Regional Affairs Specialist

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans (PLCY), International Affairs (OIA). The primary purpose of this position is to develop and implement international affairs policies, strategies, and engagement activities, with a focus on Canada or Mexican initiatives. Non-BU: This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Duties

As a Regional Affairs Specialist, GS-0301-11, your typical work assignments may include: Identifying, developing, and implementing homeland security policies related to Mexico and Canada, in coordination with internal departmental stakeholders and other Federal agencies. Preparing and reviewing reports, summaries, and analyses on homeland security, intelligence sharing, and international affairs related to Canada, Mexico, and North America. Organizing and supporting meetings for senior DHS officials with foreign government officials, U.S. cabinet officers, or members of Congress. Assisting with organizing domestic or international meetings, events, or trainings to support the implementation of homeland security policy with Mexico and Canada. All DHS-HQ announcements have a 5 business day open period due to the number of applications received. This announcement will be open for 5 business days OR until the first 100 applications have been received, whichever happens first. View common definitions of terms found in this announcement: Common Definitions. Qualifications

You qualify at the GS-11 grade level if you possess one of the following: You must possess one year of specialized experience, comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors). For this position, specialized experience is defined as: Interpreting a wide variety of information from different sources to provide recommendations to resolve problems. Assisting with providing advice on Mexican or Canadian issues and problems affecting policies and operations. Assisting with organizing and managing logistics for meetings with external stakeholders; and Assisting with researching, drafting, reviewing, and finalizing reports, memos, briefing materials, issue papers, and other official documents. OR A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related; OR A combination of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience as described above that, when combined, equal 100% of the total requirement. This will be calculated using your resume and unofficial transcripts or a list of courses/course hours submitted with your application. NOTE: Only graduate education in excess of the first two years may be used to qualify for the GS-11 level. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. All qualifications and eligibility requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. Experience refers to 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. Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Education

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications; applicant's resumes and supporting documentation should only reflect education received from schools accredited by such institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following Website: https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency (a U.S. private organization's interpretation that such education has been deemed at least equivalent to conventional U.S. education programs) with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For more information regarding evaluation of foreign education for federal employment, please visit the U.S. Department of Education webpage on the Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. How You Will Be Evaluated

We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, we will use a job questionnaire to place you in one of three categories based on your experience, education and training. The competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job are: If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories: Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF), and appropriate Quality Ranking Factors (QRF) as determined by the job analysis. Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPF's and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis. Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis. Structured Resume Review. Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume). Applicants passing the structured resume review will move on to the next phase of the assessment process. If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview. Preview the job questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13053875 If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have overstated your qualifications and/or experience, you may be removed from consideration or your score may be lowered. Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. (This position is not considered scientific/professional.). Other 10-point preference eligibles and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. View information on veterans' preference. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not ICTAP eligible. View information about ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered eligible under ICTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement. Interviews are required for this position. Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration. Other Information

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement. Pursuant to Executive Order 12564 and DHS policy, DHS is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and, therefore, conducts random and other drug testing of its employees in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. Headquarters personnel in safety- or security-sensitive positions are subject to random drug testing and all applicants tentatively selected for employment at DHS Headquarters are subject to drug testing resulting in a negative test result. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration of Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation for Secret clearance as a condition of placement in this Noncritical Sensitive position. This review may include financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.