Title 21 Vacancy Announcement 

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

Office of the Commissioner

Office of Policy, Legislation and International Affairs 

Office of Global Policy and Strategy

Office of Global Operations

Immediate Office

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.

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

Version: 11/2021

Application Period: January 26, 2024 – February 26, 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: Silver Spring, Maryland Salary: Starting at $139,395

Work Schedule: Full Time

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.
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. 

Duties/Responsibilities • Performs a variety of highly complex and demanding assignments relating to the

establishing and improvement of program(s) implementation regarding regulated 

activities occurring outside the United States relating to medical products and to 

imported regulated medical products, and other duties as assigned.

• Serves as a technical advisor and an authority on policies and procedures 

covering a wide-range of FDA medical product programs and is responsible for 

developing and managing a range of cross-cutting, complex, program-specific

implementation activities with guidance from OGO leadership and in collaboration 

with FDA foreign office leadership; coordinates and supports the 

conceptualization, establishment, review, and revision of program implementation 

as necessary to enable and ensure sound approaches and processes to mission 

accomplishment and assists in eliminating any impediments to full 

implementation.

• Provides technical and policy advice on commodity-specific program 

implementation, including the coordination of FDA Centers/Offices program staff

with OGO’s foreign offices’ staff conducting implementation activities around the

globe; articulates and communicates to foreign office staff actionable events,

milestones, and/or program issues under review, and deadlines and time frames for

completion.

• Coordinates with the International Program and Policy Analysts (IPPA) team in

the selection and application of the appropriate technical program strategies,

outreach plans and materials developed for use with the foreign offices.

• Stays abreast of new developments in the area of responsibility within the 

strategic national/ sub-regional and regional remits of foreign posts and 

monitors and tracks new legislation, guidelines, or policy initiatives in order to 

provide guidance to and review work of IPPA staff and to brief higher agency 

officials; analyzes public health, scientific, and regulatory issues within a global

context in assigned work areas and assesses their impact on Agency interests.

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.

• 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. This position 

requires a Non-Sensitive Low Risk background check. 

Qualifications

To be placed into a 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 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.

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. 

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

management, or social science degree.

Professional Experience: Experience providing, promoting, recommending, improving, and/or 

advising leadership on decision making with policy, strategic goals, public policies or programs, 

operations, laws, and regulations.
Desired Professional Experience: 

• Ability to work with multi-disciplinary officials or groups.

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

continual improvement and change management.

• Must have strong knowledge of FDA policies, procedures, and statutory authorities as well 

as an understanding of how products are regulated by foreign counterparts.

Security Clearance Requirements

Background Investigation/Security Clearance Requirements: Non-Sensitive Low Risk Background 

Check

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 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 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 

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 by February 26, 2024 to: 

Randi.Bretous@fda.hhs.gov. MUST VERIFY U.S. CITIZENSHIP WITH APPLICATION EMAIL. 

CONSIDERATION WILL NOT BE GIVEN IF U.S. CITIZENSHIP IS NOT INCLUDED IN APPLICATION 

EMAIL. SELF-DECLARATION IS SUFFICIENT. 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”. For questions, please

contact Randi Bretous, 301-557-0995. Please reference Job Reference ID: 24-OGPS-21-HQ

Announcement Contact

For questions regarding this Cures position, please contact Randi Bretous, 301-557-0995, 

RandiBretous@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.