Foreign Affairs Officer

Foreign Affairs Officer

About the Job

This is a non-status, non-permanent position.  You do not acquire a competitive or excepted service status from this position.  This is a one-year (1) renewable contract, with up to four (4) option years, for a total potential of five years.

This position is located in Arlington, VA.  This position is only open to U.S. citizens.   You must state your citizenship on your résumé.   If you fail to state citizenship, your résumé will not be considered for this position.

Description: 

Foreign Affairs Officer, PSC-0130-9/11/12/13

U.S. Department of State 

Office of the Under Secretary for Political Affairs (P) 

Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) 

Program of Technical Cooperation 

Washington Support Unit, Arlington, VA

**This position is a Personal Service Contractor Position**

This position is in the Washington Support Unit in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) Office of the Arabian Peninsula (NEA/ARP/WSU). NEA is responsible for leading U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa.

The incumbent serves as a Foreign Affairs Officer supporting the bilateral Program of Technical Cooperation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Through this program, U.S. Government agencies provide expert technical and foreign policy  operational and advisory support to counterparts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in areas of cooperation pursuant to the Agreement for Technical Cooperation (ATC) between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed in Jeddah on May 8, 2023. This may include providing technical assistance to develop the capacity of Saudi partners to protect people, infrastructure, and other vital facilities, including land and sea border protection; enhance public security, law enforcement, civil defense, transportation security, cybersecurity, and environmental security; counter trafficking in drugs, arms and people; counter terrorism and external threats; promote economic stability; and support the continued integration of women into the security professions and government leadership positions when consistent with the preceding areas.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

At the full performance level (PSC-13) the incumbent:

-Analyzes policy options and develops strategies for achieving short- or long-term USG policy goals with Saudi Arabia in the assigned thematic area(s). -Proposes options and alternatives to current or proposed policies. Compiles, analyzes, and presents data and recommendations to senior officials for use in policy formulation to attain exceptionally complex U.S. policy objectives with Saudi Arabia.
-Liaises with policy-level officials throughout the Department (including Embassies and Posts), interagency, foreign governments, academia, thinktanks, and other partners to promote the Department's views and interests with respect to current and emerging policy issues; ensure that the Department's views are taken into consideration in policy development; and explain and leverage their support for USG policies, programs, and diplomatic initiatives.
-Manages, monitors, plans, and coordinates assigned projects building Saudi partner capacity pursuant to the ATC. Maintains currency in advancements in the field and accurately projects the impact of it on programs.
-Drafts white papers, analytical reports, correspondence, briefing materials and other documents that explain situations; provide courses of action along with pros and cons; and recommend the optimal way forward.
-Executes program requirements. Establishes systematic methods of activities to determine funding requirements and to determine whether funding is warranted and available.
-Evaluates program effectiveness in relation to the funding expended and results, and recommends changes in funding, approach, and/or policy.
-Coordinates the transfer of funding as appropriate. Analyzes budget proposals and prepares justification/memoranda for review committee's recommendation and appropriate official's approval.
-Exercises approval authority for authorized expenditures and accepts accountability for transfer of funds, procurements, and other financial related decisions for which the incumbent has authority.
 

Requirements:

U. S. Citizenship is required.
Must be able to obtain and maintain a TOP SECRET security clearance. 
 

Qualifications:

Time-in-Grade Requirements: Applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions, per 5CFR 300, Subpart F. 

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 the requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you WILL lose consideration for this position.

Applicants applying to GS-09:

IN ADDITION to meeting one of the basic entry qualifications requirements listed above, applicants applying for the GS-09 MUST also meet one of the requirements listed below:

Have at least 1 year of specialized experience that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience must be related to the work of the position and equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal service.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

Experience drafting foreign policy documents.
Skill in written communication to develop and present analyses, memoranda, briefing materials, or similar materials.

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 the requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you WILL lose consideration for this position.

Applicants applying to GS-11:

IN ADDITION to meeting one of the basic entry qualifications requirements listed above, applicants applying for the GS-11 MUST also meet one of the qualifying specialized experience** requirements listed below:

Have at least 1 year of specialized experience that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience must be related to the work of the position and equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

-Knowledge of Saudi Arabian culture, institutions, attitudes, and/or foreign policy.
-Experience explaining foreign policy issues to organizational leadership.
-Skill in written communication to develop and present analyses, memoranda, briefing materials, responding to inquiries and a wide range of other written materials.

