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Summary About the Position: Serve as a Language Specialist providing interpretation and translation support to the USARJ Command Group, USARJ staff, and other US Army/DOD representatives interacting with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and other agencies, in such activities as bilateral command post and field exercises, coordination meetings, information exchange conferences, cultural exchange programs, and observer exchange programs. Responsibilities Provides consecutive/simultaneous interpretation for office calls, briefings, coordination conferences and bilateral exercises. Accompanies members of the Command Group, principal staff and action officers and acts as the primary interpreter. Translating for such diverse areas as personnel intelligence, operations, communications, medical as well as technical/scientific projects associated with them. Provides linguistic services in a variety of other situations such as in receiving, escorting, and hosting JGSDF visitors. Translates official correspondence, bilateral planning and training documents, technical briefing scripts, and conference material exchanged mainly between the US Army and JGSDF. Reviews Japanese books, magazines, and newspapers for articles pertaining to defense, politics, and economy of Japan. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities. If you are currently stationed in the overseas area, all of your overseas time will be credited toward your current overseas tour end date. Your overseas time served will not reset upon accepting this assignment. If you have returned from OCONUS within the past 2 years or less, your time previously served in the OCONUS area will be credited to your 5-year overseas rotation upon accepting this assignment. Current Department of Army Civilian Employees Applying to OCONUS Positions Current Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army) Family Member Preference (FMP) for Overseas Employment Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act Military Spouse Preference (MSP) for Overseas Employment Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998 In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. To qualify based on your work experience, your resume must describe at least one year of experience which prepared you to do the work in this job. GS-11: Specialized experience: One year of specialized experience which includes experience 1) assisting with interpreting/translating the Japanese language into the English language and vice versa; 2) assisting with translating (written) and interpreting (oral) technical documents and discussions/ negotiations from Japanese to English and English to Japanese; And 3) applying Japanese customs, courtesies, protocol, and culture in a government, business or legal setting. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09). OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: Japanese Studies. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. GS-12: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes experience 1) interpreting/translating the Japanese language into the English language and vice versa; 2) translating (written) and interpreting (oral) technical documents; and discussions/ negotiations from Japanese to English and English to Japanese; And 3) applying Japanese customs, courtesies, protocol, and culture in a government, business or legal setting. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11). This position requires fluency in the Japanese language. You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas: Foreign Language Oral Communication Written Communication Time in Grade Requirement for GS-11: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-09). Time in Grade Requirement for GS-12: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-11). Separated Military Members: Resumes will be accepted from members of the Armed Forces who indicate in their applications that they are available for appointment within 120 days of the closing date of this announcement. Military members may be appointed while on terminal/transitional leave, before the effective date of their military retirement/separation. Military Retirees: Within the DoD (Department of Defense), including non-appropriated fund positions, the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following the retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326 or 5 U.S.C. 5305. Selecting officials may select or not select from a certificate of best-qualified candidates OR from a list of applicants eligible for noncompetitive placement (5 CFR 335). Education Only degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements or to substitute education for experience. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. Department of Education websites at - http://www.opm.gov/qualifications and http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show 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 further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/ FOR the GS-12: Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted. Additional Information Direct deposit of pay is required. U.S. citizens overseas under ordinarily resident status are not eligible for appointment under the Status of Forces Agreement. Locality pay does not apply in the overseas area. If an employee brings a child to an overseas location and that child is entitled to attend a DoD school on a space-required basis in accordance with DoDEA Regulation 1342.13, the DoDEA and the Military Department responsible for providing related services will ensure that the child, if eligible for special education, receives a free appropriate public education, including related services pursuant to DoDI 1342.12 and DoDM 1342.12. If an employee brings an infant or toddler (up to 3 years of age) to an overseas location, and that infant or toddler, but for the child's age, is entitled to attend the DoDEA on a space-required basis in accordance with DoDEA Regulation 1342.13, then the Military Department responsible for EIS will provide the infant or toddler with the required EIS in accordance with the eligibility criteria consistent with DoDI 1342.12 and DoDM 1342.12. Employees (and family members) who require medical or dental care in the overseas location will be responsible for obtaining and paying for such care. Access for civilian employees and their families to military medical and dental treatment facilities is on a space-available and reimbursable basis only. Pay retention may be offered to selected applicants for positions at overseas locations. Pay retention will not be offered as an incentive for employees moving between overseas positions. Selectees may receive certain foreign area benefits such as: Living Quarters Allowance (LQA) or government quarters, home leave, etc. Selectees will have their eligibility for foreign area benefits determined at the time of hire in accordance with Department of State Standardized Regulation (DSSR) and DoDI 1400.25 volume 1250. For positions in a foreign country, that country's laws or international agreements may have a direct impact on the ability of an employee's same sex domestic partner or spouse to accompany the employee and receive certain benefits. If you believe you may be affected by these laws and agreements, you should familiarize yourself with relevant information and direct questions concerning a specific country (Foreign Duty Location) to the appropriate Army Human Resources point of contact prior to the acceptance of employment and your entrance on duty. This is a Foreign Affairs/Strategic Planning Career Field position. The initial length of this overseas tour is 36 months. Defense National Relocation Program will not be authorized. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction/ for more information. Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations. Relocation or recruitment incentive may be authorized. Student loan repayment, advanced leave accrual and advanced in-hire incentives are not authorized.