FOREIGN AFFAIRS SPECIALIST

Duties

The primary purpose of this position is: Incumbent acts as a senior export analyst and foreign disclosure policy expert for advanced weapon systems, technologies, capabilities, and information disclosure issues. Performs duties as a munitions export control analysis and license review senior action officer in the Foreign Disclosure, Weapons and Technology Transfer Division. Incumbent manages the export license review process and provides on-the-job training, guidance, oversight and mentoring for other employees assigned with export license responsibilities. As a senior action officer, provides guidance and expertise to active duty military action officers. Employee develops disclosure policies, programs and procedures to guide national, DoD and Air Force decisions to release or to restrict release of classified military information (CMI) and controlled unclassified information (CUI) or equipment to foreign nations and international organizations. Disclosure guidelines specify what information should be transferred or restricted in the interest of U.S. national security. The employee authorizes disclosures of CMI and CUI in support of complex bilateral and multinational programs involving foreign military sales, direct commercial sales, international training and education, international cooperative research, development or co-production, combined operations and exercises, exchange officers, and military intelligence sharing.

Duties

• Serves as a team expert/point of contact on all issues related to development and use of the USXPORTS electronic export licensing processing system.
• As a senior action officer, skillfully conducts analysis of munition export controls, develops national, DoD and USAF disclosure policies, advisories, Air Force instructions, Delegation of Disclosure Authority Letters, export license positions, exemptions to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, release guidelines, and disclosure guidance.
• As a senior action officer, authorizes the disclosure of documents, briefings, and other forms of CMI and CUI to foreign governments and international organizations.
• As a senior action officer, develops and guides development of disclosure oversight, education, and training guidelines and materials.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship Required
• Males must be registered for Selective Service, see www.sss.gov
• A security clearance may be required
• If authorized, PCS will be paid IAW JTR and AF Regulations. If receiving an authorized PCS, you may be subject to completing/signing a CONUS agreement. More information on PCS requirements, may be found at: https://afciviliancareers.com/regulatory/
• This position is subject to provisions of the DoD Priority Placement Program
• Disclosure of Political Appointments
• Depending on the type of position (competitive/excepted) you are selected for, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period OR 2-year trial period.
• Upon completion of your probationary/trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
• Incumbent must be willing to work outside normal duty hours when tasked to respond to senior leaders on short notice, high pressure issues. Overtime may be required as workload increases.
• A master's degree in foreign affairs, international relations, or a related area is desirable.
• Incumbent must obtain and maintain a TOP SECRET security clearance.
• Employee must be willing to travel and when traveling must be willing to travel by military or commercial air, and as required by position, employee must maintain a current government passport. (cont'd)
• Mobility is a condition of employment. The employee must sign an Air Force wide mobility agreement.
• Incumbent must be comfortable in dealing with high-ranking foreign representatives and able to utilize tact and diplomacy on all occasions.
• Employee must meet the mandatory standards of experience and training, and the desired standards of education for an International Affairs Level II certification within four years of accepting the position.
• This position meets the professional exemption criteria for the Fair Labor Standards Act (5 CFR 551.207).

Qualifications

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 Position, Foreign Affairs Series, 0130.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS SPECIALIST 0130 SERIES: A Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) or a degree with a 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. 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:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower grade GS-13, or equivalent in other pay systems. Examples of specialized experience includes mastery of National Disclosure Policy, the Arms Export Control Act, International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the Conventional Arms Transfer Policy as well as DoD and Air Force policies, directives and instructions governing release of CMI, CUI and associated weapons systems, capabilities and advanced technologies to foreign governments and international organizations. Expert knowledge of USAF security cooperation programs, defense alliances, personnel exchange programs, intelligence sharing programs, government and commercial international cooperative research, acquisition and development programs, individual country and regional defense policies, combined exercise programs, and current U.S. peacekeeping and trade sanctions enforcement activities.

FEDERAL TIME-IN-GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT FOR GENERAL SCHEDULE (GS) POSITIONS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-13 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-14 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.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

• Knowledge of National Disclosure Policy, the Arms Export Control Act, and other DoD and Air Force policies and directives which govern the release of military information to foreign governments and international organizations.
• Knowledge of politico-military affairs, Air Force operations, technologies used in military weapon systems, in particular command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, armaments cooperation and others as assigned and the ability to research, analyze, weigh relative importance and reach sound judgements based on an evaluation of both objective and subjective factors
• Ability to integrate the findings of #2 above to develop policy recommendations and guidelines.
• Ability to express thoughts clearly and concisely, to develop ideas in logical sequence and to convey ideas fully and accurately in discussions and briefings and in written studies, projects, procedures and regulations, is mandatory

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP eligible click . To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated well qualified or above for this position. You must submit a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location.

120-Day Register: This announcement may result in a 120-day register that may be used to fill like vacancies for 120 days after the closing date. Applicants may be referred for consideration as vacancies occur.

Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible: MSP applicants, if determined best qualified, must be selected and placed at the highest grade for which they applied. You must include a completed copy of the DD Form 3145-4, Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist dated within 30 days along with the documents identified on the checklist to verify your eligibility for MSP. Click to obtain/download a copy of the DD Form 3145-4, Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist.

Priority Placement Program (PPP) Applicant Eligible: PPP Applicants, if determined well qualified and selected, will be placed at the at the full performance level. You must include the applicable completed copy of the PPP Self-Certification Checklist dated within 30 days along with the documents identified on the checklist to verify your eligibility as a PPP Applicant. Click to obtain/download a copy of the applicable PPP Self-Certification Checklist (DD3145-1 through DD3145-4, select the appropriate checklist for your claimed preference). To determine the applicable PPP Self-Certification Checklist required to substantiate the eligibilities you are claiming, refer to the AF Civilian Employment Eligibility Guide located in the Required Documents section of this vacancy announcement.

Direct Deposit: All federal employees are required to have direct deposit.

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