Foreign Affairs Officer

Summary The position is located in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Office of European Security and Political Affairs, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Section (EUR/RPM/OSCE). The Bureau’s mission is to protect and defend U.S. interests in Europe. EUR/RPM develops and coordinates U.S. security policy for Europe, relating to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the OSCE, and defense policy and conventional arms control arrangements within the OSCE region. Responsibilities Develops, coordinates, and negotiates issues and positions through the interagency process to achieve USG consensus on conventional arms control and OSCE military security issues and programs. Provides expert policy and technical advice to EUR and departmental policymakers and leaders on Euro-Atlantic conventional arms control and confidence-building agreements, e.g., the CFE Treaty, Vienna Document and Open Skies Treaty. Prepares talking points, briefings, and other materials as needed on arms control and Russia-related NATO and OSCE policy issues for EUR, departmental, and other USG officials. Represents the Department and USG in meetings with Allies and partners in Washington, NATO, OSCE, and in European capitals to advance and build support for U.S. views on European security issues. Leads USG interagency preparation for NATO and OSCE Summit and Foreign Ministerial meetings on issues related to OSCE military security dimension, conventional arms control, and as necessary on other issues. 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.) 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-12 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 developing U.S. policy on military, economic/environmental, and/or human security issues of importance to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Experience assessing and interpreting complex information related to transatlantic and European security, defense policy, and arms control issues of importance to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Education See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements. Additional Information For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or OAA@state.gov. If eligible, telework agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other similar positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department for up to 240 days. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.