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Foreign Service Officer Trainee
APHIS, IS will hold a Foreign Service Officer Informational Webinar on October 21, 2024 at 8:00pm, ET via Zoom. You must register for this event if you would like to join. Please register now to join us. The webinar presentation will be posted APHIS International Services website, www.aphis.usda.gov/aphisoverseas immediately following the webinar. Click "Learn more about this agency" for additional position information.
10/17/2024 to 11/01/2024
$61,965 - $139,786 per year
FP 4 - 5
Many vacancies in the following location:
Yes
Not applicable, this is a remote position.
75% or less - Once onboard, you will be expected to travel for training and to move to your assigned post.
No
Term - 5 years (trainee), with the intent to commission into a career Foreign Service Officer position.
Full-time
Excepted
4 - In the Foreign Service, Class 1 is the highest and the entry level of this position is class 5 (GS-11 equivalent).
No
Yes
No
DE-12549096-25-IS-AC
814258000
This is an interdisciplinary announcement. This means that applicants may qualify for either the 0701 job series as a Veterinary Medical Officer; the 0414 job series as an Entomologist; or the 0434 job series as a Plant Pathologist to serve as a Foreign Service Officer Trainee, dependent on the selectee's educational background and qualifications. Selectees will be placed in the job series/title for which they meet the Basic Education and Minimum Qualification requirements.
BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT for Veterinary Medical Officer in the 0701 job series: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or equivalent degree, i.e., Veterinary Medical Doctor (VMD), obtained at a school or college of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA). The AVMA website has a listing of all AVMA-accredited veterinary medical schools. AVMA website: https://www.avma.org OR:
Graduates of foreign veterinary medical schools that are not accredited by the AVMA Council on Education must meet one of the following requirements: a) Proof of certification of their final transcript by the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG);
b) Possession of a permanent, full, and unrestricted license to practice veterinary medicine in a State, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States that includes successful completion of the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) or its predecessors, the National Board Examination (NBE) and the Clinical Competency Test (CCT);OR
c) Proof that the education obtained in a foreign veterinary medical program is equivalent to that gained in a veterinary medical program that is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education. An AVMA-accredited veterinary medical school or college must have accepted the final transcript from the foreign veterinary medical school at full value for placement into an advanced degree, postgraduate educational program, or training program (e.g., residency or graduate program).
In addition, graduates of foreign veterinary medical programs must also provide proof of proficiency in the English language by successfully completing one of the nationally and internationally recognized examinations that incorporate assessments of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Examples of examinations that assess mastery of the English language are shown below:
a) Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - Minimum scores for the TOEFL are 560 for the paper-based version; 220 for the computer-based version; or overall score of 83 for the internet-based version (including 26 or higher in speaking, 26 or higher in listening, and 17 or higher in writing). For the computer-based and paper-based test versions, applicants must also complete the Test of Spoken English (TSE) and the Test of Written English (TWE). Minimum required scores are 55 for the TSE and 5.5 for the TWE.
b) Academic tests (listening, writing, and speaking) offered by the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Applicants must achieve a minimum overall band score of 7.0, with at least 7.0 in speaking, 6.5 in listening, and 6.0 in writing; OR
c) Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL). Applicants must achieve a minimum overall band score of 70, with at least 60 in speaking, 60 in listening, and 50 in writing. Graduates of foreign veterinary medical programs must submit test results with their application. Results of more than one test or testing session cannot be combined to meet the standard.
Waiver Provision: English language proficiency assessments may be waived for qualified job applicants whose native language is English (i.e., the official or common language of an individuals country of birth is English) who submit a diploma or other official documentation as proof of graduation from a high (secondary) school where the entire curriculum and educational programs were taught in the English language for the entire 3 or 4 years of full-time attendance.
BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT for Entomologist in the 0414 job series: A degree in entomology; or a related discipline of the biological or physical sciences that included at least 16 semester hours in entomology.
OR
Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major that included 16 semester hours in entomology, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education qualify at this level.
BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT for Plant Pathologist in the 0434 job series: A degree in Plant Pathology; or a another directly related scientific discipline that included at least 20 semester hours in basic botany or plant science, and 10 semester hours in plant pathology.
NOTE: Graduate Level Education must have been in plant pathology or in one of the recognized related subject-matter fields or have followed a curriculum or pattern of training that placed major emphasis on these fields or one of the recognized related subject-matter fields, such as those dealing with particular types of pathogens, diseases of particular kinds of crops, or chemical or biological controls. Graduate study in related fields such as microbiology, entomology, plant physiology, genetics, agronomy, horticulture, forestry, or chemistry may also be qualifying, provided it placed a sufficient amount of emphasis on plant pathology or entomology. A CV or additional documentation from the university may be needed to determine the subject matter of capstone, dissertation or related field coursework if it is not identifiable from the transcript that they are related to the required fields above.
