Title 21 Vacancy Announcement 

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

Office of the Commissioner (OC)

Office of Policy, Legislation and International Affair (OPLIA) 

Office of Global Policy and Strategy (OGPS)

Office of Global Operations(OGO)

Application Period: January 1, 2024 – January 31, 2024

Area of Consideration: United States Citizenship is required. You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. 

National. Foreign nationals or legal permanent residents are not eligible for consideration.

Position: International Relations 

Specialist

Series: 0131

Location(s): New Delhi, India and Beijing, China

Work Schedule: Full-Time, Temporary/Term NTE 2 or 

3 Years, but can be extended up to 4 Years for Term 

Appointment or 6 Years for Temporary Appointment

Salary: Starting at $132,368

Cures Band(s): Band D Full Performance Band Level: Band D 

Travel Requirements: 25%

Bargaining Unit: 8888

Relocation Expenses Reimbursement: You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation 

expenses in accordance with agency policy.

This position is being filled under a stream-lined hiring authority, Title 21, Section 3072 of the 

21st Century Cures Act. The candidate selected for this position will serve under a career or 

career-conditional appointment and be paid under the provisions of this authority.

Additional information on 21st Century Cures Act can be found here: 

21st Century Cures Act Information

Introduction

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is the regulatory, scientific, public health 

and consumer protection agency responsible for ensuring all human and animal drugs, medical 

devices, cosmetics, foods, food additives, drugs and medicated feeds for food producing 

animals, tobacco and radiation emitting devices safe, and effective.

Version: 11/2021
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The mission of the Office of Global Policy and Strategy (OGPS) is to protect and promote the 

public health of Americans by effectively advancing FDA’s public health mission globally. OGPS 

performs foreign inspections, and provides executive oversight, strategic leadership, and policy 

direction on FDA’s global engagements including information sharing, international standards 

development, trade relations, and collaboration activities with partner regulatory authorities or 

multilateral institutions. Within OGPS, the Office of Global Operations (OGO) oversees the 

FDA's foreign offices, including staff in China, Europe, India, and Latin America. As evidenced in 

previous OIG, GAO, and media reports, OGPS has historically had difficulty recruiting and 

retaining candidates with appropriate skill sets, especially in the foreign offices.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Recommend long-range program plans, goals, objectives, and milestones, to serve as

the basis for substantive impact in the administration of programs.

• Develop detailed implementation plans, goals, and objectives for long-range

program goals and administration of programs.

• Develop criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the program.

• Provide outreach, develop and provide technical trainings to foreign regulatory 

counterparts, regulated industry, academia, or other stakeholders in the country or 

region.

• Provide risk-based decisions and actions regarding the safety, quality and

effectiveness of FDA regulated products and data.

Supervisory Responsibilities: N/A

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship requirement or proof of being a U.S. National must be met by closing 

date.

• Employment is subject to the successful completion of a background investigation, 

verification of qualifications, completion of onboarding forms, submission of required 

documents, and any other job-related requirement before or after appointment.

• Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this 

announcement.

• Direct Deposit: You will be required to have all federal salary payments electronically 

deposited into a bank account with a financial institution of your choice.

• FDA participates in e-Verify: All new hires must complete the I-9 form; this information 

will be processed through e-Verify to determine your employment eligibility. If a 

discrepancy arises, you must take affirmative steps to resolve the matter.

• Males born after December 31, 1959 must be registered with the Selective Service.

• One-year probationary period may be required.

• Financial Disclosure may be required.

• Ethics Clearance may be required.
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• Background Investigation/Security Clearance is required. All employees must pass a 

security investigation. Failing to pass the background check may be grounds for removal 

or legal action. If hired, you may be subject to additional investigations at a later time. 

Top Secret Security Clearance is required for the Beijing China location and a Secret 

Security Clearance is required for the New Delhi, India location.

• This position is temporary and does not provide permanent placement upon completion 

or termination of the overseas assignment. A Statement of Understanding is required to 

be signed by the selected candidate indicating they understand the terms and 

conditions of this temporary appointment.

• Temporary/term appointments may begin stateside upon completion of security, 

medical and applicable trainings. Time served stateside will count towards overall 

appointment if selected for temporary promotion.

• Selectees for temporary/term assignments will remain stateside until all required 

clearances and trainings are completed before being deployed to an overseas location.

• While remaining stateside, selectees will be placed on the duty location of their official 

position of record, until all of the State Department's requirements are met (i.e. 

diplomatic passport, VISA and travel authorization).

NOTE: For FDA employees under Title 21 CURES appointment, the Center/Office has the 

responsibility of determining a “comparable” position for the employee upon return, if the position 

of record is backfilled during deployment. If there is no comparable Title 21 CURES position, it is 

likely that the employee will not be able to return to a Title 21 CURES appointment and will be 

returned under Title 5 at the appropriate grade, step and pay, if there is a comparable position 

under Title 5. "This position will be located New Delhi, India and Beijing, China. The temporary

assignments not-to-exceed 2 or 3 years but can be extended up to 4 Years for Term Appointment or 

6 Years for Temporary Appointment.

Qualifications

To be placed into a Title 21 Cures position, candidates must meet the following criteria:

1. Scientific, Technical, and Professional Fields

2. Qualified and Outstanding Candidates

a. Qualified applies to all candidates for Title 21 Cures appointments. The FDA OTS

will use the basic requirements defined in the OPM Qualification Standards as a 

baseline for comparing experience levels and other candidate attributes for 

relevant positions.

b. Outstanding candidates can be defined by existing outstanding work experience, 

outstanding performance rating, or both.

