Duties

Summary

USAID is the world's premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID works to help lift lives, build communities, and advance democracy. USAID's work advances U.S. national security and economic prosperity; demonstrates American generosity; and promotes a path to recipient self-reliance and resilience. We operate in five regions of the world: Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Eurasia.

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Responsibilities

This is a Foreign Service announcement. Worldwide availability is a requirement of the position.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is looking for dynamic, committed Population/Health/Nutrition professionals who want to make a difference in the lives of millions across the globe.

PHN officers perform the following duties:

- Design, implement and evaluate population/health/nutrition (PHN) programs in any of the following relevant areas: Primary health care, maternal/child health, population/family planning, HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases (including TB, malaria, and pandemic threats), environmental health, nutrition, social marketing of public health concepts or products, demography, epidemiology, biomedical/clinical research, health economics, and health system strengthening.

- Cooperate with other US Government (USG) agencies in country, under the leadership of the US Ambassador, to ensure integrated US government strategies and programs to improve the health of the country's citizens and to support achievement of USG foreign policy objectives.

- Identify priority assistance needs in the PHN public health sector and to decide how to invest USAID resources to address the public health sector needs identified.

- Design projects and programs, with appropriate budgets, to meet the needs identified in the PHN public health sector.

- Ensure the successful implementation of PHN projects, including managing procurement and human resources.

- Monitor, evaluate, and report on the extent to which projects are achieving the purpose intended and results.

- Advise senior Agency leaders on technical health policy and approaches.

- Work with host country health officials in project design and implementation and to negotiate with senior host country officials to improve outcomes.

- Coordinate with international agencies, other donors, and NGOs to provide health sector assistance to the country.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - A Foreign Service Officer generally spends the majority of their career assigned to the Agency's overseas missions and works in assigned developing countries with a variety of challenges (civil war, political unrest, lack of modern conveniences).

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
SFS - Advancement to Senior Foreign Service on a merit basis is possible for employees who secure tenure and satisfy the requirements of promotion boards.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. citizen.
• Must have worldwide availability.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a TS security clearance.
• Must be between 18 and 59 years old at time of application.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with the Selective Service.
• Must meet all requirements of this announcement.

Medical Clearance. A medical clearance or waiver for the applicant is required prior to being hired for this position. FS members must be able to serve at any overseas post or receive a waiver. Many facilities are remote, unhealthy, or have limited medical support. Therefore, each applicant must meet medical fitness standards or receive a waiver. Prior to being appointed to the Foreign Service, applicants must have a thorough medical examination and must be able to receive a medical clearance for worldwide availability or a waiver.

Qualifications

Education & Experience:

FS-05, $56,728.00 (with Washington D.C. locality) to $90,342.00: A Master's, OR a Doctorate level degree (e.g., PhD, DrPH, MD) in a functional area directly related to the population, health, or nutrition (PHN) officer position, such as international health, public health, population studies, demography, medicine, nursing, or midwifery; OR a related degree, such as international development, public administration or management, social or behavioral science or social work WITH an academic sub-concentration or specialization in public health or international health PLUS three (3) years of relevant work experience, with a minimum of two (2) years overseas in developing countries and/or in a diverse domestic environment is required.

FS-04, $70,009.00 (with Washington D.C. locality) to $111,493.00: A Master's degree in a functional area directly related to the population, health, or nutrition (PHN) officer position, such as international health, public health, population studies, demography, medicine, nursing, or midwifery; OR a related degree, such as international development, public administration or management, social or behavioral science or social work WITH an academic sub-concentration or specialization in public health or international health PLUS five (5) years of relevant work experience, with a minimum of four (4) years overseas in developing countries and/or in a diverse domestic environment is required

OR a Doctorate level degree (e.g., PhD, DrPH, MD) in a functional area directly related to the population, health, or nutrition (PHN) officer position, such as international health, public health, population studies, demography, medicine, nursing, or midwifery; OR a related Doctoral level degree, such as international development, public administration or management, social or behavioral science or social work WITH an academic sub-concentration or specialization in public health or international health PLUS four (4) years relevant work experience, with a minimum of three (3) years overseas in developing countries and/or in a diverse domestic environment.

Relevant work experience is defined as experience in one or more of the following public health areas: primary health care, maternal health, child survival, population/family planning/reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases (including TB, malaria, and pandemic threats), environmental health, nutrition, social marketing of public health concepts or products, demography, epidemiology, biomedical/clinical research, health economics, health systems strengthening.

Examples of diverse domestic environment include: direct experience serving on an Indian reservation in the Public Health Service (e.g., Navajo reservation in Arizona), working on public health issues in rural areas (e.g., family planning/maternal child health service provision in Appalachia), working on a public health issue with under-served populations in an inner city (e.g., HIV at-risk populations in a U.S. inner city).

