FOREIGN AFFAIRS SPECIALIST

Description:

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Requirements:

In order to qualify, you must meet the general 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.

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 A 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.

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-12, or equivalent in other pay systems. Examples of specialized experience includes expert knowledge of a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods for the assessment and improvement of critical plans and programs for participating in or conducting FMS for aircraft and equipment; Expert knowledge of aircraft terminology, systems, operational capabilities, associated weapons, tactics development, and employment; Expert knowledge of National, Air Force, IC and ACC foreign disclosure policy to include delegated authority to approve release of controlled unclassified military information and classified military information; Extensive knowledge of the proliferation of US aircraft and associated equipment/munitions.

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-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.

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:

1 . Expert knowledge on the technical and operational employment aspects of USAF aircraft, associated aircraft
systems, weapons and TTPs.

2. Comprehensive knowledge of National Disclosure Policy (NDP-1) principles and how they are applied to issues relating to Foreign Military Sales and commercial exports of defense equipment, technology, information and assistance.

3. Comprehensive knowledge of a wide range of international affairs and security concepts, principles and practices, including foreign disclosure, technology transfer, industrial security and information security.

4. Expert knowledge of general Air Force and specific foreign disclosure operations, politico-military affairs, technologies used in military Command and Control systems, information and industrial security processes for classified material handling and general management practices.

5. Expert knowledge of complex technical material, especially of assigned weapons systems, and ability to analyze and resolve foreign disclosure actions required for export/transfer to foreign nationals or their representatives.

6. Ability to effectively write and orally communicate foreign disclosure and export information to various audiences, to include U.S. and foreign staff, management, senior executives, and corporate officers. Ability to design, plan, conduct, organize and lead others in studies or projects and to negotiate effectively with management to accept and implement recommendations, where proposals involve substantial resources, and require extensive changes in established concepts and procedures.

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.