Foreign Service Trainee

Position description

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) is a small but dynamic foreign affairs agency with approximately 90 offices around the world. Overseas, Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) are responsible for supporting FAS efforts in agricultural trade promotion; market intelligence, trade policy; trade capacity building and food security. FSOs can expect to spend about a quarter of their career serving in USDA/FAS headquarters in Washington, D.C., in positions throughout the agency.

Duties

• FSO Trainees undergo comprehensive training while stationed in Washington, DC, where they participate in and complete all components of their training program under the guidance of their supervisors.
• The duties described represent the expectations at the full-performance level. At developmental grade levels, assignments may entail a narrower scope, require less autonomy, and involve less complexity.
• Administer market development and credit guarantee programs; develop and implement agricultural trade missions and trade shows; and cultivate productive working relationships with domestic agricultural industry groups.
• Coordinate and devise a global agricultural commodity analysis strategy, furnishing timely dependable market insights on production, consumption, trade, stock, and price data.
• Conduct analyses of market conditions, governmental policies, and commercial practices to furnish policy makers with actionable insights supporting USDA export programs, trade policies, and market access endeavors.
• Draft various documents including correspondence, briefing materials, market profiles, and background information pertinent to agricultural trade.
• Identify, monitor, and contribute to removal or mitigation of agricultural tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade, along with technical, sanitary, and phytosanitary barriers. Provide support for market access initiatives through policy analysis.
• Participate in the monitoring of USDA trade capacity building and food assistance programs and contribute to the formulation of strategies to administer these initiatives.
• Implement development activities aimed at advancing trade and food security objectives.

Qualifications

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
• Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/
• Testing Designated Position: Selectee must submit to a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and random testing thereafter. Final appointment and continued employment is conditional on negative results for illegal drug use.
• In accordance with Office of Government Ethics regulations concerning conflict of interest, the incumbent will be required to submit a financial disclosure report within 30 days of their effective date of appointment and annually thereafter.
• Selectee must be able to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret security clearance.
• Selectees will be required to meet a minimum medical qualification standard issued by the State Department.
• Selectees will be required to sign a Worldwide Availability Agreement and a Service Agreement.
• Foreign Service Officers are obligated to serve abroad and expected to serve abroad for substantial portions of their careers.
• Foreign Service Officers are expected to serve anywhere in the world (worldwide), even in cases where family members cannot go to post due to political instability and/or other concerns.
• “Current Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) career employees will have re-employment rights back to FAS if not converted into the Foreign Service.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

FOR THE GS-09 LEVEL: In order to qualify for this position at the GS-09 level applicants must possess one of the following:
1. One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal service OR
2. Have qualifying education OR
3. Have a combination of specialized experience and qualifying education.

Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-09 level based on specialized experience applicants must possess one year or more of specialized experience that was equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-07) in the Federal service that has provided them with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed in order to successfully perform the duties of the position at the GS-09 level. Specialized experience may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors, be paid or unpaid, and is typically gained in the same field as the position being filled or another very closely related field. Applicants qualifying for the GS-09 level based on experience must provide evidence of the following type of specialized experience in their resume. Failure to do so will result in an ineligible rating:

Experience assisting with professional work in one of the following three areas:

• Demonstrates basic understanding of economic and trade policies, and can conduct simple analyses under supervision; or
• Displays foundational knowledge of marketing and consumer trends, can assist in data collection and basic trend analysis; or
• Has basic skills in conducting statistical analysis, can perform simple data analysis tasks under supervision; or

OR

Education: In order to qualify for the GS-09 level based on education applicants must have successfully completed a master’s degree (or equivalent) or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, in a field of study directly related to the duties of this position, such as economics, business, food and agriculture sciences, development, public policy, international relations, communications, law, or other directly related fields of study from an accredited university. Applicants qualifying for the GS-09 level based on education must submit copies of their college transcripts. Failure to do so will result in an ineligible rating.

OR

Combination of Specialized Experience and Qualifying Education: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for the GS-09 grade level. Only graduate education beyond the first full-time year may be combined with experience. Applicants qualifying for the GS-09 level based on a combination of experience and education must show evidence of their experience in their resume and they must submit copies of their college transcripts. Failure to do so will result in an ineligible rating.

FOR THE GS-11 LEVEL: In order to qualify for this position at the GS-11 level applicants must possess one of the following:
1. One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service OR
2. Have qualifying education OR
3. Have a combination of specialized experience and qualifying education.

Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-11 level based on specialized experience applicants must possess one year or more of specialized experience that was equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-09) in the Federal service that has provided them with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed in order to successfully perform the duties of the position at the GS-11 level. Specialized experience may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors, be paid or unpaid, and is typically gained in the same field as the position being filled or another very closely related field. Applicants qualifying for the GS-11 level based on experience must provide evidence of the following type of specialized experience in their resume. Failure to do so will result in an ineligible rating:

Experience assisting with or performing professional work in two of the following three areas:

• Shows proficiency in analyzing economic and trade policies independently, and can conduct simple analyses under supervision; or
• Exhibits proficiency in analyzing marketing and consumer trends, can independently conduct thorough trend analyses, identify emerging patterns, and develop innovative strategies; or
• Shows proficiency in statistical analysis techniques, can independently conduct statistical analyses, interpret results, and draw conclusions; or

OR

Education: In order to qualify for the GS-11 level based on education applicants must have successfully completed at least three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree such as economics, business, food and agriculture sciences, development, public policy, international relations, communications, law or other directly related fields of study from an accredited university. Applicants qualifying for the GS-11 level based on education must submit copies of their college transcripts. Failure to do so will result in an ineligible rating.

OR

Combination of Specialized Experience and Qualifying Education: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for the GS-11 grade level. Only graduate education beyond the second full-time year may be combined with experience. Applicants qualifying for the GS-11 level based on a combination of experience and education must show evidence of their experience in their resume and they must submit copies of their college transcripts. Failure to do so will result in an ineligible rating.

FOR THE GS-12 LEVEL: In order to qualify for this position at the GS-12 level applicants must possess one year of specialized experience that was equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11) in the Federal service that has provided them with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of the position at the GS-12 level. Specialized experience may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors, be paid or unpaid, and is typically gained in the same field as the position being filled or another very closely related field. Applicants must provide evidence of the following type of specialized experience in their resume in order to qualify for this position at the GS-12 level. Failure to do so will result in an ineligible rating:

Experience performing professional work in all of the following three areas:

• Possesses advanced expertise in analyzing economic and trade policies, and can lead complex analyses, develop strategic initiatives, and provide expert guidance; and
• Demonstrates advanced expertise in analyzing marketing and consumer trends, can lead comprehensive trend analyses, identify emerging patterns, and develop innovative strategies; and
• Possesses advanced skills in statistical analysis, can lead complex statistical analyses, develop models, and provide expert interpretation of findings,

NOTE: There is no education substitution for experience allowed at the GS-12 level.

Education

TRANSCRIPTS are required if:

• You are qualifying for the position based on education.
• You are qualifying for this position based on a combination of experience and education.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in colleges or universities outside of the United States may be used to meet qualification requirements. To be eligible, applicants must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received at an accredited educational institution in the United States. Failure to do so will result in an ineligible rating.

EDUCATION ACCREDITATION: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution
recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be creditable toward meeting the minimum qualification requirements. To verify your college/university accreditation, please visit: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation.

Application instructions

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