State Department: Central African Desk Officer

Central African Desk Officer at U.S. State Department If you are qualified to apply, please send a resume and cover letter to C. Pat Alsup, Deputy Director, Office of Central African Affairs (AF/C), U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street NW, Room 4244, Email: AlsupCP@state.gov Desk Officer – Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon/ Regional Science and Technology Officer Bureau of African Affairs, Office of Central African Affairs, U.S. Department of State The Office of Central African Affairs (AF/C) has principal responsibility in the Department of State for promoting U.S. interests and management of bilateral relations in ten countries in Central Africa: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, Republic of Congo, and Sao Tome & Principe. AF/C supports U.S. diplomatic missions in those countries and coordinates policies affecting those countries and the region with other agencies of the U.S. government. The region is volatile and complex, with some countries in the region characterized by long-standing armed conflicts and refugee issues, others defined by oil revenues, and others by extreme poverty. The AF/C office has 8 Officers (Director, Deputy Director and 6 Desk Officers) and two Office Management Specialists. AF/C is seeking to place a Boren Fellow in a Foreign Affairs Officer position for one year beginning fall 2010. The officer would manage the bilateral relationship between the United States and Equatorial Guinea and the Cameroon. Background information on the two countries is available at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/7221.htm (Equatorial Guinea) and http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26431.htm (Cameroon). The officer in this position can expect to prepare policy-level materials for the AF Front Office, including the Assistant Secretary. Strong writing skills are essential. Experience studying or working in Africa is desirable as is Spanish and/ or French. Main job duties and responsibilities: - Provide analysis and recommendations to the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs (AF) and other Department officials on how to promote U.S. interests in EG and Cameroon; - Build support for AF policy positions in other State Department bureaus and other U.S government agencies; - Develop and implement action plans once policy decisions are made; - Serve as the principal point-of-contact for U.S. embassies in EG and Cameroon, expediting the provision of policy guidance to these posts and liaising with other offices/bureaus on posts' action and other requests; and - Maintain contact with officials of the EG and Cameroon embassies in Washington, nongovernmental organizations, academics, private sector representatives, Congressional staff, and others with interests in the region.

- Serve as coordinator for environmental, health, and science & technology issues, including the Kimberly process, Congo Basin forestry management, and HIV/AIDs programs, in the Central Africa region.