Federal

Policy Analyst (Trade)

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Β· Executive Office of the President
πŸ“ Washington, District of Columbia GS-14/15 $143,913 - $197,200/yr
Posted: Feb 4, 2026 Deadline: Feb 12, 2026 (Closed days left)

About This Position

The position is located in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Office of Services and Investment, Executive Office of the President, responsible for the execution of trade agreements of the U.S. including the coordination of all aspects of trade policy within the U.S. government. **Notice: More than one selection may be made within 90 days of the issuance of the certificate, if additional vacancies occur. Promotion to the next highest grade level is neither guaranteed nor implied.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: All applicants must meet the qualification requirements outlined below to be considered minimally qualified for this position. The qualification requirements are in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Applicants possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level or pay band in Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. ALL QUALIFICATIONS MUST BE MET BY THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have a minimum of one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility comparable to the next lower grade or comparable pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Examples of specialized experience are: You may qualify at the GS-14 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector, that demonstrates the following: Leading or participating in U.S. delegation to international trade negotiations and conferences on issues affecting services and investment, or digital trade; AND Serving on a variety of task forces and committees related to assigned area to analyze specific issues related to the services and investment, or digital trade; AND Delivering speeches on U.S. trade policy and negotiations on services and investments, or digital trade; AND Briefing U.S. private sector and labor advisory groups on trade issues related to services and investments, or digital trade. You may qualify at the GS-15 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector, that demonstrates the following: Leading or participating in U.S. delegation to international trade negotiations and conferences on issues affecting services and investment, or digital trade; AND Serving on a variety of task forces and committees related to assigned area to analyze specific issues related to the services and investment, or digital trade; AND Delivering speeches on U.S. trade policy and negotiations on services and investments, or digital trade; AND Briefing U.S. private sector and labor advisory groups on trade issues related to services and investments, or digital trade; AND. Conducting economic analytical studies and developing reports and recommendations for U.S. policy position on issue relating to service and investments, or digital trade. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Major Duties

As a Policy Analyst, GS-301-14/15, in the Office of Services and Investment, your typical work assignments may include the following: Serve as a liaison with professionals in the agency and U. S. Trade Representative and in other Federal agencies in preparing work for higher level interagency committees. Represent the Office of the U. S. Trade Representative at seminars and conferences. Participate in U. S. delegation to international trade negotiations and conferences. Assist in the preparation of Congressional testimony. Respond to controlled correspondences, briefing materials, summary statements and speeches for the U. S. Trade Representative and the Deputy U. S. Trade Representative on major issues related to assigned unit/office.

Education

There is no substitution of education for specialized experience.

How You Will Be Evaluated

In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience. When the application process is complete, we will review your resume to ensure you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this announcement. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume. You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation. If after reviewing your resume and supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and/or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities or you may be found ineligible/not qualified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment. All eligibility, qualifications, and time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Additional Information

Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment under Merit Promotion procedures, you must be a preference eligible or a Veteran separated after 3 years or more of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions. Active Duty Military Members MAY apply under this announcement due to the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act. You must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions along with your application for Federal employment. A certification is a document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days from the date of application. If selected, appointment eligibility requirements must be met prior to the effective date of appointment. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx). Interagency Career Transition Assistance Programs & Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp. For more information about ICTAP eligibility please review the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/ictap/ Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy Statement: http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/index.cfm Employment Information Resources - Resource Center: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Main_Page Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities: For more information on noncompetitive appointment authority eligibility requirements: Person with Disabilities - Schedule A Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans Special Hiring Authorities for Certain Military Spouses Other Special Appointment Authorities If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternative Application.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your résumé and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. To ensure full consideration of your experience and education we encourage you to use the USAJOBS resume builder to prepare your resume or to guide you in preparing your resume. See http://www.usajobs.gov/Content/pdfs/Tutorials-Resume.pdf for more information. PLEASE NOTE: It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and/or uploaded, (i.e., resume) is received, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. You may verify your documents have been processed with your application package successfully. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Human Resources WILL NOT modify or change any answers submitted by an applicant. Application packages will NOT be accepted via mail or e-mail. All resumes/applications received at the addresses listed in the Contact Information or Agency Information will not be considered for this vacancy announcement. Click the following link to view and print the occupational questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12877853.

