
International Program Specialist
Washington, DCFull-time$122–187K/yrPosted 2 days ago
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At a glance
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Job overview
The International Program Specialist at NASA Headquarters develops and negotiates international agreements, advises NASA officials on policy, regulatory, and legal aspects of international partnerships, and manages interactions with international partners. The role also analyzes space policy developments in assigned regions and provides briefing materials, policy guidance, and advice to support decisions about international cooperation and NASA missions.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Full job description
Summary
Serves as an International Program Specialist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. responsible for drafting and negotiating international agreements; advising mission directorate, field center, and other officials on the policy, regulatory and legal aspects of international partnerships; managing interactions with international partners; and providing expert analysis of space policy developments in assigned regions.
Duties
- Duties described below are at the highest grade advertised. Duties assigned at lower grade levels will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity; duties will be commensurate with the grade of selected employee.
- Develop, coordinate, and negotiate international agreements for collaboration on space and aeronautics activities.
- Develop and provide briefing materials and policy guidance to NASA mission directorate, field center, and other officials to obtain the maximum possible benefit from international cooperative activities.
- Convey information to NASA officials on the policies, regulations, and laws pertaining to international cooperation to enable NASA to achieve its mission and goals.
- Act as a liaison with international partner space and aeronautics agencies, other international organizations, and with U.S. government organizations. Obtain expertise and contacts to represent NASA positions on areas of mutual interest.
- Provide information and advice to the supervisor and other Office of International and Interagency Relations (OIIR) executives, to enable timely and effective decisions related to international partnerships on NASA missions.
Qualifications
Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work. To qualify for GS-13, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level: Support development of international agreements to facilitate cooperation between NASA and international space agencies; Support NASA leadership in engagements with international space agencies; Develop briefing materials related to NASA international cooperation. To qualify for GS-14, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level: Lead development of international agreements to facilitate cooperation between NASA and international space agencies; Lead support to NASA leadership in engagements with international space agencies; Lead development of briefing materials related to NASA international cooperation. Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job. Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Super-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of super intelligent (SI) or SI-assisted tools during the application process.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this position based on how well you meet the qualifications and eligibility requirements outlined in this vacancy announcement. Your resume and supporting documentation will be reviewed in conjunction with your responses to the assessment questionnaire. As part of the assessment, your responses will be scored and used to place you into one of two quality groups. These scores, along with your qualifications and supporting materials, will determine your referral status. Please ensure your application materials and responses accurately reflect your experience and competencies, as misrepresentation may result in removal from consideration. These competencies will be assessed using technical assessments. They may also be evaluated during a structured interview: International Program Development International Relations Policy Management Oral Communication Written Communication To preview the application questionnaire, click on the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13104502 NASA considers paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Under NASA's quality grouping process, applicants will be assessed on the position competencies and placed in one of two groups identified and defined below: Best Qualified Group - Applicants who demonstrate a superior level of all evaluation criteria. Qualified Group - Applicants who demonstrate the basic qualifications, with general knowledge, skills, and abilities. Candidates eligible for ICTAP/CTAP, reemployment priority or priority consideration will be referred before other candidates, as necessary. If no such candidates apply or are eligible to be referred, the following candidates will be sent to the hiring official for employment consideration: Best Qualified merit promotion candidates. Highly Qualified merit promotion candidates may also be referred, if additional candidates are needed. Qualified candidates eligible for consideration under Schedule A or VRA in accordance with veterans' preference rules, as applicable. Qualified candidates that are eligible for special hiring authorities or non-competitive hiring authorities. NASA will not ask you to disclose criminal history record information during the application process or before we make a conditional/tentative offer of employment. If you apply for this position and are selected, NASA will conduct a suitability/security background investigation after you accept a tentative job offer. If you feel you are asked to disclose your criminal history before you accept a tentative offer and wish to file a complaint within 30 days, please contact: [email protected]. Other Information
Additional selections may be made for similar positions across NASA within the local commuting area(s) of the location(s) identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) within NASA. CTAP/ICTAP will be cleared for any additional selection from this announcement. If you are applying for a GS-12 or higher level and are a current federal employee, you must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible for this position. To be eligible, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks in a position no more than 1 grade lower than the advertised position. (Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. If your eligibility for both merit promotion and/or time-in-grade cannot be determined, your application will be rated ineligible.) Note: Time-in-grade requirements also apply to applicants who have held a non-temporary, competitive service GS position in the past year. If you have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), you must: - Indicate your eligibility when applying for a position. The questionnaire asks you to identify your ICTAP/CTAP eligibility. - Be well qualified for this position to receive consideration. Candidates rated in the 'Best Qualified' category are considered well-qualified. Please see 'How You Will Be Evaluated' for more information. - Submit proof that you meet the requirements for CTAP/ICTAP as indicated in 'Required Documents' For additional information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, click here - https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/#ictap. Qualified NASA term employees who have term conversion eligibility (Term Appointments | NASA) under the NASA Flexibility Act of 2004 will be referred and considered equally with other NASA permanent employees under internal competitive placement procedures.
How this job compares
Set against the 404 open Policy jobs on Olive Jobs, counted October 31, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$122–187K/yr
- Washington, D.C. median$150–215K/yr38 salary ranges
- US median$144–197K/yr155 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $154K, is 17% below the Washington, D.C. median midpoint ($185K) — in the middle half of Policy salary ranges in Washington, D.C..
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 44 open Policy jobs in Washington, D.C. and 404 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in Washington, D.C.
- Avalere Health4 open
- Pew Charitable Trusts4 open
- American Bankers Association2 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 1 year of experience — less than three in four Policy postings that state a minimum ask for (median 7 years, across 168 postings).
- Education
- 286 of the 404 open Policy jobs (71%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on October 31, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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