Supervisory Foreign Affairs Officer

Summary The position is located in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs , Office of Specialized and Technical Agencies (IO/STA). IO/STA is the primary State Department contact with IO missions in Geneva, Vienna, Montreal, Paris, Rome, London, and Nairobi and provides policy leadership and coordinates U.S. participation in more than 40 international organizations. This is a Schedule Policy/Career position in the excepted service (see Other Information section for additional information). Responsibilities Serves as one of two Deputy Directors for IO/STA with responsibility for planning, coordinating, and implementing USG policy toward the United Nations (UN) organizations in Geneva, Vienna, Montreal, Paris, Rome, London, and Nairobi. Articulates U.S. positions and decisions on UN agency budgeting policies, UN system issues, and political issues at meetings of these UN bodies. Determines which projects and activities should be initiated, suspended, curtailed, expanded, or emphasized and the staff and resources to devote to projects and activities undertaken. Develops and makes presentations at proceedings of UN specialized and technical agencies and other assigned, international organizations and rallies support for U.S. positions on matters under consideration Oversees preparation and coordination of authoritative assessments and reports on developments in UN specialized and technical agencies. 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. IN ADDITION to the basic requirements, this position requires one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-14 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, analyzing, and reporting on issues related to United Nations specialized and technical agencies Experience providing authoritative policy guidance to senior policymakers on UN and/or international organization policy issues Experience building and sustaining productive relationships across the foreign affairs community, including with foreign governments and international organizations Experience coordinating U.S. engagement on technical multilateral policy issues (e.g., transportation, intellectual property, environment, science) Experience supervising professional staff engaged in multilateral diplomacy In addition, applicant's experience must also demonstrate that the candidate possesses the following qualities: Ability to assign, review, and supervise the work of others; Objectivity and fairness in judging people on their ability, and situations on the facts and circumstances; Ability to adjust to change, work pressures, or difficult situations without undue stress; Willingness to consider new ideas or divergent points of view; and Capacity to "see the job through." 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. Additional Information As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be serving in a position in Schedule Policy/Career of the excepted service. You will obtain competitive status after two years of service in this position, if applicable. Your employment in this position will be at-will. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeals of adverse actions concerning performance, discipline, and other matters arising under chapters 23, 43, and 75 of title 5, United States Code, will not be available to an individual serving in this position. Allegations of prohibited personnel practices can be pursued through the relevant provisions of the Department's Civil Service administrative grievance procedures and not the Office of Special Counsel.