Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Labor (DOL), Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) located in Washington, DC and specifically serves in Geneva, Switzerland and falls under the Chief of Mission (COM) Authority.

-Additional selections may be made from this announcement.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

Please note: The selected applicant will be assigned to serve in Geneva, Switzerland at time of appointment or sometime after appointment. The assignment in Geneva, Switzerland is temporary, not to exceed two years and may be extended up to one additional year. Upon completion or termination of the assignment, the attaché will return to a comparable position within ILAB in Washington, DC that is at the same grade level as obtained through their attaché position.

The pay scale for the assignment in Geneva, Switzerland is as follows:

GS-14: $92,977 - $120,868

GS-15: $109,366 - $142,180

The selected candidate will be relocated to Geneva at government expense and will be eligible for all benefits normally provided to US government employees at mission Geneva, including Cost of Living Allowance.

https://aoprals.state.gov/web920/location_action.asp?MenuHide=1&CountryCode=1109

This position is authorized foreign entitlements in accordance with the Department of State Standardized Regulations (DSSR).

This selection is contingent upon host country approval.

When employee is assigned to Geneva, Switzerland the employee will not receive Washington DC locality pay, salary will be adjusted to reflect basic pay.

The Foreign Service Act and the President's Letter of Instruction to Chiefs of Mission give the COM full authority over and responsibility for the direction, coordination and supervision of all USG executive branch employees in his/her country, regardless of employment categories or locations, except those under the command of U.S. are a military commanders, on the staff of international organizations, or serving as Voice of America correspondents on assignment. Furthermore, all executive branch agencies with employees under COM authority must keep the COM fully informed of their activities and ensure that all such employees comply fully with all applicable COM directives.

Major duties for this position include but are not limited to, the following:

• The DOL attaché leads a number of activities related to DOL's international mission to support the U.S. Ambassador in Geneva and the broader U.S. mission on labor and employment issues.
• The attaché serves in Geneva, Switzerland, under COM Authority and reports to the Counselor for Multilateral Economic and Political Affairs and to senior ILAB leadership.
• Serves as an authoritative expert to the Mission in Geneva, Department officials, and USG agencies on developments related to substantive labor and employment issues and institutional issues in the ILO.
• Actively engages in discussions at the ILO and with officials from other governments to advance labor and employment issues related to DOL mandates and mission priorities, working to achieve congruence with U.S. positions on employment and labor issues, and enhancing U.S. influence and presence at the ILO and other relevant organizations and bureaus.
• Identifies and addresses critical concerns or unyielding problems, influences outcomes, and makes recommendations for interagency actions in coordination with officials and representatives of other governments, civil society, and ILO and other international organizations.
• Advocates and develops new strategies that advance DOL's mandates and mission priorities in Geneva.
• Promotes U.S. labor and employment priorities and interests in the ILO and with foreign mission officials responsible for ILO issues, including through active engagement on ILO cases that involve U.S. interests and priorities.
• Designs and conducts comprehensive research and analysis to assess the impact of developments on DOL mandates and broader USG labor and employment priorities, as appropriate.
• Evaluates labor market information and new conventions and recommendations to prepare reports, analyses, and justifications and brief officials on these issues as they relate to DOL mandates and broader USG policies, programs, and initiatives in the ILO.
• Assesses in-depth ILO capabilities for implementing DOL projects and assures that projects are implemented in full compliance with U.S. policies, priorities, and agreed-upon timelines and procedures.
• Conducts briefings (oral and written) and drafts reporting and analytical cables, as needed and in coordination with other Mission officials.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - 10 percent of the time.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
15 - There is no obligation to provide future promotions if you are selected. Promotions are dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, meet all the performance requirements, and supervisor's recommendation to the next grade.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.
• Appointment to this position may require a background investigation.
• Subject to pre-employment and random drug tests.
• Subject to financial disclosure requirements.
• Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.
• Must be at least 16 years old and a U.S. Citizen.

Applicants must meet all legal and regulatory requirements. Reference the "Required Documents" section for additional requirements.

Qualifications

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Basic Requirements:

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, in one or more of the social sciences, or in the humanities, 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.

At the GS-15 grade level:

In addition to the basic requirements of this position, applicants must also possess 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-14, in the Federal Service.

