Foreign Affairs Specialist

In order to qualify, you must meet the specialized experience requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, Professional and Scientific Positions, Foreign Affairs Series, 0130.

BASIC REQUIREMENT OR INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT:
Degree: major or equivalent, or a combination of courses totaling 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 12 semester hours in one of the above disciplines and 12 semester hours in statistics/quantitative methods.

NOTE:

You must submit a copy of your transcripts.

OR COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND

EDUCATION:

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%. Courses equivalent to a major, or a combination of related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

NOTE:

You must submit a copy of your transcripts.

OR

EXPERIENCE:

Four 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.

Evaluation of

Experience:

Qualifying experience may have been 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.

AND In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower grade GS-12, or equivalent in other pay systems. Examples of specialized experience includes comprehensive knowledge in national security, strategic policy, international relations, foreign affairs, and foreign assistance programs;
Comprehensive knowledge of the administrative laws, policies, regulations, and precedents applicable to the administration of the Department of the Air Force (DAF) and DoD Security Cooperation enterprises;
Comprehensive knowledge of the intricate relationships between various agencies and programs, including the DoS, OSD NSC, DSCA, CCMD, and US Embassies;
Expert knowledge of overarching national and defense strategy guidelines-including the National Defense Strategy, National Security Strategy, Security Assistance Manual, and DAF International Engagement Plan-to interpret policies, evaluate program effectiveness, and translate basic legislation and treaties into actionable USAF security cooperation goals.

Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-12 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-13 level. TIG applies if you are in a current GS position or held a GS position within the previous 52 weeks.

NOTE:

Applicants applying as VEOA candidates who are current GS civil service employees or are prior GS civil service employees within the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements.

Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and o