In order to qualify for this Title 21 Cures position, the candidate(s) must meet the following 

required qualifications. Please note: Additional education and experience listed that is not 

indicated as required is preferable and desired. Candidates who do not meet the “desired” 

criteria will not be excluded from consideration for this position.
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Education Requirement: Degree: major or equivalent, or a combination of courses totaling at 

least 24 semester hours in international law and international relations, political science, 

economics, history, sociology, geography, social or cultural anthropology, law, statistics, or in 

the humanities; or 12 semester hours in one of the above disciplines and 12 semester hours in 

statistics/quantitative methods.

or

Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major, or a combination of 

related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours, in one or more of the social sciences, or in 

the humanities, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

or

Experience: four years of appropriate experience in one or more of the fields listed above in 

work associated with international organizations, problems, or other aspects of foreign affairs.

For more information please see: OPM Occupational Series Qualification Requirements

Desired Education: Competitive candidates will have earned an advanced scientific, 

management, or social science degree or equivalent experience.

Professional Experience: Recommending and managing international/public policies or 

programs; and providing technical assistance on international programs.

Desired Professional Experience: 

• Priority will be placed on candidates with relevant, recent management experiences in driving 

continual improvement and change management.

• Strong knowledge of FDA policies, procedures, and statutory authorities as well as an 

understanding of how medical products are regulated by foreign counterparts.

• Candidate must demonstrate a deep understanding of global health policy, diplomatic and 

foreign affairs, and demonstrate an ability to work with the Department of State on the 

management and administration of offices with U.S. Embassies.

Education Transcripts

SUBMITTING YOUR TRANSCRIPTS: Positions which are scientific or technical in nature often 

have very specific educational requirements. A transcript is required to verify educational 

achievement. Pay careful attention to the Qualifications and Education sections to identify

vacancies where a transcript is required. Even if you hold a similar position or are a current FDA 

employee, you are not exempt from transcript requirements.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities 

to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have 

been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education 

programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. 

education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or 

university. For more information about this requirement, please visit the U.S. Department of
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Education website for Foreign Education Evaluation. 

Security Clearance Requirements

Background Investigation/Security Clearance Requirements This position requires a Top-Secret 

security clearance for China and a Secret security clearance for India. A background security 

investigation will be required for all appointees. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's 

successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure 

to successfully meet these requirements may be grounds for appropriate personnel action.

Applicants are also advised that all information concerning qualifications is subject to 

investigation. False representation may be grounds for non-consideration, non-selection and/or 

appropriate disciplinary action. This is a Testing Designated Position, and the incumbent is

subject to testing for drug usage in accordance with the HHS plan for a Drug Free Workplace.

Ethics Clearance Requirements

This position may require financial disclosure reporting and will be subject to FDA's prohibited 

financial interest regulation. If you are hired, you may be required to divest of certain financial 

interests. You are advised to seek additional information on this requirement from the hiring 

official before accepting any job offers. For more information please visit the FDA Ethics web 

page: https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/jobs-and-training-fda/ethics.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, 

religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, 

sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an 

employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor. 

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) for federal employees & job applicants

Reasonable Accommodation

Reasonable Accommodation Policy

Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where 

appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application 

process should follow the instructions in the job opportunity announcement. For any part of 

the remaining hiring process, applicants should contact the hiring agency directly.

Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case 

basis. A reasonable accommodation is any change to a job, the work environment, or the way 

things are usually done that enables an individual with a disability to apply for a job, perform 

job duties or receive equal access to job benefits. Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, federal 

agencies must provide reasonable accommodations when: An applicant with a disability needs 

an accommodation to have an equal opportunity to apply for a job. An employee with a 

disability needs an accommodation to perform the essential job duties or to gain access to the

workplace. An employee with a disability needs an accommodation to receive equal access to 

benefits, such as details, training, and office-sponsored events. You can request a reasonable 
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accommodation at any time during the application or hiring process or while on the job.

Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis. Learn more about disability employment and

reasonable accommodations or how to contact an agency.

E-Verify

The Food and Drug Administration participates in the USCIS Electronic Employment Eligibility 

Verification Program (E-Verify). E-Verify helps employers determine employment eligibility of 

new hires and the validity of their Social Security numbers.

How to Apply

Submit resume or curriculum vitae with cover letter and applicable transcripts by January 31, 

2024 to: Kimberly.Jones2@fda.hhs.gov. Candidate resumes may be shared with hiring official

within the Office of Global Policy and Strategy with a similar job vacancy. Candidates can opt out 

of this process by annotating resume with “do not share”. Please reference Job Reference ID: 

24-T21OGPS-IRS-INO-CNO

Application Requirements:

1. Must verify U.S. Citizenship in application email or consideration will not be given. SelfDeclaration is acceptable at this point.

2. If using education for the education requirement, all relevant transcripts must be submitted with 

application package or consideration will not be given.

3. Must include the above Job Reference ID in application email. There are two locations being 

announced, so applicant must be clear on the intended location.

Announcement Contact

For questions regarding this Cures position, please contact Kimberly Jones, 301-348-3922, 

Kimberly.Jones2@fda.hhs.gov. 

The Department of Health and Human Services is an equal opportunity employer with a smoke 

free environment.

FDA is an equal opportunity employer.