Applicants applying to GS-12:

IN ADDITION to meeting one of the basic entry qualifications requirements listed above, applicants applying for the GS-12 MUST also meet one of the qualifying specialized experience** requirements listed below:

Have at least 1 year of specialized experience that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience must be related to the work of the position and equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal service.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

-Experience providing reporting and/or analysis of foreign policy issues to management.
-Experience explaining foreign policy issues to organizational leadership.
-Skill in oral communication to solicit information; explain issues/requirements; and participate in meetings and discussions.
-Knowledge of basic U.S. foreign policy objectives and programs to identify and provide analyses of essential issues and developments.
-Knowledge of the missions, roles, and responsibilities of employees of the U.S. foreign affairs agencies to relate them to the Bureau's programs.

Applicants applying to GS-13:

IN ADDITION to meeting one of the basic entry qualifications requirements listed above, applicants applying for the GS-13 MUST also meet one of the qualifying specialized experience** requirements listed below:

Have at least 1 year of specialized experience that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience must be related to the work of the position and equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service.

**Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

-Experience supporting capacity building projects in any of the thematic areas covered by the ATC.
-Skill in oral communication to solicit information and defend proposals.
-Knowledge of U.S. foreign policy objectives and programs related to Saudi Arabia and/or the NEA region to identify and provide analyses of essential issues and developments in the assignment area.
-Experience in liaising/collaborating with U.S. foreign affairs agencies to relate them to the Bureau's programs.

Education:
See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements.

When an applicant has less than one year of specialized experience as described in the announcement, he or she may combine successfully completed graduate-level education with experience to meet the total qualification requirements. Generally, 18 graduate semester hours is equivalent to 1 full-time year of graduate study (your school and department determine what constitutes 1 full time year of graduate study). The percentage of specialized work experience (for example, 6 months equals 50%) and the percentage of graduate study (for example, 18 graduate hours constitute a full-time year) must total at least 100%.

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. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: naces.org/members.php.

Evaluation Method:

Candidates will be evaluated for this job based on successfully meeting the qualifications above. The qualifications will be evaluated using the following competencies:

-Knowledge of the theories and principles of political science, international relations, economics, history, geography, or other related disciplines applied in analyzing and evaluating factors and conditions involved in the administration of U.S. foreign policy programs.
-Knowledge of basic U.S. foreign policy objectives and programs to identify and provide analyses of essential issues and developments in the assignment area.
-Knowledge of the missions, roles, and responsibilities of employees of the U.S. foreign affairs agencies to relate them to the Bureau's programs.
-Knowledge of a geographic or functional specialty area sufficient to assess the relevancy and significance of issues and developments within the specialty area to U.S. foreign policy interest.
-Knowledge of research and analytical methods to validate, evaluate, and interpret information obtained from a variety of sources.
-Ability to plan and organize activities to independently accomplish assignments according to established policies and practices.
-Ability to establish liaison with analysts and officials in other organizations to provide opportunities for exchanging information of mutual interest.
-Skill in written communication to develop and present analyses, memoranda, briefing materials, responding to inquiries and a wide range of other written materials.
-Skill in oral communication to solicit information, to defend proposals, and to participate in meetings and discussions.

Benefits:

1.      Employees are eligible to participate in the Health/Life Insurance Reimbursement program

2.      Employees receive holiday pay, annual leave and sick leave accrual.
  

Domestically, the work is principally sedentary.  However, the incumbent will travel domestically as well as internationally to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to coordinate with PTC senior leadership and Saudi officials and will also visit the sites of ongoing and planned program activities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support PTC initiatives.  While on site visits, there may be physical demands associated with travel to and from remote areas in restrained timeframes over under-developed infrastructure and conveyances which require resistance to fatigue and physical hardships.

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How to apply:

To apply for this position, you must submit a résumé, SF-50, if applicable, and transcripts.  Send to:

Christine Phillips - PhillipsCL@state.gov

You have until 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time on April 7, 2026, to submit your résumé.  After all résumés have been received and reviewed for basic qualification requirements, qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview.