POSITION: Cultural Affairs Assistant

ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 040-14

OPEN TO: All Interested Candidates

POSITION: Cultural Affairs Assistant, FSN-8, FP-6

ANNUAL SALARY RANGE: USD 12,142–18,824

OPENING DATE: August 27, 2014

CLOSING DATE: September 10, 2014

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 U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh is seeking an individual for the Cultural Affairs Assistant position in the Public Affairs Section.

BASIC FUNCTION OF POSITION

Under the supervision of the Public Affairs (PA) Specialist, the Assistant Public Affairs Officer (APAO), and the Public Affairs Officer (PAO), the Cultural Affairs Assistant (CAA) coordinates the recruitment of candidates for U.S. Government-sponsored educational and cultural exchange programs; makes international travel arrangements and provides visa assistance to exchange participants; develops and organizes outreach activities to youth; establishes and maintains local contacts with ministry officials and education institutions; and assists with Post-initiated educational and cultural programs. Under the guidance from the Program Management Specialist (PMS), the APAO, and the PAO, the incumbent is responsible for the administration and management of all grant paperwork and documentation related to these programs.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

All applicants must address each selection criterion detailed below with specific and comprehensive information supporting each item.

Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts, Education, English, Communications, Public Relations, International Relations, Business Administration, or Social Science is required.
One year of experience in managing programs and projects is required.
Level IV (Fluent) Speaking/Reading/Writing English and Khmer are required. Language proficiency will be tested.
Ability to learn/understand the policies and set up of various exchange programs. Writing and translation skills are required. Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to initiate and maintain working level contacts is required.
Must be familiar with general office procedures including filing, typing and drafting correspondence. Thorough knowledge of various computer software programs, especially Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is required.

SELECTION PROCESS

When fully qualified, U.S. 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

Management will consider nepotism/conflict of interest, budget, and residency status in determining successful candidacy.
Current employees serving a probationary period are not eligible to apply.
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.
Currently employed U.S. Citizen EFMs who hold a Family Member Appointment (FMA) are ineligible to apply for advertised positions within the first 90 calendar days of their employment.
Currently employed not ordinarily resident personnel 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.

TO APPLY

Interested candidates for this position must submit the following for consideration of the application:

Universal Application for Employment as a Locally Employed Staff or Family Member (DS-174). Only Form DS-174 should be submitted for consideration. There is an email size limit, and additional attachments may prevent your email from being successfully delivered. All other documentation can be provided at time of English testing or interview for qualified candidates. The form is available here.
Candidates who claim U.S. veteran’s preference must provide a copy of their Form DD-214 with their application. Candidates who claim conditional U.S. veteran’s preference must submit documentation confirming eligibility for a conditional preference in hiring with their application.

SUBMIT APPLICATION TO RecruitmentPHP [at] state [dot] gov

DEFINITIONS

1. Eligible Family Member (EFM): An individual related to a U.S. government employee in one of the following ways:

Spouse or same-sex domestic partner (as defined in 3 FAM 1610);
Child, who is unmarried and under 21 years of age or, regardless of age, is incapable of self-support. The term shall include, in addition to natural offspring, stepchildren and adopted children and those under legal guardianship of the employee or the spouse when such children are expected to be under such legal guardianship until they reach 21 years of age and when dependent upon and normally residing with the guardian;
Parent (including stepparents and legally adoptive parents) of the employee or of the spouse, when such parent is at least 51 percent dependent on the employee for support; or
Sister or brother (including stepsisters and stepbrothers, or adoptive sisters or brothers) of the employee, or of the spouse, when such sibling is at least 51 percent dependent on the employee for support, unmarried, and under 21 years of age, or regardless of age, incapable of self-support.

2. U.S. Citizen Eligible Family Member (USEFM): For purposes of receiving a preference in hiring for a qualified position, an EFM who meets the following criteria:

U.S. Citizen; and
EFM (see above) at least 18 years old; and
Listed on the travel orders of a direct-hire Foreign Service, Civil Service, or uniformed service member assigned to or stationed abroad with a U.S. government agency under Chief of Mission (COM) authority, or at an office of the American Institute in Taiwan; and either:

1. Resides at the sponsoring employee’s or uniformed service member’s post of assignment abroad or at an office of the American Institute in Taiwan; or
2. Resides at an Involuntary Separate Maintenance Allowance (ISMA) location authorized under 3 FAM 3232.2.

3. Appointment Eligible Family Member (AEFM): EFM (see above) eligible for a Family Member Appointment for purposes of Mission employment:

Is a U.S. citizen; and
Spouse or same-sex domestic partner (as defined in 3 FAM 1610) or a child of the sponsoring employee who is unmarried and at least 18 years old; and
Is listed on the travel orders or approved Form OF-126, Foreign Service Residence and Dependency Report, of a sponsoring employee, i.e., a direct-hire Foreign Service, Civil Service, or uniformed service member who is permanently assigned to or stationed abroad at a U.S. mission or at an office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), and who is under (COM) authority; and
Is residing at the sponsoring employee’s post of assignment abroad or, as appropriate, office of the American Institute in Taiwan; and
Does not receive a Foreign Service or Civil Service annuity.

4. Member of Household (MOH): An individual who accompanies a direct-hire Foreign Service, Civil Service, or uniformed service member permanently assigned or stationed at a U.S. Foreign Service post or establishment abroad or at an office of the American Institute in Taiwan. An MOH is:

Not an EFM; and
Not on the travel orders of the sponsoring employee; and
Has been officially declared by the sponsoring U.S. government employee to the COM as part of his/her household.

A MOH is under COM authority and may include a parent, unmarried partner, and other relative or adult child who falls outside the Department of State’s current legal and statutory definition of family member. A MOH does not have to be a U.S. citizen.

5. Not Ordinarily Resident (NOR) – An individual who:

Is not a citizen of the host country; and
Does not ordinarily reside (OR, see below) in the host country; and
Is not subject to host country employment and tax laws; and
Has a U.S. Social Security Number (SSN).

NOR employees are compensated under a GS or FS salary schedule, not under the LCP.

6. Ordinarily Resident (OR) – A Foreign National or U.S. citizen who:

Is locally resident; and
Has legal, permanent resident status within the host country; and
Is subject to host country employment and tax laws.

EFMs without U.S. Social Security Numbers are also OR. All OR employees, including U.S. citizens, are compensated in accordance with the Local Compensation Plan.

CLOSING DATE FOR THIS POSITION: September 10, 2014

The U.S. Mission in Phnom Penh provides 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.

The EEO complaint procedure is not available to individuals who believe they have been denied equal opportunity based upon marital status or political affiliation. Individuals with such complaints should avail themselves of the appropriate grievance procedures, remedies for prohibited personnel practices, and/or courts for relief.

Source: US Embassy Cambodia Website