Foreign Affairs Officer, GG-0130-14

Department of State

New York, NY

Summary

NOTE: This is an Excepted Service position and does not confer eligibility to be converted to the Competitive Service.

This is a Term Appointment Not-to-Exceed 5 Years but maybe extended.

This announcement may be used to fill one or more vacancies.

The position is located in the Management and Reform Section (MR), United States Mission to the United Nations (USUN). The MR Section is responsible for ensuring the representation of U.S. government (USG) interests and implementing U.S. policies in administrative, finance, budget, oversight and reform areas of the UN Secretariat based in New York. MR responsibilities include ensuring that UN assessed resources are aligned to U.S. priorities, developing and approving policies that enable the UN to function effectively, efficiently and accountably, and creating systemic change that equips the UN to better respond to existing and emerging challenges and risks.

The incumbent serves on a team responsible for conducting USUN outreach programs and activities to global and domestic audiences, including collecting, assembling, preparing, and disseminating information concerning the full range of outreach programs to inform the public about USUN programs and activities that support U.S. foreign policy goals.

Responsibilities

• Plans, strategizes, and leads bilateral and multilateral negotiations (within the United States Government (USG) and with United Nations (UN) member nations) to advance reform within the UN and legislatively through the General Assembly.
• Leads negotiations that take into consideration USG interests and concerns, but also international interests, and bridges the policy formulation in USG relations with UN member states.
• Serves as one of USUN’s lead analysts and experts on UN financial and related budgetary, management, and administrative policy issues.
• Analyzes administrative and operational budgetary reports, drafts authoritative assessments, and provides recommendations for use by USUN executive staff.
• Provides authoritative subject matter expertise and policy direction in response to ongoing, regular requests within USUN and Department of State (DOS) senior leadership.
• Leads/attends meetings and conferences where the incumbent may be called upon to explain and defend Mission, DOS, and USG positions and commitments.

Travel Required: Minimal Travel Required

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements, including education, and any selective placement factors 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 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. All new employees to USUN (except Presidential and former USG employees who have served a trial period in the competitive service) are required to serve a one-year trial period.

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. There’s no substitute for education at this grade level.

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 planning, strategizing, and leading bilateral and multilateral negotiations with international interests bridging policy formulation and coordination.
• Experience analyzing, leading, and executing resource management, financial and related budgetary, and administrative policy issues.
• Experience providing authoritative policy direction and subject matter expertise in response to ongoing, regular requests from senior leadership.

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.

Combination of Experience and Education: When an applicant has less than one year of specialized experience as described in the announcement, he or she may combine successfully completed graduate-level education with experience to meet the total qualification requirements. Generally, 18 graduate semester hours is equivalent to 1 full-time year of graduate study (your school and department determine what constitutes 1 full time year of graduate study). The percentage of specialized work experience and the percentage of graduate study must total at least 100%.

Note: All applicants WILL BE required to submit transcripts as verification of educational requirement. If you fail to provide requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you may lose consideration for this position.

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; religions; 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 32 to 40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Other Information

This position is an excepted service position covered by the United Nations Participation Act of 1945. Pursuant to the United Nations Participation Act, appointment to this position is made "without regard to the civil-service laws," which means that the selectee is not covered by many of the civil service laws that apply to civil service employees.

EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROGRAM (E-Verify) – U.S. law requires organizations to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States - either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization. This agency utilizes E-Verify to compare information from the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm employment eligibility. If the employee’s information does not match DHS and/or SSA records, the employee is given an opportunity to resolve the problem. If eligibility cannot be verified, employment will be terminated.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

• Knowledge of U.S. foreign policy, financial, and administrative rules and regulations.
• Ability leading bilateral and multilateral conflicting negotiations.
• Skills in oral communication to form effective relationships with high-ranking officials.
• Ability to interpret and advise on USG laws, regulations, and interagency policies.
• Skills analyzing and developing comprehensive briefing materials and position papers.
• Knowledge in resource management, budget formulation and execution guidance.

Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work.

Your resume should include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week.

Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any supporting documentation by the closing date of this announcement. Your application package must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement.

Conditions of Employment

1. Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
2. One-year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation
3. U.S. Citizenship is required.
4. Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
5. Verification of employment eligibility in the United States is required.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. Government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

Marketing: https://careers.state.gov/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=idealist

Fair & Transparent

The Federal hiring process is setup to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.

• • Home | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (eeoc.gov)
  • Worklife Division (sharepoint.com)

Reasonable Accommodation Policy

Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process should follow the instructions in the job opportunity announcement. For any part of the remaining hiring process, applicants should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

A reasonable accommodation is any change to a job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done that enables an individual with a disability to apply for a job, perform job duties or receive equal access to job benefits.

Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodations when:

• An applicant with a disability needs an accommodation to have an equal opportunity to apply for a job.
• An employee with a disability needs an accommodation to perform the essential job duties or to gain access to the workplace.
• An employee with a disability needs an accommodation to receive equal access to benefits, such as details, training, and office-sponsored events.

You can request a reasonable accommodation at any time during the application or hiring process or while on the job. Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Learn more about Accessibility & Accommodations (OAA) (sharepoint.com)

Legal and regulatory guidance

• Privacy Policy - United States Department of State
• Welcome to The Privacy Office (A/GIS/PRV) (sharepoint.com)
• False Signature on Contract: Everything You Need to Know (upcounsel.com)
• Selective Service | USAGov
• Probationary Period for New Federal Employees - FEDweek