Senior Foreign Affairs Specialist

Position description

The incumbent serves as a Senior Foreign Affairs Specialist (SFAS) for the Office of Net Assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The SFAS will be responsible for the Department’s comprehensive look at the military competition with adversaries of the U.S. along a 20 to 30 year time horizon with responsibilities to brief their findings to senior officials in the Department, at the National Security Council, the Intelligence Community, Congress, and other government agencies.

The Senior Foreign Affairs Specialist (SFAS) for Net Assessment plays a critical role advising the Research Director and Director on the most important aspects of the strategic and military competition between the United States and its adversaries.

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• The SFAS conceives of and carries out studies; supervises and conducts analyses of the standing trends and future prospects of U.S. military capabilities and national potential in comparison with those of other countries or groups of countries; and develops and delivers in-depth contextual understanding of critical and potential developments impacting the security environment.
• Conceive of, design, and carry out analytic efforts (and potentially wargaming efforts) that support office-wide assessment areas while mentoring the Office’s other civilian and military analysts on research and analytic methodologies and conduct.
• Orients on the Director’s priority assessment area and develops products that communicate trend identification and analysis and projection of alternative futures with implications on the Director’s priority analytic areas.
• Provides expert advice to senior officials in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the military services, and other DoD agencies on key strategy, research, and policy matters; develops insights to support senior decision makers in the determination of strategic options, operational requirements and resource considerations.

 Help

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration)
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment
• Required to participate in the direct deposit program
• This position is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance and access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI)
• The individual selected will be required to file an ‘Executive Branch Personnel Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-278) in accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978
• The incumbent must be able to travel throughout the United States, with occasional overseas travel.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show that you possess the Mandatory Technical Qualifications, and other qualifications, if applicable, listed below.

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

MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS: All applicants must submit written statements (narrative format) of accomplishments that would satisfy the technical qualifications. You must address each technical qualification separately. You are required to respond to all of the technical qualifications. If you fail to do so, you will be rated as ineligible. Please limit your written statements to no more than two pages per technical qualification, and must include your name.

1. Extensive education and knowledge in a field pertinent to the conduct of net assessments, including but not limited to, History, International Relations, Regional Studies, and various science and technology disciplines.

2. Extensive experience in operational research topics with emphasis on knowledge of the current trends in military operational concepts and military technology of the United States and its leading adversaries and in cutting-edge science and technology research and development to include the ability to assess foreign operational concepts and military technology developments and their impacts upon national and departmental programs, capabilities, and initiatives.

3. Demonstrated ability to inform and influence senior officials within DoD, the Intelligence Community, Services, Combatant Commands to the long-term implication (20-30 years) of current strategy, operational concepts, and budgetary decisions.

Time in grade is not required for Senior Level (SL) position.

All qualifications and education (if applicable) must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume.

Education

**THIS POSITION HAS INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS THAT MUST BE MET**

Basic Requirements

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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 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.

For positions at grades GS-12 and above, this experience must have included either (a) responsibility for the direction and coordination of research, analysis, or other professional work in one or more of the fields listed in A above, or (b) specialized professional work of a high level of difficulty and responsibility in one or more of these fields. This high level experience must have been in such specialized activities as (1) formulation of instructions and policy guidance for United States representatives in international organizations; (2) transport and communication involving knowledge of economic, political, and technical aspects of international aviation, shipping, inland transport, or radio, telephone, and telegraph, etc.; (3) cultural affairs involving formulation and operation of policy on large-scale international cultural exchange programs; (4) occupied area affairs involving problems of occupation of conquered or liberated countries, regions, or zones; or (5) other specialized international affairs such as analyzing public opinion and attitudes, evaluating specific conditions, trends, or forces in a foreign country, formulating policy on problems of petroleum resources or fisheries, etc., representing foreign interests, protecting American property or interests, arranging for conferences, or similar activities.

Additional information on the Individual Occupation Requirements can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0100/foreign-affairs-series-0130/

DOES THIS VACANCY HAVE POSITIVE EDUCATION REQUIREMENT?

You MUST provide transcripts to support your educational claims. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Application instructions

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on tendersglobal.net