OPEN TO: Current Employees of the Mission -All Agencies
U.S. Citizen Eligible Family Members (USEFMs) - All Agencies
Eligible Family Members (EFMs) and Members of Household (MOH) – All Agencies
U.S. Citizens and Foreign Nationals
(Ordinarily Resident and Not Ordinarily Resident)

POSITION: Political-Economic Specialist
American Consulate General, Florence
FSN-10:FP-5
OPENING DATE: September 12, 2014
CLOSING DATE: September 26, 2014
WORK HOURS: Full-time; 40 hours/week
SALARY: *Not Ordinarily Resident: $56,887 gross p.a. (Starting salary)
(Position Grade: FP-5 to be confirmed by Washington)
*Ordinarily Resident: Euro 50,300 gross p.a. (Starting salary)
(Position Grade: FSN-10) 

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ALL ORDINARILY RESIDENT (OR) APPLICANTS MUST HAVE THE REQUIRED WORK AND/OR RESIDENCY PERMITS TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR CONSIDERATION.

The American Consulate General in Florence is seeking candidates for a position as "Political-Economic Specialist" in the Political-Economic Section, available immediately.

BASIC FUNCTIONS AND MAJOR DUTIES OF THE POSITION
The incumbent of this position is responsible for sustaining the Consulate's long-term relationships with Italian and San Marinese contacts across the spectrum. S/he develops and maintains contacts and relationships with senior host government officials, political party leaders, parliamentarians and other key political, economic and business representatives, judicial system representatives and analysts, think tanks, non-governmental organizations, media, and academic institutions.

The Political-Economic Specialist advises mission officers on appropriate domestic meetings for visiting U.S. officials, often taking the lead on arranging logistics for these visits. S/he provides advice on domestic politics, press and economic issues to mission officers in response to unanticipated issues and emergencies that could arise at any time, including innovations in Italian government policy problematic for the U.S., keeping abreast of public opinion in Florence and the consular district, especially with regard to issues of importance to relations between Italy/San Marino and the U.S., acting in a way that advances U.S. interests.

The Specialist, in coordination with the Consul General and Embassy Rome, drafts and/or contributes to reports on a wide range of political/economic/cultural issues; s/he analyzes media trends within the district and tracks items of major importance, reporting them to the Consul General and/or Public Affairs Rome as needed. The incumbent researches, prepares, and updates biographic information on all significant political and institutional figures for the use of the entire Mission and entry into the Diplopedia biography files.

The incumbent also coordinates with Public Affairs Rome on drafting of press releases and organizing press coverage for programs and other events, serving as interpreter if necessary; arranges press conferences and interviews with regional media, and maintains press records and archives.
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED
NOTE: All applicants must address the selection criteria detailed below with specific and comprehensive information supporting each criterion.
Education University Degree with a government, history, public policy/public administration, economic and/or business focus.
Work Experience
Three years in a position requiring local political, economic, commercial or cultural contacts and familiarity with local government, business, press and other institutions.

Language 

English requirement: Level IV (fluent) this will be tested
Italian requirement: Level IV (fluent) this will be tested

Knowledge

Knowledge of the Tuscany/Emilia-Romagna and San Marino political, economic, press, and cultural landscape, including background and history of current developments. Knowledge of the political and economic theories and principles necessary to understand local conditions and developments with detailed knowledge of those situations, including their relationship with international events.
Abilities and Skills
Ability to gather information, relate discrete elements to one another, and produce analyses and evaluations that are timely and meaningful to U.S. interests. Strong interpersonal skills to deal with a wide range of influential individuals to form long-term relations to support U.S. interests.

SELECTION PROCESS

It is essential that all candidates address the required qualifications above in the application. When equally qualified, candidates will be given preference in the following order: Appointment Eligible Family Members, U.S. veterans claiming preference, and all others.