Relevant overseas experience includes: serving or working in an overseas context directly related to the Foreign Service Officer position in which you experienced new cultures, learned foreign languages, encountered different cultures and practices, coordinated and engaged with external partners and local counterparts, or conducted public outreach and communications.

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.

Writing - Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a succinct and organized manner; produces written information, which may include technical material, that is appropriate for the intended audience.

Teamwork/Interpersonal Skills - Shows courtesy and empathy to others; develops and maintains effective relationships; effectively deals with individuals who are difficult or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds cultures; is sensitive to individual differences.

Management - Knowledge of planning, coordination, and execution of development projects, including human and financial resource allocation.

Problem Solving: Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

Leadership: Influences, motivates, and challenges others; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations.

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

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 other on technical issues.

Flexibility: Is open to change and new information; adapts behavior or work methods in respond to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles; effectively deals with ambiguity.

Education

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements. Transcripts from any and all foreign educational institutions must be accompanied by an official Evaluation of Educational Credentials in order to be considered for the position. It is your responsibility to provide evidence that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States when applying. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Click on the following link for a list of accredited organizations ( https://www.naces.org/members ) recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials. More information may be found at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Unofficial transcripts must be uploaded as part of the application. Failure to do so will result in the application being eliminated from consideration. If we are unable to determine that you meet the required education, you will be found ineligible for further consideration. If you proceed past the initial application phase, official transcripts must be received by USAID from your university/institution during the final selection process.

Additional information

Applicants who previously applied for this position and were interviewed will not be invited for another interview within a 12 month period from the closing date of the announcement.

SELECTIVE SERVICE. As a condition of employment, all male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must have registered for the selective service. If selected for this position, the applicant must sign a statement certifying his registration, or the applicant must demonstrate exempt status under the Selective Service Law.

Career appointments in the Foreign Service are covered by the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended, which requires an applicant to be 18 years old at time of application and which directs mandatory retirement at age 65. Given this mandatory retirement age and the fact that five years must be allowed to achieve tenure in the agency, there is an upper age limit of 59 at time of appointment to the Foreign Service.

Veteran's preference. Qualified veterans will be considered consistent with the requirements of the Foreign Service Act.

These are Testing Designated Positions (TDPs) under the Agency's approved Drug-Free Work Place Program. All applicants selected for this position will be subject to random drug testing once they begin working for the Agency.

Medical Clearance. A medical clearance or waiver for the applicant is required prior to being hired for this position. FS members must be able to serve at any overseas post or receive a waiver. Many facilities are remote, unhealthy, or have limited medical support. Therefore, each applicant must meet medical fitness standards or receive a waiver. Prior to being appointed to the Foreign Service, applicants must have a thorough medical examination and must be able to receive a medical clearance for worldwide availability or a waiver.

Foreign Language Ability. Foreign language ability has no effect on whether or not you are selected for an interview. However, to reach required tenured status, you must be able to achieve minimum proficiency levels in a USAID tenuring languag e. Candidates who demonstrate a predefined level of proficiency will be given the opportunity to test for bonus points that will be added to their final interview score. Testing will be conducted via telephone and/or in person.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

BASIS OF RATING: Qualified applicants receive a score of 70 to 100 before veteran's preference points are applied (if applicable). You will be rated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the education, experience, and training you report relative to this position that show the degree to which you possess the required competencies listed on this vacancy announcement. USAID must be able to conduct reference checks as part of its assessment process. Applicants who do not permit reference checks from previous employers may be disqualified.

IMPORTANT: If you are found to have rated your self assessment higher than the information in your on-line application, supporting documentation narratives, and/or any other relevant part of your application package; including attachments, a score will manually be determined that reflects your documented experience. This may result in a lowered score and may also eliminate you from the best qualified list.

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Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Top Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

NOTE: We are aware some applicants are being directed during the application process to submit redundant documents. You are only required to submit the "Vacancy Level" documents: Resume, Transcript, SF-15 (if applicable), DD-214 (if applicable), and Miscellaneous (for any document you'd like to submit that doesn't fall under the category of the first four). The second request for "Registration Level" documents is the result of a technical error and can be ignored.

The following documents will be required for verification of eligibility before employment is offered:
• Proof of United States Citizenship (birth certificate, passport, or other acceptable documentation), these are not required to be submitted as part of the initial application.
• Official copy of college transcript of education used to qualify you for this position. For the initial application, only a copy of unofficial transcript is required.
• If claiming veteran's preference you must provide acceptable documentation of your preference or appointment eligibility. Acceptable documentation may be: a copy of your DD-214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty," which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions; a "certification" that is a written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is signed; OR a Standard Form 15 Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. If you are claiming 10 point preference, you will need to submit a SF 15. You may obtain a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs reflecting your level of disability for preference eligibility by visiting a VA Regional Office, contacting a VA call center or online. For more information on veteran's preference and eligibility, visit https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job-seekers/veterans-preference/#content

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.