Foreign Affairs Officer – Direct Hire Authority

Applicants must meet all the 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. 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 leading complex teams to advance goals related to political instability, violent extremism, and/or security sector stabilization issues in at-risk countries in sub-Saharan Africa including: Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and/or Zimbabwe. Experience conducting conflict and stabilization research, analysis, program design, and evaluation support on issues related to political instability, violent extremism, and/or security sector stabilization issues in or on the sub-Saharan Africa region including: Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and/or Zimbabwe. Experience developing and implementing conflict prevention engagements for the sub-Saharan Africa region including: Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and/or Zimbabwe. The ability to read, write, and conduct professional meetings in French is highly desirable, but not required.
This position is located in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, Office of African Affairs (CSO/AF) which anticipate, prevent, and respond to conflict that undermines U.S. national interests in the African region. Position reports to the CSO Africa Office Deputy Director and supports the bureau’s policy planning, engagements, and programming across Central and Southern Africa. More information about the bureau can be found here.