Specialized experience is defined as experience implementing USG international labor mandates and shaping relevant priorities, such as assessing countries' labor laws and enforcement for their effectiveness in complying with international labor standards, and developing labor-related policy or program recommendations for senior leadership and U.S. government agencies.

At the GS-14 grade level:

In addition to the basic requirements of this position, applicants must also possess 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-13, in the Federal Service.

Specialized experience is defined as experience implementing USG international labor mandates and priorities, such as assessing countries' labor laws and enforcement for their effectiveness in complying with international labor standards and developing labor-related policy or program recommendations for senior leadership and U.S. government agencies.

Education

Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.

If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum course work requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

Additional information

DOL seeks to attract and retain a high performing and diverse workforce in which employees' differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse customers we serve. DOL fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration, flexibility and fairness so that all individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential.

Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION , ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION , FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be evaluated against the evaluation factors below and will be placed into a category based on your vacancy question responses.

Categories

Category A - Meets the basic qualification requirements for the vacancy and has successful experience in the same or similar job that has demonstrated superior proficiency in applying critical competencies required by this position to work of increased levels of difficulty and complexity.

Category B - Meets the basic qualification requirements for the vacancy and demonstrates satisfactory proficiency in the critical competencies required by this position.

Category C - Meets the specialized experience described in the minimum qualifications requirements section of this announcement and demonstrates proficiency in the basic competencies.

Evaluation Factors (Competencies) - All qualified applicants will be evaluated on the following key competencies:

Technical Competence - Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.

Influencing/Negotiating - Persuades others to accept recommendations, cooperate, or change their behavior; works with others towards an agreement; negotiates to find mutually acceptable solutions.

External Awareness - Identifies and understands economic, political, and social trends that affect the organization. Understands and keeps up-to-date on local, national, and international policies and trends that affect the organization and shape stakeholders' views; is aware of the organization's impact on the external environment.

Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

The information you provide on your resume may be verified by a review of your work experience, employment start/end dates/hours worked and/or education, by checking references and through other means (ex. interview). The examining Office of Human Resources (OHR) makes the final determination concerning applicant ratings. Your resume MUST provide sufficient information to substantiate your responses to the vacancy questions. If not, the OHR may amend your responses to more accurately reflect the level of competency indicated by the content of your resume. Your evaluation may also include a review by a Human Resources Specialist or panel and may include other assessments (ex. interview, panel review, written test, writing sample, etc.)

INFORMATION FOR ICTAP/CTAP ELIGIBLES ONLY: If you are eligible for special priority selection under ICTAP/CTAP, you must be well-qualified for the position to receive consideration. ICTAP/CTAP eligibles who are placed into Category B or higher will be considered "well-qualified".

Click Application of Veterans Preference for Category Rating Jobs for more information.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Top Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk

Trust determination process
National security

Required Documents

The following documents must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the vacancy closing date. You are not required to submit a document if it does not apply to you. Warning: If you submit a document using the same document title, the 2nd submission will OVERWRITE the 1st submission. Also, do not upload password protected documents.

- Resume - All Applicants are required to provide a resume by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of your choosing. Cover letters are optional. To receive full consideration for relevant and specialized experience, please list month, year, and the number of work hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to the vacancy questionnaire.

- Veterans Documents (if applicable): To be considered as a 5-point preference eligible, you must submit a copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, DD214. Your DD-214 must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty. To claim 10-point preference, you must submit a copy of your DD214; an Application for 10-point Veteran's Preference, SF15; and the proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally an official statement, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability. (For active duty service members expecting honorable or general discharge or release within 120 days, click Active Duty ). Without this documentation, you will not receive veteran's preference. For more information, go to: http://www.fedshirevets.gov/hire/hrp/vetguide/index.aspx

- Displaced Employee Placement Documents - Only required if requesting priority consideration under CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.

- Unofficial Transcript(s) (in English) - submit if using education as a basis for qualifying for this position. If so, you must submit all applicable academic transcripts demonstrating that you meet the qualifying educational requirements (ex. BA/BS, MA, JD, PHD, etc). If specific course work is required to qualify, you must supply transcripts from each academic institution in which the required courses were taken in order to receive credit.

You may upload your transcript(s) as one document (3 MB size limit). If over 3 MB, please submit via fax feature.

OFFICIAL Transcripts MUST BE RECEIVED prior to selection and report date. Reference the "Education Section" for College Transcript and Evaluation of Foreign Education.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.