experience representing the State Department in interagency or multilateral forums to coordinate approaches that advance U.S. foreign policy objectives. Experience mentoring junior staff on policy analysis or stakeholder engagement. Experience preparing briefing materials, talking points, or correspondence for senior officials. 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: www.naces.org/members.php.