Required Documents

Applicants who do not submit required documentation to determine eligibility and qualifications will be eliminated from consideration. Other documents may be required based on the eligibility/eligibilities you are claiming. To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes: 1. Resume: For qualification determinations, your resume must contain hours worked per week and dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as insufficient and you will not receive consideration for this position. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, provide your pay plan, series and grade, i.e. GS-0301-09. Your resume must include detailed information as it relates to the responsibilities and specialized experience for this position. Evidence of copying and pasting directly from the vacancy announcement without clearly documenting supplemental information to describe your experience will result in an ineligible rating. This will prevent you from receiving further consideration. Note: If you upload more than one resume, the last resume received will be the one utilized for consideration. Please limit your resume to 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. 2. Veterans: If claiming VEOA, VRA or 30% Disabled Veteran - Submit VOW certification memo or copy of the official DD-Form 214, which must include the character of service (i.e., with an honorable or general discharge). This will be annotated in block 24 on member copy 2, 4, or 7 of the DD-Form 214. If claiming 30% Disabled Veteran, you must also submit a VA Letter or a disability determination from a branch of the Armed Forces. Active Duty Service Members are required to submit a statement of service printed on command letterhead and signed by the command. The statement of service must provide the branch of service, rate/rank, all dates of service, the expected date of discharge and anticipated character of service (Honorable, General, etc.). 3. Current or Former Federal Civilian Employees (includes current Air Force employees): You must submit a legible copy of a SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action. The SF-50, block 24 must contain "1" or "2" AND block 34 must be a "1". Employees eligible under an OPM approved interchange agreement, block 34 may contain a "1" or "2".5. Promotion Consideration: If you wish to be considered as a promotion candidate and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one-year time-in-grade requirements. You will need to provide additional SF-50s which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within-Grade, Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old). 4. Other Optional supporting documents: Cover Letter Most recent Performance Appraisal Worker's Compensation Separation: Agency certification of inability to place employee AND Notification of Separation OR Separation SF-50. Disability Annuity Termination: Notification from OPM of disability annuity termination AND Separation SF-50 of the last position held. Schedule A, Persons with Disabilities Appointment Eligible: Schedule A letter from a physician, local, state or federal rehabilitation office citing your eligibility under 5 CFR 213.3102 (u). Certain Military Spouses Eligible under E.O. 13832: Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders, that lists you as authorized to accompany the Military member to the new duty permanent station; OR verification of the member's 100% disability (VA Letter); and/or verification of the member's death while on active duty (DD-1300 and Death Certificate) AND verification of the marriage to the service member (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage). Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted. Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents contain personal information such as SSN and DOB and some documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove said personal information before you submit your application.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary for the Policy Analyst (Trade) position at Office of the U.S. Trade Representative?
The salary range for this position is $143,913 - $197,200/yr. This is a GS-14/15 position on the General Schedule pay scale. Actual pay may vary based on locality adjustments.
Where is the Policy Analyst (Trade) job located?
This position is located in Washington, District of Columbia. This is an on-site position.
What qualifications do I need?
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: All applicants must meet the qualification requirements outlined below to be considered minimally qualified for this position. The qualification requirements are in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Applicants possess one full year (52 weeks...
How do I apply for this position?
Apply through USAJobs.gov by clicking the 'Apply on USAJobs' button. You'll need a USAJobs account, a federal-style resume, and supporting documents. The deadline is Feb 12, 2026.
Is a security clearance required?
Yes, a Top Secret clearance is required.
What does GS-14/15 mean?
GS-14/15 refers to the General Schedule grade level. Higher grades require more experience and offer higher pay. Visit our GS Pay Scale page for full salary tables by grade and locality.
What benefits do federal employees receive?
Federal employees receive comprehensive benefits including health insurance (FEHB), retirement through FERS, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) with government matching, paid annual and sick leave, paid parental leave, life insurance, and student loan repayment programs.