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Deadline of this Job:
February 18, 2013
Job details:
U. S. Mission, Uganda
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Number: 009/2013 Date: 02/05/2013
OPEN TO: All Qualified Candidates
POSITION: Political Economic Assistant; FP-5; FSN-9
OPENING DATE: February 5, 2013
CLOSING DATE: February 18, 2013
WORK HOURS: Full-time; 40 hours/week
ALL ORDINARILY RESIDENT (OR) APPLICANTS MUST HAVE THE REQUIRED
WORK AND/OR RESIDENCY PERMITS TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR CONSIDERATION.
"The American Embassy is seeking an individual for the position of Political
Economic Assistant in the Political Section."
BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION
Incumbent is the Political and Economic Specialist at Embassy Kampala who
serves as the principal LES handling macroeconomic analysis; environment,
science, technology, and health (ESTH) issues; Uganda’s oil and gas sectors; the
financial sector; information and communications technology; and cross-cutting
issues such as corruption efforts, government accountability, and transparency
issues. The incumbent also tracks overall foreign investment and the business
environment, and analyses and reports on foreign investment from non-U.S.
destinations. The incumbent is a member of Embassy Kampala’s interagency
health team, and serves as a liaison with the U.S. Agency for International
Development’s (USAID) Energy Governance and Capacity Initiative (EGCI), which
focuses on issues relating to Uganda’s nascent oil industry and attends meetings
with the Mission’s Petroleum Working Group. The incumbent also works closely
with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, World Bank and International Monetary
Fund, and coordinates activities with the regional environment, science,
technology, and health office in Addis Ababa.
Incumbent frequently functions as the de facto control officer for high level visits
by ensuring all scheduling needs are met and providing assistance to American
Officers. The incumbent briefs visiting officials on current and political
developments and trends, and accompanies them to meetings with host
government officials. Frequent visits by U.S. government officials require an
attention to detail and ability to multitask when planning multiple visits. Visits also
often require work outside office hours to coordinate events and to communicate
with American officers on urgent matters or last-minute developments.
The job requires astute judgment, quick decision-making skills and the ability to
form thoughtful connections between different political and social developments.
The job also requires significantly high diplomatic and communications skills to be
able to engage with career and elected government officials at the highest levels.
This job also requires the ability to independently interact with U.S. officials in
Washington on key substantive issues and informational requests, as well as trip
planning and visit strategies. The job requires superior writing and communication
skills so as to minimize editing by the American supervisors thereby allowing them
to focus their time more efficiently.
Often at his/her own initiative, the incumbent prepares extensive spot and in-depth
analytical reports on a wide range of sensitive political and economic issues in the
context of national issues ,as well as the implications for U.S. interests. The
incumbent drafts analytical and factual reports, researches and gathers
information, prepares briefing memos and establishes a wide range of contacts in
the government and NGOs which with legislative and policy developments in the
areas of macroeconomic, oil and gas, ESTH, and government-led anti-corruption
efforts. The incumbent must be able to brief the Pol/Econ Chief, Deputy Chief of
Mission and Ambassador and TDY visitors on developments and issues with
authority and accuracy. This involves oral or written briefings and inputs,
evaluating events in historical perspective and identifying their relationships to
national trends and to the interests of the U.S. Incumbent must be able to make
reasonable projections about the future course of politics and social changes,
demonstrating critical judgment and as strong integration of social, political and
economic factors.
Incumbent must maintain a wide range of contacts at the highest level of
government including ministers, legislature, judiciary, media, academia,
businesses, and civil society. Incumbent advises American officers on a variety of
sensitive political and economic issues and related matters, such as gauging the
probable reaction of government officials and the Ugandan public to U.S. views or
proposals. The incumbent advises the Embassy’s interagency Small Grants
selection committees, managed by the Political Section. The incumbent backs up
the Section’s Economic Specialist and must be conversant on financial and
commercial issues.
A copy of the complete position description listing all duties and responsibilities is
available online.
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED
NOTE: All applicants must address each selection criterion detailed below with
specific and comprehensive information supporting each item.
1. Education required: Completion of a university degree in political science,
political economy, economics, history, journalism and human rights is required.
2. Work Experience required: Five years experience in foreign policy, political,
social development, academia or journalism is required
3. Language required: Level IV English ability (fluent written, spoken and
reading) and Level III (Good working knowledge) in Luganda is required.
4. Knowledge required: Thorough knowledge of Uganda’s economic and political
system, as well as a broad understanding of energy, environment, health, science
and technology (ESTH) issues.
5. Skills and Abilities required: Ability to interact with Uganda officials, civil
society groups, scientists, economists, members of the business community, and
political leaders at all levels.
SELECTION PROCESS
When equally qualified, US Citizen Eligible Family Members (USEFMs) and U.S.
Veterans are given preference. Therefore, it is essential that the candidate
specifically address the required qualifications above in the application.
ADDITIONAL SELECTION CRITERIA
1. Management will consider nepotism/conflict of interest, budget, and visa status
in determining successful candidacy.
2. Current employees serving a probationary period are not eligible to apply.
3. Current Ordinarily Resident employees with an Overall Summary Rating of
Needs Improvement or Unsatisfactory on their most recent Employee Performance
Report are not eligible to apply.
4. Currently employed US Citizen EFMs who hold a Family Member Appointment
(FMA) are ineligible to apply for advertised positions within the first 90 calendar
days of their appointment.
5. 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.
Job application procedure
Interested candidates for this position must submit the following for consideration
of the application:
1. Universal Application for Employment as a Locally Employed Staff or Family
Member (DS-174).
2. A combination of both; i.e. Sections 1-24 of the UAE along with a listing of the
applicants work experience attached as a separate sheet.
3. A current resume or curriculum vitae.
4. Candidates who claim US Veterans preference must provide a copy of their
Form DD-214 with their application. Candidates who claim conditional US
Veterans preference must submit documentation confirming eligibility for a
conditional preference in hiring with their application.
5. Any other documentation (e.g. essays, certificates, awards) that addresses the
qualification requirements of the position as listed above.
SUBMIT APPLICATION TO
Human Resources Office
By email at KampalaHR@state.gov.
ONLY ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AND ONLY
SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED.
Please use standard file types such as Microsoft Word (.doc) and Adobe Acrobat
(.pdf) and please send all documents in one file attachment.
Telephone: 0414-259-791/5
