FIRST Nuclear Security and Science Centers Program Officer

General Background : This position is located in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation’s Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction (ISN / CTR) at the U.

S. Department of State. ISN / CTR manages several nonproliferation assistance programs to reduce the threats posed by proliferator states and terrorist groups seeking to develop or acquire Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) material, equipment, or expertise, advanced conventional weapons, and delivery systems.

This position is dual-hatted, serving as a Program Advisor for both the FIRST program, as well as the Science Centers program, both described below :

FIRST Program :

ISN / CTR funds, manages, and implements the Foundational Infrastructure for the Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Technology (FIRST) program a multi-agency U.

S. government initiative that provides capacity building support to help partner countries :

• Establish a civil nuclear power program under the highest international standards for nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation
• Take advantage of next generation nuclear energy innovations and technologies in their sustainable energy plans
• Meet their clean, reliable energy goals while protecting the global climate
• Deepen relationships through government, industry, national laboratory, and university engagements

The candidate will assist ISN / CTR in developing, implementing, and coordinating FIRST and related program nonproliferation capacity-building efforts.

The candidate will be responsible for providing strategic diplomatic and programmatic advice, including on financial management, and advising team members and technical experts on ways to execute program activities and advance the FIRST team’s strategy.

The candidate will also be responsible for supporting relevant policy development and implementation within the State Department and coordinating with other U.

S. Government departments and agencies as needed.

In addition, the candidate will be responsible for ISN / CTR’s civil nuclear security programming efforts, which focus currently on the Asia / Pacific region, Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

CTR’s programmatic efforts evolve in response to the international security environment and seek to reinforce U.S. national security objectives in a dynamic environment.

To this end, we welcome candidates who can develop, coordinate, and implement innovative strategies to address the pressing nuclear security, proliferation, safety, and sovereignty challenges posed by aggressive civil nuclear reactor exports.

Science Centers Program :

ISN / CTR is also responsible for the diplomatic outreach and programmatic oversight of two intergovernmental nonproliferation organizations, the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) based in Astana, Kazakhstan and the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU), based in Kyiv.

Both centers include members countries in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe, as well as the European Union.

Through both these centers, as well as other technical implementers, ISN / CTR provides assistance to displaced civilian technical experts who are currently unable to work in their home institutes and who possess dual-use-relevant expertise related to WMD and missiles.

The candidate will assist ISN / CTR in developing, implementing, and coordinating nonproliferation capacity-building efforts through the ISTC and STCU, and will support both centers’ organizational functioning and related diplomatic outreach.

The candidate will be responsible for providing strategic diplomatic and programmatic advice, including on issues of the centers’ financial management, and advising team members and technical experts on ways to execute program activities and advance the organizations’ peaceful scientific mission and strategy.

The candidate will also be responsible for supporting relevant policy development and implementation within the State Department and coordinating with other U.

S. Government departments and agencies as needed.

Candidate should possess skills and experience in process improvement, change management, and organizational development, demonstrating creative out-of-the-box’ thinking, implementing concepts, and consulting with senior leadership in the facilitation of meaningful results during problem-solving.

While the ISN / CTR headquarters is in Washington, DC, the position is telework-eligible. International travel will be required.

Responsibilities :

• Developing, coordinating with the interagency, and implementing country-specific engagement strategies in partnership with host government officials, including at senior levels, and advancing time-sensitive and complex capacity-building projects, both remotely and internationally, tailored to the partner’s priority needs;
• Leveraging one’s own networks and experience to manage complex and sensitive relationships with interagency partners such as the U.

S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, National Nuclear Security Administration, Commerce Department, and State Department partners from country desks, embassies, and within the ISN Bureau in a manner that advances ISN / CTR’s programmatic goals and directs complementary capabilities in a whole-of-U.

• S.-nuclear-sector effort to address these threats;
• Advance U.S. diplomatic and programmatic leadership of the ISTC and STCU, including providing written and verbal information to senior Department of State, U.
• S. Government, and international officials;
• Develop collaborative relationships and strategies and manage grantee technical experts who conduct trainings, fellowships, and other activities to engage displaced scientists in civilian research and build capacity with partner countries to counter the threats posed by WMD, advanced conventional weapons, and missiles, including the proliferation risks posed by vulnerable displaced technical experts who possess dual-use expertise related to WMD and missiles and who are at risk of exploitation by proliferator states due to their displaced circumstances;
• Participating in the review of threat reduction project proposals and making recommendations concerning the approval and funding of proposals;
• Advising ISN / CTR’s budget planning process, to include the preparation of grants, cooperative agreements, and Interagency Agreement documents;
• financial monitoring; financial reconciliation; and financial close out;
• Briefing high-level officials in the Department of State, interagency, foreign governments, and senior nuclear industry executives on ISN / CTR programmatic activities;
• Representing ISN / CTR in domestic and foreign meetings as required, and additional tasks in support of CTR at home or abroad as assigned;
• Developing and enacting engagement strategies to advance ISN / CTR programming as well as U.S. involvement in the ISTC and STCU to counter proliferator state and non-state actor WMD threats;
• Brief high-level officials in the Department of State on ISN / CTR programmatic activities;
• Leading and participating in the review of threat reduction project proposals and make recommendations concerning the approval and funding of proposals;
• Representing ISN / CTR in domestic and foreign meetings at home or abroad as assigned;
• Cooperating with partners in the U.S. interagency to align ISN / CTR engagements with other U.S. government nonproliferation programs and ensure effective and efficient implementation, including through the Science Centers; and
• Other activities as assigned by the ISN / CTR Office Director and Deputy Director, and Team Chief and Deputy Team Chief.

Qualifications :

• At least 6 years of demonstrated prior experience working on USG international nonproliferation, nuclear energy scientific, or other WMD nonproliferation programs.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication, diplomacy, teamwork, and project management skills.
• A Master’s degree is HIGHLY PREFERRED. An international affairs, policy, or technical background is preferred but not required.
• General familiarity with civilian nuclear reactor technology, ideally including small modular reactors, threat reduction programming, the risks of WMD, advanced conventional weapons, and missile proliferation, and the implementation of capacity-building for foreign partners.
• International travel will be required, and foreign language skills are a plus.
• The candidate must be able to receive and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.

OpportunityOwned #GDITLife