Foreign Affairs Officer - Department Of State - Washington, DC

About the Agency

This position is located in the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (SRAP) Office of Afghanistan Affairs (SRAP/A), and is hosted, administratively, in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. SRAP/A is responsible for U.S. policy on issues related to Afghanistan and is the focal point for the Department’s efforts to bring improved security, governance, development, and economic growth to Afghanistan.

The incumbent serves as a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Political-Military Section of the Afghanistan Desk and is responsible for providing analysis and advice to the SRAP and the Director of the Office of Afghanistan Affairs on policies and programs related to: U.S. strategic partnerships and engagements with NATO Allies, Resolute Support Mission (RSM) partners and donors to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF); the future U.S. and NATO presence in Afghanistan; the structure of the ANDSF; and the security situation in Afghanistan.

The incumbent will provide institutional memory and topical experience in program administration; international partnerships and fundraising; ANDSF financial management controls and oversight mechanisms, including the NATO Afghan National Army Trust Fund, the UNDP Law and Order Trust Fund and the Oversight and Coordination Body; international efforts to provide security and stability in Afghanistan; the security situation in Afghanistan; and the Afghan security institutions, including the ANDSF.

This position is eligible for telework; additional criteria will be required (e.g., supervisory approval).

Duties

• Leading subject matter expert within the Department on all elements of ANDSF funding, international efforts to provide security and stability in Afghanistan, the security situation in Afghanistan, and Afghan security institutions.
  


• He/she assesses political and security issues and U.S. programs that support these efforts and other significant developments and trends in the assigned area(s) in order to gauge the effectiveness of and facilitate efforts to bring security and stability to Afghanistan and to coordinate policy analysis with other organizations, as necessary.
  


• He/she also conceptualizes and develops SRAP plans to raise international donor funding for the ANDSF.
  


• His/Her analysis is based on a wide variety of sources that include U.S. embassies/posts, the interagency, open-sourceintelligence reporting, and foreign government consultations and serves to enable Him/Her to understand the current situation and its implications for U.S. interests.
  


• Serves as the Bureau’s chief action officer and expert on Afghanistan for issues related to international partnerships and fundraising, international efforts to provide security and stability, the security situation, and security institutions.
  


• He/she is the initial point of contact for all incoming actions from Departmental offices, U.S. embassies/posts and other USG agencies (e.g., DOD, NSC, USAID) on these issues.
  


• He/she will represent SRAP, SRAP/A and/or Department of State in meetings with analysts and action officers who represent these various organizations to develop information, obtain clarification of diverging viewpoints and build consensus for a course of action acceptable to policy makers. He/she ensures effective communication of U.S. policy developments and guidance to U.S. mission personnel and drafts, clears and issues policy and procedure implementation guidance for use by embassies/posts, providing follow-up problem solving assistance, guideline interpretations and consultations, as required.
  


• Provides informational and policy planning consultations and orientations to colleagues and management officials in the Department and the interagency arena. He/she advises on a broad variety of issues related to Afghanistan, including political and security trends, security institutions, and third country policies, among other issues, coordinating implementation of policy decisions and developing, as needed, background information, strategies and approaches for key questions (FLSA Exempt).
  

Travel Required

• Occasional Travel
  


• Some overseas travel is required; 10% or less.
  

Relocation Authorized

Job Requirements
Job Requirements
Key Requirements

• One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.
  


• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
  


• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
  


• U.S. Citizenship is 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. Education may only be substituted in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order to be credited towards qualifications.

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. Click on the link for a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials.

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-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 with U.S. foreign policy objectives, priorities and programs in Afghanistan.
  


• Experience with foreign military funding through multi-lateral funding mechanisms.
  


• Experience with identifying security trends and issues in Afghanistan.
  

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Security Clearance
Top Secret

Additional Information