Area Studies Instructor; Specializations

Careers - Area Studies Instructor (Multiple Specializations)
Area Studies Instructor (Multiple Specializations)

Global Language Center is recruiting Area Studies Instructors to lead specialized courses for the School of Professional and Area Studies (SPAS) at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center (NFATC) in Arlington, Virginia. SPAS serves foreign affairs professionals with training throughout their careers to advance U.S. interests and tackle the evolving challenges of 21st-century diplomacy by providing job‑specific orientation, tradecraft, and area studies training.

SPAS courses prepare foreign affairs professionals to work effectively in the countries and cultures to which they are assigned.

This job posting covers three different types of position. In your application, please indicate which of the three roles you are applying for. For Area Studies Instructors, also indicate your particular region/country of expertise.

The Area Studies Division’s courses cover history, governance, politics, civil society, economics, human geography, religion and culture, with an emphasis on the history and development of particular countries and regions; how current global/thematic issues impact countries, regions, and the world; and corresponding U.S. foreign policy interests and challenges. Area Studies Division courses aim to:

• Provide explanations of critical historical, geopolitical, economic, strategic, and sociocultural factors of foreign actors and organizations to ensure U.S. foreign affairs professionals effectively advance U.S. foreign policy objectives;
• Support effectively advancing U.S. national security interests and America’s safety by providing U.S. foreign affairs personnel with knowledge to identify, mitigate, and deter new and existing security threats and challenges;
• Identify opportunities for the United States overseas and recognize how the United States and USG policies are perceived.

The seven programmatic areas are:
Sub‑Saharan Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, South and Central Asia, Near East/North Africa, Europe and Eurasia, the Western Hemisphere, and Global Issues. Please indicate your particular region/country of expertise in your application.

The Economic Division (ECON) leads the Department’s efforts to develop the skills and education needed on economic, energy, commercial, and environment, science, technology, and health (ESTH) issues. As part of its mission, ECON offers a ESTH Tradecraft training course to prepare ESTH officers for assignments both domestically and abroad. The Division works closely with other schools at the NFATC, relevant Department bureaus and offices, as well as interagency partners.

Course objectives aim to:

• Provide officers with comprehensive training in Environment, Science, Technology, and Health (ESTH) within the context of current U.S. policy priorities;
• Sharpen tradecraft skills, enabling officers to effectively advance U.S. interests in global health, space, emerging technology, and environmental diplomacy.
• Training includes an overview of key multilateral and bilateral ESTH initiatives, along with in‑depth discussions with representatives from the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) and the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy. Participants also engage with the Science and Technology Advisor to the Secretary (STAS), as well as experts from industry groups, Congress, academia, non‑governmental organizations (NGOs), and other key stakeholders to ensure a well‑rounded understanding of ESTH policy and its application in diplomacy.

The incumbent for this position will be a subject matter expert in designing and developing new course content for task‑based services and projects across all of SPAS. Tasks include:

• Providing consultation services to identify content for updating existing and creating new courses, potentially across all phases of development from initial needs assessments through course completion.
• Conducting research to identify relevant topics to meet the objectives of the course.
• Attendi…