Foreign Administrative Support Specialist

These positions are located in the Bogota, Colombia Country Office and the Cartagena Colombia Resident Office. This position primary purpose is to serves as an advisor to the Country Attaché (CA), Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC), and Special Agent in Charge (SAC) on administrative program and policy matters.

As the Foreign Administrative Support Specialist your typical work assignments may include: Research, resolves, and acts as the first point of contact for staff inquiries regarding benefits, leave time, and payroll. Performs accounts reconciliations. May be required to maintain imprest account. Serves as personnel liaison representative between managers and other HR counterparts to request resolution of various personnel issues.

Oversees and coordinates the Government Leased Quarters program for all Country Office staff. Monitors and tracks records on accounts payable in accordance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Government Accountability Office (GAO), Treasury, DOJ, DEA, and DOS regulations and the related subsidiary records.

Responsible for the Country Office's DEA and DOS accountability property management function, both classified and non-classified. Generates the required documents to receive or dispose of property. Obtains and manages official government vehicles, arranges for service, maintains vehicle usage records, prepares monthly reports, and coordinates the disposal of vehicles.

Drafts and publishes SBU Cables related to personnel travel and movement. ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION: Length of Tour: Employees are limited to a maximum of five years of service in an overseas assignment. The initial tour of duty for this assignment is 3 (three) years. After the initial tour of duty has been completed, extensions may be granted in one-year increments up to the five-year maximum.

Employees who wish to remain on an overseas assignment in excess of the five-year maximum must request a tour extension or renewal before the end of their current assignment. Employees who are approved to extend their overseas assignment beyond the five-year maximum will forfeit the right to return to an office of preference.

They will be placed in an appropriate position at a DEA domestic office where a vacancy exists. At the conclusion of an overseas tour, DEA will attempt to return employees to their home location. If such a placement is not possible, employees' office of preference lists will be considered. However, employees are reminded that assignments are determined based on the needs of DEA.

Bogota, Colombia Country Office Post (Hardship) Differential: 15% Post (Cost of Living) Allowance 20% Danger Pay Allowance: 20% Home Leave: Allowed after the initial 24 months incident to tour renewal. Housing Allowances: Housing paid for by U.S. Government, Bogota is a furnished post. Foreign Language: None Rest & Recuperation: 2 Relocation Incentive: No Educational Allowances**: Yes, see below Cartagena, Colombia Resident Office Post (Hardship) Differential: 15% Post (Cost of Living) Allowance 20% Danger Pay Allowance: 20% Home Leave: Allowed after the initial 24 months incident to tour renewal.

Housing Allowances: Housing paid for by U.S. Government, Cartagena is a furnished post. Foreign Language: None Rest & Recuperation: 2 Relocation Incentive: No Educational Allowances**: Yes, see below *Post (cost of living) allowance, post (hardship) differential, and danger pay allowance (if applicable to the advertised post) are subject to change.

Detailed post (cost of living) allowance information can be found here . Detailed post (hardship) differential information can be found here . Detailed danger pay allowance information can be found here and here . Overseas Transition Preparation: Please contact DEA Family Liaison Officers Kieran Mandato ( kieran.g.mandato@dea.

gov ) or N'Dorah Z. Walker ( ndorah.z.walker@dea.gov ) for Post Reports that detail living conditions for employees and their families at post. Click here for a Prospective Post Priorities Worksheet that can help you consider what is important to you and your family in the foreign PCS decision-making process. For more information regarding the foreign PCS process, please see the PCS Foreign Assignment Relocation Handbook and the Foreign Orientation Handbook .

Training Requirements: Selectees for this position must successfully complete five mandatory foreign assignment courses on DEALS: Serving Abroad for Families and Employees (SAFE); Personnel Recovery 1 (PR1); Foreign Orientation Program (FOP); Counter Threat Awareness Training (CTAT), and Promoting International Religious Freedom (PIRF).

Selectees must also successfully complete Personnel Recovery Emergency Preparedness (PREP), a two-week in-person course conducted by the DEA Office of Training in Stafford, Virginia and West Virginia. Selectee's family members 18 years of age and older are also required to take CTAT and may have additional training requirements if they intend to work at an embassy abroad.

More information regarding training requirements can be found here .

For more information on eligibility requirements see: DEA Employment Eligibility Applicants must meet the required qualification requirements described below by the closing date of the 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 transcripts with your application.

Applicants applying for the GS-09 must meet one of the following requirements: A. Have at least one full year of specialized experience that is at least equivalent to work performed at the GS-07 grade level. Specialized experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.

g., Peace Corps, Ameri. Corps) 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.

Qualifying specialized experience must be demonstrated in ALL of the following:

1. Assisting in maintaining office supplies and property management;
2. Answering general inquiries regarding leave and pay; and
3. Assisting in performing routine tasks in support of the administration of a small, stable budget, and maintaining accounts. OR A master's or equivalent graduate degree; or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or A LL.B. or J.D., if related; OR For the GS-9, Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by
4. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by
5. Add the two percentages. Applicants applying for the GS-11 must meet one of the following requirements: B.Have at least one full year of specialized experience that is at least equivalent to work performed at the GS-09 grade level. Specialized experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, Ameri. Corps) 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. Qualifying specialized experience must be demonstrated in ALL of the following:
6. Providing administrative support related to coordinating and providing guidance in the areas of financial management, procurement and property management, personnel management, and vehicle management;
7. Maintaining organization files and reports, and
8. Performing other general administrative support functions. 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 For the GS-11, Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by
9. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by
10. Add the two percentages. Additional information on the position qualification requirements are located in the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Qualifications Standards Handbook . Time-In-Grade Requirement : Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

See the qualification 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 . If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. K-12 Education: Education of dependents through high school is provided by, or paid for by, the U.

S. Government as allowable and authorized in accordance with appropriate regulations. The Department of State's (DOS) Regional Education Officers from the Office of Overseas Schools determines a school's adequacy level based upon numerous factors. All questions and concerns regarding adequacy clarification should be directed to the Regional Education Officers from the DOS Office of Overseas Schools at 202-261-8200 or Overseas.

Schools@state.gov . Do you have a student in your family who benefits from special education services? Please contact DEA Family Liaison Officers, information below, to further discuss your student's needs and the post's ability to adequately serve them. Detailed education allowance regulations can be found here and FAQs can be found here .

Note that dependents under the age of 23 enrolled in college are allowed one round trip to overseas locations every 12 months.