LEAD FOREIGN AFFAIRS SPECIALIST

Duties

PRIMARY PURPOSE: To perform duties as export license review team lead and senior action officer in the Combat Support Branch, Foreign Disclosure and Technology Transfer Division. Incumbent manages the export license review process in the Combat Support Branch and provides on-the-job training, guidance, oversight and mentoring for two civilian employees with assigned export license responsibilities. As senior action officer, employee also provides guidance and expertise to two assigned active-duty military action officers. Employee develops disclosure policies, program 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 classified and controlled unclassified information in support of complex bilateral and multinational programs involving foreign military sales, direct commercial sales, foreign training, international cooperative research and development, international co-production, combined operations and exercises, exchange officers, and military intelligence sharing. Incumbent acts as senior analyst and policy expert for advanced weapons systems, technologies, capabilities, and information disclosure issues.

DUTIES:

As Team Lead manages and leads the work of five employees (including incumbent) in the Combat Support Branch export license review team.

As Team Lead develops national, DoD, and USAF disclosure policies, advisories, Air Force instructions, Delegation of Disclosure Authority Letters (DDLs), export license positions, exemptions to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), release guidelines, and disclosure guidance.

As Team Lead authorizes disclosure of documents, briefings, and other forms of classified and controlled unclassified information to foreign governments and international organizations.

As Team Lead develops and maintains broad expertise in the following areas as they pertain to Air Force disclosure initiatives

As Team Lead 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
• Disclosure of Political Appointments
• 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
• 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.
• This Position is Centrally Managed in the International Affairs Career Field.
• A master's degree in foreign affairs, international relations, or a related area is desirable.
• 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 accepting the position.
• Incumbent requires a Top-Secret clearance.
• Position identified as a designated position under the Air Force Drug and Testing Plan. Incumbent is subject to the possibility of a random drug test.
• This position has very important and direct bearing on USAF relations with all levels of the Air Force, industry and government, domestic and foreign. Incumbent's actions can improve these relations or seriously damage them.
• 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.
• Incumbent must be comfortable in dealing with high-ranking foreign representatives and able to utilize tact and diplomacy on all occasions.
• Alertness to international trends; knowledge of the military, political, economic, and social aspects of individual countries are fundamental requirements.
• Incumbent must be willing to work outside normal duty hours when tasked to respond to senior leaders on short notice, high pressure issues. Must also be available for occasional TDY.
• Overtime may be required as workload increases.

Qualifications

Conditions of Employment Continued:
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. Mobility is a condition of employment. The employee must sign an Air Force wide mobility agreement.

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:
Education: 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.

OR
Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major, or a combination of related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours, as shown in above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

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. For qualifying experience at the GS-12 or above click to view occupational requirements for this position:

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 meet the basic requirements for the GS-0130-14 or above and I have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 (or higher) grade level or equivalent in other pay systems (may have been obtained in the military, public or private sector). Examples of specialized experience include 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 classified military information (CMI), controlled unclassified information (CUI) and associated weapons systems, capabilities and advanced technologies to foreign government and international organizations; expert knowledge of USAF security assistance and foreign military training programs, US defense alliances, personnel exchange programs, intelligence sharing programs, US government and commercial international cooperative research, development, and acquisition (ICR&DA) programs, US country and regional defense policies, combined exercise programs, and current US peacekeeping and trade sanctions enforcement activities; detailed technical understanding of the roles arid missions of USAF major commands, and the operational capabilities, vulnerabilities/limitations and classification of USAF combat support weapons systems; extensive familiarity with advancements in military critical technologies as they apply to sustaining a qualitative edge for US and allied/friendly combat forces; an in-depth understanding of the importance of international programs to National Military Strategy, interoperability, coalition building, and promoting affordability of US defense acquisition programs; and broad experience in national security and foreign affairs matters and understanding of the operation of the Departments of Defense and State, the Joint Staff, the Military Services, the National Security Staff, and other agencies of the federal government as regards the processes for controlling exports of defense articles and services. NOTE: This experience MUST be well documented on your resume or application package.

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 (NDP), 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, and technologies used in military weapons systems in particular command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4/SR) equipment.

Ability to research, analyze, and weigh the relative importance of the subjects in #2 above and reach sound judgments based on an evaluation of both objective and subjective factors.

Ability to integrate the findings in #3 above and develop policy recommendations and guidelines.

Exceptionally strong speaking and writing skills.

Ability to lead, manage, guide and integrate the work of a team of employees.

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

IF USING EDUCATION TO QUALIFY: If position has a positive degree requirement or education forms the basis for qualifications, you MUST submit transcriptswith the application. Official transcripts are not required at the time of application; however, if position has a positive degree requirement, qualifying based on education alone or in combination with experience, transcripts must be verified prior to appointment. An accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education must accredit education. Click to check accreditation.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying.

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.

Employed Annuitants (Reemployed Annuitants): Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants. Click for more information.

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.

is available to a Federal employee hired on/after 5 Nov 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30% or more. For more information, click .

If you have questions regarding this announcement and have hearing or speech difficulties click .

Tax Law Impact for PCS: On 22-Dec-2017, Public Law 115-97 - the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017" suspended qualified moving expense deductions along with the exclusion for employer reimbursements and payments of moving expenses effective 01-Jan-2018 for tax years 2018 through 2025. When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit GSA Bulletin FTR 20-04 for additional information.