Country Desk Officer

All qualification requirements must be met by 11/14/2024 (the closing date of the announcement). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. To ensure full credit for your experience, please indicate the start and end dates (month, day, and year) of employment, the number of hours worked per week, and the location of employment in your resume. Qualification claims will be subject to verification. Specialized Experience: This vacancy is being announced at two grade levels: Specialized Experience at the FP-05 (GS-09/10): To be minimally qualified for this position at the FP-05 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression, FP-06 or GS-8 level which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes: (1) Experience interpreting and applying administrative regulations, policies, or procedures; (2) Providing technical assistance on administrative systems and/or processes and (3) Management of host country activities applying knowledge of political, economic, social, and/or cultural conditions. ~OR~ FP-05 (GS-09/10): A Master’s or equivalent graduate degree OR 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree OR L.L.B. or J.D., if related. ~OR~ A combination of education and experience Specialized Experience at the FP-06 (GS-08): To be minimally qualified for this position at the FP-06 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression, FP-07 or GS-7 level which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes: (1) Experience utilizing automation applications, databases, and software packages to produce reports, spreadsheets, graphics, and electronic communications; (2) Experience reviewing and editing documents for grammar and punctuation to ensure accuracy and completion; and (3) Experience monitoring calendars, appointments, and facilities for several divisions or regions. ~OR~ FP-07 (GS-07): One full year of graduate level education OR superior academic achievement ~OR~ A combination of education and experience ~AND~ Time-in-Grade (TIG) Requirements: Current or Formal Federal employees, including current Peace Corps employees, must meet applicable TIG requirements to be considered eligible. To meet TIG for positions above the FP-09 (GS-05) grade level, you must have served at least one year (52 weeks) at the next lower grade (or equivalent) in the normal line of progression for the position to which you are applying. All current or former Federal employees (including internal employees) must provide a copy of their SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one), “Notice of Personnel Action” that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position, title, series, grade, step, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). Please note: If qualifying based on education or a combination of education and experience, please review the “Education” section of this announcement. Past experience that satisfies the Specialized Experience MUST be well documented within your resume. Failure to provide this information in your resume with corresponding start and end dates (month, day, and year) of employment, the number of hours worked per week, and location of employment may result in disqualification from further consideration. Specialized Experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector, or through volunteer work done with National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) or other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. Additional information on qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site. Peace Corps employees are employed using the Foreign Personnel (FP) pay scale. The FP pay plan does not follow the same structure as the GS pay plan. In the FP pay plan, as the grade-level numbers decrease the level/pay for the position increases. The FP-09 is the lowest entry-level grade and the FP-01 is the highest senior-level grade.
The Country Desk Officer (CDO) will be assigned one of three geographic regions (Africa, Inter-America & Pacific, or Europe, Mediterranean & Asia) and will be responsible for a portfolio of countries as determined by their supervisor. Working under the supervision and direction of the Supervisory Country Desk Officer, the CDO serves as the Peace Corps administrative point of contact and liaison between the overseas Peace Corps program/assigned countries and the headquarters.