Duties

• Plans and accomplishes a broad range of activities in support of the State Department's foreign media engagement efforts.
• Identifies opportunities for innovation in international medial engagement, recommending strategies to apply technological developments to State Department public affairs efforts.
• Provides support for overseas spokespersons by providing guidance and recommendations to implement strategies.
• Develops relations with press and public affairs officers in regional bureaus in order to mutually develop strategies and approaches reflected in international Media.
• Explains significant issues to target audiences who are typically or responsive interested in U.S. policy. Works closely with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Media Strategy, Managing Director for International Media.
• Develops and maintains cooperative working relationships with staff within the Department, other federal agencies, and influential representatives of international media to provide knowledge of U.S. foreign policy action.
• At the GS-11 level, the incumbent performs essentially the same duties; however, the scope of the assignments is of less responsibility and independence and receives closer supervision.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.
• Verification of employment eligibility in the United States is required.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements, including education, and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement. If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript with your application.

NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements, by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade Requirements: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions, per 5CFR 300, Subpart F.

Applicants applying for the GS-11 grade level must meet one of the following requirements:

A. Have at least 1 full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service which provided you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

-Experience analyzing media environments.

-Experience with public affairs and press relations principles and concepts.

-Experience using a wide variety of communication strategies, techniques and dissemination methods.

OR

B. Have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M. from an accredited college or university.

OR

C. Have a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience (as described above), which is equivalent to the GS- 09 level in the Federal Service. This experience and education together meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

Combination of Experience and Education: When an applicant has less than one year of specialized experience as described in the announcement, he or she may combine successfully completed graduate-level education with experience to meet the total qualification requirements. Generally, 18 graduate semester hours is equivalent to 1 full-time year of graduate study (your school and department determine what constitutes 1 full time year of graduate study). The percentage of specialized work experience and the percentage of graduate study must total at least 100%.

Note: All applicants WILL BE required to submit transcripts as verification of educational requirement. If you fail to provide requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you may lose consideration for this position.

At the GS-12 Grade Level:

Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

-Experience in coordinating logistical details for open press events.

-Experience with public affairs and press relations principles and concepts.

-Experience in analyzing and evaluating materials as they relate to public affairs issues.

There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-12 position.

Education

See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements, if applicable.

Additional information

For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or ReasonableAccommodations@state.gov .

If eligible, telework and remote work agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. Please note that any approved remote work arrangement is subject to the locality pay area of the alternative telework worksite.

If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department that may require a higher security clearance.

EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROGRAM (E-Verify) - U.S. law requires organizations to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States - either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization. This agency utilizes E-Verify to compare information from the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm employment eligibility. If the employee's information does not match DHS and/or SSA records, the employee is given an opportunity to resolve the problem. If eligibility cannot be verified, employment will be terminated.