Selectees will have a strong background in science and upon successful completion of a training program, will be APHIS Foreign Service Officers Career Candidates ready to serve at overseas posts. The training program lasts from 6-18 months. Appointees will be onboarded remotely from their current home location and may be expected to travel to the APHIS office in Washington Metropolitan area for parts of their Training. Trainees that complete all medical and security clearances, fulfill all training requirements, and gain approval by APHIS management, will be posted overseas at US Embassies representing the interests of the USDA abroad. Applicants should be interested in and enthusiastic about living in a foreign country for extended periods of time.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Applicants who meet basic and minimum qualifications and are among the top scoring individuals will be invited to attend the Assessment Center. Scoring for this first assessment will be based on the applicants' quality of experience and the extent they possess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) or competencies:
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure or downtime, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.
Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov. It is recommended that as part of your profile you set up automatic email notification to be informed when the status of your application changes. If you choose not to set up this automatic notification, then you will have to log into your USAJOBS account to check on the status of your application.
Step 2: Create a Resume with USAJOBS or upload a Resume into your USAJOBS account. You may want to customize your resume to ensure it documents duties and accomplishments you have gained that are directly related to this position in order to verify that qualifications are met. In addition, your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire (you may preview the online questionnaire by clicking on the link at the end of the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement).
Step 3: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the Occupational Questionnaire and attach any additional documents that may be required. You can update your application or documents anytime while the announcement is open. Simply log into your USAJOBS account and click on "Application Status." Click on the position title, and then select "Update Application" to continue.
NOTE: If a document is resubmitted, it replaces the previous submission, which means the previous document is no longer available to the Human Resources Office. If you are adding to, rather than replacing a previous submission, you must upload both the old document and the new document. You must verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Applicants may combine all like required documents (e.g. SF-50s or veteran docs) into one or more files and scan for uploading into the application. Each file must not exceed 5MB. Grouping like documents into files will simplify the application process. Documents must be in one of the following formats: GIF, JPEG, JPG, PDF, PNG, RTF, or Word (DOC or DOCX). Uploaded documents may not require a password, digital signature, or other encryption to open.
If you set up your USAJOBS account to send automatic email notifications, your will receive an email acknowledging: 1) the submission of your online Occupational Questionnaire and resume was successful, 2) if you were referred to the selecting official for consideration, and 3) if you were selected or not selected. Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account to check your application status.
Multiple positions are intended to be filled from this announcement. 17 Career Officer Candidates were appointed from the 2022 Assessment Center announcement. The number of positions filled will be based on mission needs and successful applications.
Under the Fair Chance Act, agencies are not allowed to request information about an applicant's criminal history until a conditional offer of employment has been made, except as allowed for access to classified information; assignment to national security duties or positions; acceptance or retention in the armed forces; or recruitment of a Federal law enforcement officer. An applicant may submit a complaint or any other information related to an organization's alleged noncompliance with the Fair Chance Act. The complaint must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged noncompliance. To make a Fair Chance Act inquiry or complaint, send an email with the appropriate information to MRP.Fairchance@usda.gov, subject line: Fair Chance Act.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/814258000. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), International Services (IS) seeks candidates for the APHIS Foreign Service Officer (FSO) training program. Successful applicants will be placed on an applicant inventory. If selected, complete the required training program (which may last from 6 - 18 months), and fulfill all mandatory requirements, you will be assigned overseas to assist in carrying out APHIS safeguarding, trade facilitation, and capacity-building mission.
These are excepted service positions in the Foreign Service and may be filled as Veterinary Medical Officers in the 0701 job series; Entomologists in the 0414 job series, or Plant Pathologists in the 0434 job series, dependent on selectee's qualifications.
Selectees will have a strong background in science and upon successful completion of a training program, will be APHIS Foreign Service Officers ready to serve at overseas posts. The training program lasts from 6-12 months. Trainees that complete all medical and security clearances, fulfill all training requirements, and gain approval by APHIS management, will be posted overseas at US Embassies representing the interests of the USDA abroad. Candidates should be interested and enthusiastic about living in a foreign country for extended periods of time.
Qualified candidates will be invited to attend a day-long virtual Assessment Center. This will take place for one day between January 27-31, 2025.
