International Relations Specialist

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards.

This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience OR substitution of education for experience OR combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements: To qualify for the 0131 series: EDUCATION: A.

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 B.

Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major, or a combination of related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours, in one or more of the social sciences, or in the humanities, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. OR C.

01Experience

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. AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service.

Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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. To qualify at the ZA-3 or GS-11 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-2 or GS-09 in the Federal service.

Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Assisting in development and implementation of international partnerships, including supporting negotiations, and drafting reports; Supporting planning for international meetings including foreign visits and travel; and Assisting in the development of policy positions and briefing materials. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of successfully completed graduate-level education and specialized experience may be used to meet the total experience requirements. Note: Only graduate-level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience.

As an International Relations Specialist, you will perform the following duties: Participate, advise, and coordinate in the implementation of foreign policy and international and bilateral programs undertaken by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Use knowledge of U.S. foreign policy, science and technology policy, including environmental policy. Provide recommendations, guidance and support to the office of the Director and Deputy, agency policy makers and NOAA senior leadership.

• Evaluate matters affecting international policy issues, foreign policies, and international and bilateral programs that may impact government-to-government and agency-to-agency relations.
• Apply knowledge to form positions and recommendations which have a significant effect on international policy development, negotiations, and agreements.
• Develop sources of information.
• Identify and perform analyses of issues.

Coordinate findings with other specialists and prepare written reports and/or oral briefings to present appropriate information in a concise and coherent manner to agency, inter-agency, and international partners. Exercise responsibility as an independent specialist for planning and coordinating activities with foreign governments and organizations and analyze and advise on changes in policies and/or resources that affect agency objectives.

Negotiate, implement, and analyze agreements with foreign governments and organizations. Maintain full performance level knowledge of NOAA cooperation with various foreign government partners and organizations.