Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Executive Office of the President, Office of the United State Trade Representative and serves as USTR's Senior Trade Representative within the State Department located in Beijing, China. The incumbent will be responsible for providing support in the development, coordination and implementation of U.S. trade policy strategies.

The selectee will be temporarily assigned to Washington, DC until all travel arrangements are finalized for relocation to Beijing, China.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

As a SENIOR TRADE REPRESENTATIVE (Minister Counselor Trade Affairs), SL-0301-00, you will be responsible for:

• Assists senior USTR officials with implementing other elements of the U.S. trade policy agenda with China.
• Represents the U.S. Trade Representative on a broad range of policy making and negotiating assignments.
• Participates in efforts in the U. S. and abroad to strengthen China's involvement in the world trading system in ways which are consistent with U.S. interest.
• Leads research effort in Beijing to understand restrictive PRC trade and market access policies, particularly ones that discriminate against U.S. goods and services in the Chinese economy.
• Participates in interagency and intergovernmental reviews of economic policy.
• Explains and defends the Administration's China trade policies to Chinese officials, the public and/or other foreign counterparts.

Travel Required

25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
00

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. citizen or national
• Selective Service registration is required if you are a male born after December 31, 1959.
• Subject to pre-employment and random drug tests.
• Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
• New employees to the Executive Office of the President will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/.
• May be required to successfully complete a one year managerial probationary period.
• You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
• THIS POSITION REQUIRES PROFESSIONAL PROFICIENCY IN SPEAKING AND READING MANDARIN.
• This position requires the incumbent to sign a mobility agreement.

Qualifications

Applicants must have at least one year of experience equivalent to the GS-15 level in the Federal Service.

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show that you possess all of the Mandatory Technical Qualifications listed. These qualifications would typically be acquired through education, senior level experience, and training which reflect progressive development and achievement in leading and managing a comprehensive program in a complex organization.

Qualification Requirements: You must submit a separate narrative statement that addresses each of the Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) related to this position.

Your narrative statements should include examples of experience, education, and accomplishments applicable to the qualification. Structure your statements in terms of the action taken, the context or environment in which the action was taken, and the outcome or results from such actions. You should write each statement with the vacancy in mind as all qualifications are directly related to the position being filled. If you do not submit a separate statement addressing the MTQs, you will not receive consideration for the position.

MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (MTQs) : All new entrants into the Senior Level Service under a career appointment will be assessed for executive competency against the following 4 mandatory technical qualifications.

Please limit your narrative statements to 10 pages (one and a half pages per factor). Each MTQs should contain at least two examples describing your experiences and accomplishments/results.

The statements should be a total of no more than 4 pages combined. Failure to do so will result in an incomplete application and you will be rated as 'ineligible.
MTQ1. Are you fluent in Mandarin (speaking and reading)? Please indicate proficiency level?

• Level 1 - Elementary Proficiency
• Level 2 - Limited Working Proficiency
• Level 3 - Professional Working Proficiency
• Level 4 - Full Professional Proficiency
• Level 5 - Native-Like Proficiency

MTQ2. Expert knowledge and thorough understanding of the policies and programs of the U.S. government regarding trade relations with China.
MTQ3. Demonstrated experience securing the cooperation of foreign counterparts, government and other high-ranking officials.
MTQ4. Demonstrated experience preparing written analyses of international trade issues and policy papers and making oral presentations of technical information.

Education

There is no basic education requirement for substitution for this position.

Additional information

Relocation is NOT authorized from your current duty location and/or home of record to Washington, DC.

***The selectee will be appointed to USTR for clearance and travel purposes and then assigned to a rotational tour through the State Department for 2 to 3 years to conduct USTR's mission in Beijing, China. The rotational tour may be extended. Once the tour is completed, the selectee will be returned to USTR under the appointment he/she were previously selected.***

Physical Demands:The incumbent may be required to travel on short notice. Extensive travel is required.

Work Environment: The incumbent may be required to work overtime, or perform under stressful conditions and complete assignments with severe time constraints established by higher level officials.

**Notice: More than one selection may be made within 90 days of the issuance of the certificate, if additional vacancies occur.**

A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements.

Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy Statement: http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/index.cfm

Employment Information Resources - Resource Center: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Main_Page

Males born after 12-31-1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx )

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternative Application .

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

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

The Office of Administration's Human Resources Management Division will review all applications to determine if applicants meet the mandatory technical qualifications of this position. Those who meet the qualifications will be referred to a panel of Executive Review Board (ERB) members for rating and ranking to determine the "best qualified" candidates. The panel may conduct interviews with the top candidates and then make a recommendation to the selecting official about the top candidates that he/she should interview.

Applications will be evaluated against the foregoing qualification requirements. Failure to meet any one of the mandatory technical or senior professional qualification standards will eliminate a candidate from further consideration. A screening panel will evaluate the candidates for this position composed of a diverse mix of senior executives selected for organizational and/or functional backgrounds relevant to this position. The panel members will individually review each of the applications in terms of the qualifications criteria contained in this announcement. The qualifications stated are the minimum requirements of the position to be Qualified, a rating schedule will be applied by a screening panel to determine which candidates are considered to be Best Qualified. Then, they will meet to discuss each application, and reach a consensus decision as to the best qualified, qualified or not qualified candidates. The panel will interview all of the best-qualified candidates based upon consistently applied criteria. The panel will then make a recommendation of those best-qualified candidates who should be referred to the selecting official, in priority order.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

All eligibility, qualifications, and time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

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
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

To receive full consideration, each applicant must submit the documents in the format as designated.
Packages that do not include all of the required documents or meet format requirements will not be forwarded for consideration.

************** ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE UPLOADED IN PDF FORMAT *******************

The Qualifications Documents must be formatted using Times New Roman, size 12 font, with 1-inch margins. Do not use borders, provide photos, or list a Social Security Number on any of the Qualifications Documents. DO NOT COMBINE DOCUMENTS.

A. Resume in the preferred (Limit 5 pages). Upload in PDF format . PLEASE DO NOT USE USAJOBS RESUME BUILDER.

B. Mandatory Technical Qualifications Statement addressing each of the TQs (Limit 4 pages). Upload in PDF format and include the MTQ statement as indicated in the announcement.

C. Most recent completed Performance Appraisal (current and/or former federal employees) or Performance Report (OPR or EPR). For applicants in the private sector, please provide a copy of your equivalent Evaluation Report.

D. Most recent Notification of Personnel Action, SF-50, noting your current position, grade level and salary level (applies only to current or former civilian government employee).

E. College transcript(s) (copy is acceptable) which demonstrates the acceptable combinations of education and experience as noted by OPM.

F. Military (Retired), a copy of your DD214 and/or Retirement orders. Documents are required.

DO NOT SUBMIT ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Extraneous materials such as copies of position descriptions, award certificates and transmittal letters will not be forwarded for review.