Job summary

This position is located in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (OUSDP). The USDP serves as the principal advisor and assistant to the Secretary of Defense for all matters concerned with the formulation of national security and defense policy with particular emphasis on the integration and oversight of DoD policy and plans to achieve national security objectives. Find out more about OUSDP on our LinkedIn page: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy | LinkedIn.

Major duties

This is an open continuous announcement. Applicants will be reviewed throughout the open period of the announcement. The first cut-off date for consideration of applicants will be 09/6/2024. Thereafter, the cut-off for applications received will be 10/06/2024; 11/06/2024; 12/06/2024; 01/06/2025; and 02/06/2025; etc., until the job opportunity announcement closes. Under this recruitment, applications will be accepted and selections made for vacancies as they occur. There may or may not be actual/projected vacancies at the time you submit your application. There will be a cut-off of 100 resumes each time applications are submitted to hiring managers. This Public Notice is to gather applications which may or may not result in a referral or selection. Please read this Notice in its entirety prior to submitting your application for consideration. Incumbent typical work assignments may include the following: Plays a major role in the study, review, and adjustment of the strategies, concepts, programs, and budgets required to support OSD policy and program guidance; focuses senior policy attention on issues with major defense policy, national security, or international security implications. Takes a lead role in managing team projects, including actively encouraging communication, coordination, innovation, and high quality team products; analyses highly complex policy, strategy, and force posture alternatives and implications. Provides expert advice at the ASD or higher level on key strategy and various other matters; reviews and develops Policy positions and responses to action originating in other DoD and non-DoD offices or agencies that have implications for foreign policy and national security policy, strategy, program, planning, and budgets. Represents DoD in delegations to international meetings and conferences; represents DoD positions during contact with the Congressional staff; monitors Congressional action on DoD defense strategy, programs, and budget; and develops or contributes testimony or other presentations to the Congress.

Qualification

Basic Requirement: 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, 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. Time in Grade: For entry at the GS-13 level, status applicants must have served 52 weeks as a GS-12 or higher grade in the Federal Service. For entry at the GS-14 level, status applicants must have served 52 weeks as a GS-13 or higher grade in the Federal Service. For entry at the GS-15 level, status applicants must have served 52 weeks as a GS-14 or higher grade in the Federal Service. Specialized Experience: For the GS-13, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in level of difficulty and responsibility to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable in difficulty and responsibility to GS-12 if outside the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as advising senior agency civilian leadership (e.g. Director, Principal Director, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary, Secretary) on political-military matters affecting U.S. national security interests; supporting the development of policy options and recommendations for senior DoD civilian leadership (e.g. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary, Secretary) to support the U.S. National Security Council-led interagency decision-making process; supporting the preparation of papers, memoranda, briefings, and/or messaging for senior agency civilian leadership (e.g. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary, Secretary); and supporting Congressional engagement by drafting Advance Policy Questions, responses to Questions for the Record, written and oral testimony, and/or Member and staff briefings. For the GS-14, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in level of difficulty and responsibility to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable in difficulty and responsibility to GS-13 if outside the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as advising senior agency civilian leadership (e.g. Director, Principal Director, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary, Secretary) on political-military matters affecting U.S. national security interests; developing policy options and recommendations for senior DoD civilian leadership (e.g. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary, Secretary) to support the U.S. National Security Council-led interagency decision-making process; conducting analyses regarding the development, interpretation, and/or implementation of agency, national security, or U.S. foreign policies; preparing papers, memoranda, briefings, and/or messaging for senior agency civilian leadership (e.g. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary, Secretary); and supporting Congressional engagement by drafting Advance Policy Questions, responses to Questions for the Record, written and oral testimony, and/or Member and staff briefings. For the GS-15, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in level of difficulty and responsibility to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable in difficulty and responsibility to GS-14 if outside the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as advising senior agency civilian leadership (e.g. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary, Secretary) on political-military matters affecting U.S. national security interests; conducting far-reaching analyses impacting the development, interpretation, and/or implementation of agency, national security, or U.S. foreign policies; preparing papers, memoranda, briefings, and/or messaging for senior agency civilian leadership (e.g. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary, Secretary); developing policy options and recommendations for senior agency civilian leadership (e.g. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Under Secretary, Secretary) to support the U.S. National Security Council-led interagency decision-making process; shaping Congressional engagement through the preparation of Advance Policy Questions, responses to Questions for the Record, written and oral testimony, and/or Member and staff briefings; and crafting and successfully negotiating consensus policy positions with other DoD, U.S. Government, and foreign entities to advance DoD's national security objectives. In addition to meeting the specialized experience requirements, qualified applicants must also possess the quality of experience as it relates to how closely or to what extent an applicant's background, recency of experience, education, and training are relevant to the duties and responsibilities of the announced position. Candidates must clearly demonstrate the possession of competencies necessary to successfully perform the work of the position at the appropriate level to be qualified for the position. Applicants must describe how their experience meets the competencies within the body of the resume. No separate statements addressing competencies are required. Competencies: International Engagement Action Planning, International Engagement Assessment & Analysis, International Engagement Implementation, International Engagement Policy Development, Oral Communication, and Writing Qualification and time-in-grade requirements must be met at the closing date of this announcement.

Education

There is no substitution of education for the qualifying experience at these grade levels. ARE YOU QUALIFYING BASED ON A COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE? You must provide sufficient documentation of your education in your resume. You are strongly encouraged to provide a copy of transcripts or degrees in your application package. It is also acceptable to document your applicable course listing in your resume (course number, credits earned, etc.). 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. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency. If selected, an official/sealed transcript will be required prior to appointment. To be creditable, education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. You must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions that are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services at the time of application. National Association of Credential Evaluation Services.

Evaluations

Once the application process is complete, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the applicant questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If, after reviewing your resume and or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. The Assessment Questionnaire takes approximately 15 minutes to complete and collects information on your education, training and experience related to the following critical competencies: International Engagement Action Planning International Engagement Assessment & Analysis International Engagement Implementation International Engagement Policy Development Oral Communication Writing You can preview the Questionnaire here:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12500789 Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further.