Foreign Affairs Officer

The Bureau of Emerging Threats (ET) leads the Department in both anticipating and responding to national security challenges from adversary use of new technologies. The position is located in the Office of Cybersecurity (ET/C) which leads the Department’s effort to protect the United States against national security threats in cyberspace.

For more information about ET, visit: ET

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. If you are applying for the GS-13: 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 drafting policy products, such as briefing memoranda, talking points, cables, or policy papers, for senior officials on foreign policy, national security, cyber, or technology issues.; Experience giving senior officials policy recommendations on foreign policy, national security, cyber, or technology issues.

; AND Experience representing an organization in interagency, intergovernmental, or multilateral meetings on foreign policy, national security, cyber, or technology issues. If you are applying for the GS-12: IN ADDITION to the basic requirements, this position requires one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 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 researching foreign policy, national security, cyber, or technology issues to support policy development.; AND Experience drafting written materials, such as background papers, talking points, cables, or correspondence, on foreign policy, national security, cyber, or technology issues.

If you are applying for the GS-11: IN ADDITION to meeting one of the basic entry qualifications requirements listed above, applicants applying for the GS-11 MUST also meet one of the requirements listed below: Have at least 1 year of specialized experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.

This experience must be related to the work of the position and equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following: Experience compiling and summarizing information from multiple sources on international affairs, national security, or technology issues.

; AND Experience preparing draft written materials, such as background papers, summaries, or correspondence, for others to review. OR Have 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work of the position to be filled.

OR Have a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience which is equivalent to the work of the position and equivalent to the GS0-9 level in the Federal service. This education and experience must meet 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

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 .