Foreign Affairs Advisor

RWD Consulting•Washington, DC

12d•Onsite

About The Position

RWD Consulting, LLC is seeking a Foreign Affairs Advisor to provide services in support of the work of the Office of Foreign Assistance Oversight, Vetting and Accountability (FAO/VA) to advance U.S. foreign policy. The Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Oversight, Vetting and Accountability (FAO/VA) works to strengthen the Department’s risk assessment and statutory accountability measures by aligning the provision of U.S. arms transfers and security assistance with U.S. laws, regulations, and practices on human rights and civilian protection. The office is responsible for implementing the Leahy Law and the Child Soldiers Prevention Act, and is the Department’s lead in conducting human rights, international humanitarian law, and civilian harm risk assessments for proposed U.S. arms transfers.

Requirements

Familiarity with the principles, theories, and practices of international relations and human rights.
Familiarity with security forces, military organizations, and equipment.
Familiarity with the human rights record of foreign governments.
Familiarity with security assistance programs under Title 10 and Title 22 of the U.S. Code.
Ability to develop thorough knowledge of Departmental organizations, functions, programs, relationships, and resources.
Broad-based knowledge of organizations and programs that constitute the U.S. foreign affairs community.
Ability to develop professional working relationships with officers throughout the Department and with the foreign policy community.
Proficiency in computerized tracking of action requests, and information searches – both classified and open source.
Proficiency in research and analytical methods to validate, evaluate, and interpret information obtained from a variety of sources.
Ability to plan and organize activities to independently accomplish assignments according to established policies and practices.
Ability to establish liaison with officials in other organizations to provide opportunities for exchanging information of mutual interest.
Skill in oral and written communications to prepare and present analysis, to defend recommendations and proposals, and to participate in meetings and discussions.
Skill in using open source and classified information sources to determine human rights, International Humanitarian Law, and civilian protection concerns associated with U.S. security assistance programming and proposed arms transfers, and to map those concerns geographically, functionally, and temporally.
Broad experience in vetting USG assistance to foreign security forces.
Familiarity with individuals, organizations, and other sources of expertise in the fields of human rights, U.S. arms transfer controls, and U.S. security assistance programming in the academic and non-governmental sector.
Familiarity with drafting, clearing, and publishing cables, memos, reports, and other documents for the Department of State
At least two years of experience in foreign policy analysis.
Hold an active TOP SECRET/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearance.

Nice To Haves

CT401 - Counter Threat Awareness Training
PP410 - Leahy Policy and Diplomacy

Responsibilities

Conduct policy analysis and research and assist with policy recommendations in support of FAO/VA’s mandate, including but not limited to security sector assistance and arms sales; security force conduct, reported human rights violations, and government accountability measures; civilian protection and reported incidents of civilian harm; monitoring and documenting atrocities; and addressing issues related to children and armed conflict.
Participate in meetings across the USG and foreign policy community on issues related to security and human rights, and maintain relationships with key USG, civil society, and bilateral stakeholders and counterparts.
Draft briefing checklists and talking points for FAO leadership; author congressionally mandated reports on security and human rights concerns; and coordinate with the interagency on key topics and shared concerns.
Serve as a FAO/VA subject matter expert and advisor on laws, policies, and procedures including but not limited to gross violations of human rights, conduct and accountability of security forces, security sector assistance, Leahy vetting, arms sales, civilian protection, atrocity prevention and early warning, , and the recruitment and use of child soldiers.
Research, draft, and clear State Department responses to Congressionally mandated reports, Congressional inquiries, and FOIA requests pertaining to security and human rights issues, and serve as an advisor for others in the office on the clearance process.
Draft, clear, publish, and implement ALDACs, bulletins, and other documents related to implementation of the State Leahy law and implementation policies, and provide ongoing guidance to posts in complying with these instructions.
Advise on Leahy workflow at posts worldwide, reviewing posts’ Leahy Vetting Standard Operating Procedures and providing policy and procedural advice on routine Leahy vetting matters.
Provide advice to posts on vetting best practices, based on existing policy, including the adoption of more unit vetting and proactive vetting.
Promulgate changes to vetting policy and procedures to posts.
Develop detailed knowledge of the INVESTc system
Draft and clear Leahy Vetting Guide updates at State and the Pentagon, including changes based on INVEST deployment and future system updates.
Update NFATC Leahy policy training materials as needed.
Provide advice to posts on Leahy remediation policies and procedures, schedule and facilitate State remediation review panels, and review and assist in drafting State remediation recommendations.
Routinely review and update the State Leahy Vetting Fast Track list and provide guidance to posts that are added or removed from the Fast Track list.
Routinely develop and update State Leahy law and implementation policy training materials and provide Leahy-related training to a wide variety of U.S. Government, public, and international audiences as needed.
Assist posts and the Department in complying with Leahy implementation related OIG, GAO, and other audits of posts and Department bureaus as needed.