ADDITIONAL SELECTION CRITERIA

1. Management will consider nepotism/conflict of interest, budget, and visa status in determining successful candidacy.
2. Appointment Eligible Family Members (AEFMs) who currently hold a FMA appointment are ineligible to apply for advertised positions within the first 90 calendar days of that appointment.
3. Currently employed NORs hired under a Personal Services Agreement (PSA) are ineligible to apply for advertised positions within the first 90 calendar days of their employment, unless currently hired into a position with a When Actually Employed (WAE) work schedule.
4. Washington may decide to appoint a selected candidate at a lower grade than the full performance grade indicated on the vacancy announcement.
5. Management may decide to hire at a trainee level a selected candidate who meets the requirements as advertised.

TO APPLY

All interested candidates must follow the NEW application procedures and carefully read the guidelines outlined in the "How to Apply" section available on https://webservices.usembassy.it/erecruitment/HowToApply.aspx

Unless otherwise specified, the application language is English.
To apply, please:
- Go to https://webservices.usembassy.it/erecruitment/  and select the vacancy announcement you are interested in or enter this vacancy announcement number.
- Fill out the electronic Application Form and submit it as indicated in the "How to Apply" section.
NOTE: Un-completed Application Forms will not be considered and examined.

Please note that supporting documents showing evidence of the information given in the Application Form will be requested to all short-listed candidates at a later stage. More specifically:
All non-EU short-listed citizens will be contacted upon receipt of their Application Form to provide evidence of their authorization to work in Italy (i.e. copy of their permesso di soggiorno);
All short-listed U.S. Veterans claiming preference will be contacted upon receipt of their Application Form to provide a copy of their Form DD-214 (i.e. Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty);
Failure to submit the above indicated documents will result in the applicant being excluded from the selection process.

Closing date for this position is September 26, 2014

An Equal Opportunity Employer

The US Missions in Italy provide equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, or sexual orientation. The Department of State also strives to achieve equal employment opportunity in all personnel operations through continuing diversity enhancement programs.

NOTE: Only applications submitted to the Office of Human Resources by the closing date of this job notice will be considered and only short-listed candidates will be contacted. To all applicants we extend our appreciation for considering the U.S. Government in Italy as a potential employer.

DEFINITIONS

APPOINTMENT ELIGIBLE FAMILY MEMBERS (AEFMs): A type of Eligible Family Member that is eligible for direct-hire employment on either a Family Member Appointment (FMA) or Temporary Appointment (TEMP) provided s/he meets all of the following criteria:
US citizen;
Spouse or dependent who is at least age 18;
Listed on the travel orders of a Foreign or Civil Service or uniformed service member permanently assigned to or stationed at a US Foreign Service post or establishment abroad with a USG agency that is under COM authority;
Is resident at the sponsoring employee's or uniform service member's post of assignment abroad, approved safehaven abroad, or alternate safehaven abroad;

ELIGIBLE FAMILY MEMBER (EFM): Family Members at least age 18 listed on the travel orders of a Foreign or Civil Service or uniformed service member permanently assigned to or stationed to a US Foreign Service post or establishment abroad with a USG agency that is under COM authority who do not meet the definition of AEFM above.

MEMBER OF HOUSEHOLD (MOH): A MOH is a person who: Has accompanied, but is not/not on the travel orders of a U.S. citizen Foreign or Civil Service employee or uniform service member permanently assigned to or stationed at a U.S. Foreign service post or establishment abroad; Has been declared by the sponsoring employee to the Chief of Mission as part of his/her household; and resides at post with the sponsoring employee.

ORDINARILY RESIDENT (OR): A citizen of the host country or a citizen of another country who has shifted the main residency focus to the host country and has the required work and/or residency permits for employment in country.

NOT-ORDINARILY RESIDENT (NOR): Typically NORs are AEFMs and EFMs of FS, GS, and uniform service members who are on the travel orders and under Chief of Mission authority, or other personnel having diplomatic privileges and immunities.