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HomeFamily Member Employment within a U.S. Embassy or Consulate...Professional Associates Program (Hard-to-Fill)

# 									Professional Associates Program (Hard-to-Fill)							

Global Community Liaison Office

		Ask GCLO Employment		

## 								Article Index							

        -  Program Background 
        -  Eligibility Requirements 
        -  Professional Associates Program Selection Process 
        -  How to Apply 
        -  List of Summer 2024 Available Positions 

## 2024 Professional Associates Program for Appointment Eligible Family Members

        - The 2024 Professional Associates Program application window is now open. Applications for these positions  must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET, June 10, 2024 .

### Program Background

The regular Foreign Service assignments process invariably leaves some overseas positions without sufficient qualified Foreign Service bidders. These positions are designated Hard-To-Fill (HTF) and are open to Appointment Eligible Family Members (AEFMs) and to Department of State Civil Service employees for a limited time. Positions are usually announced in the spring by cable. AEFMs may only apply for positions at the posts listed if their sponsoring employee is currently assigned there.

Foreign Service direct-hire employees can continue to bid on these positions and receive priority. Qualified AEFMs are given preference over equally qualified Civil Service employees. Among AEFMs, those with Veterans’ preference will be given priority.

*Note: The Professional Associates Program is different from the Expanded Professional Associates Program (EPAP). For more information, go to the EPAP webpage.*

### Eligibility Requirements

In order to be eligible for the Professional Associates Program (PAP), applicants must be the AEFM (defined in 3 FAM 7120) of a direct hire government employee from any agency under Chief of Mission authority assigned to a full time position at an overseas post. Members of Household (MOH) and family members of contractors are not eligible.

### Professional Associates Program Selection Process

Global Talent Management/Career Development Administration (GTM/CDA) convenes Qualifications Evaluation Panels (QEP) that review applications from AEFMs and from Civil Service employees for relevant experience and skills, including foreign language proficiency if the position requires. AEFMs without supervisory experience will not be considered for positions with supervisory responsibilities. A representative from the Global Community Liaison Office (GCLO) participates in the QEP as a non-voting member.

At the close of the open application period, a panel will review applications for relevant experience and basic skills. Following the qualification review process, AEFMs who are certified as qualified by the QEP will be notified by the PAP Coordinator and results will be forwarded to the respective bureau executive offices. Bureaus make the final candidate selection decisions.

### How To Apply

Application packages must include:
        - An updated federal resume or curriculum vitae. Consistent with the federal application process, PAP applicants must clearly demonstrate that they meet or exceed PAP requirements. GTM’s Global Community Liaison Office (GTM/GCLO)  Global Employment Advisors (GEA)  can assist AEFMs with developing a federal resume.
        - A completed  Department of State Application for Employment (Form DS-174)  as a Locally Employed Staff or Family Member. The form can be found on the internet or in myData if the applicant has access to OpenNet.  Be sure to include all relevant work experience you wish to be considered. Use additional pages, if necessary. List HTF 2024 for the vacancy announcement number.
        - Evidence of relevant training, education, and/or experience for the position.
        - A signed and dated cover memorandum with the following language:           - “I am applying for position X (include OVERSEAS POST/POSITION TITLE/POSITION NUMBER/FS GRADE/SKILL CODE/REQUIRED LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY/CURRENT TOUR END DATE). My sponsoring employee, (name), is assigned to (post) until (month/year).” See  List of Summer 2024 Positions Available . 
        - A copy of the sponsoring employee’s assignment cable/notification or approved form OF- 126 signed by an Authorizing Official in GTM/EX/IDSD listing the applicant by name as a dependent, the sponsoring agency, and current or upcoming post of assignment.
        - Employee evaluation reports from previous federal employment.
        - Please provide a writing sample if applying for the following position types: Political, Economic, Public Diplomacy, International Relations, or Environment, Science and Technology (examples include a recent memo, cable, or report). Please ensure that the sample is  unclassified .

The application package should be sent electronically to HTFProfAssoc@state.gov. Please ensure that all documents are provided in a single email, each as a separate attachment. Do not submit documentation in multiple emails. All attachments should be labeled accordingly (e.g., application attachment should be labeled “LAST NAME – Application” or “LAST NAME – Form DS-174”).

#### Length of Tours

Length of appointment will be tied to the original tour length of the sponsoring employee. Should the sponsor extend, there is no guarantee that an AEFM will retain employment as there may be a FS employee who has been assigned to the position. An updated list of posts designated as Service Needs Differential (SND) will be released separately.

#### Salary Levels

Salary, including grade and step, is determined by the respective Bureau’s Human Resources Specialist consistent with the Department’s EFM qualification and pay setting standards (see 3 FAM 8200). Qualification and pay setting standards for EFMs differ from the standards used to determine FS salaries and may result in a salary determination that varies from the salary advertised to FSOs.

#### Guidelines for Applicants

AEFMs must meet all the qualification requirements of the position at the time of their application and will be appointed using the Family Member Appointment (FMA) mechanism in most cases. Position title will be Professional Associate with a specialty cited; for example, Professional Associate – Economics. Additional items that may be considered when determining successful candidacy include nepotism, conflicts of interest, advancing the work of the mission, etc.

The regulations for FMAs are in 3 FAM 8200. Professional Associates (PA) hired under a FMA will receive Overseas Foreign Service Comparability pay and will accrue leave at a rate based on their length of service.  PAs on a FMA are eligible for Thrift Savings Plan, FEGLI, FEHB, and FERS. They may also be eligible to receive Non-Competitive Eligibility after 52 weeks of government service, per Executive Order 12721. Please see the GCLO Non-Competitive Eligibility website for FAQs about Executive Order 12721 and Non-Competitive Eligibility.

There is no mechanism for the conversion of a Professional Associate to career FS. Under the Mid-Level Skill Code Conversion Program, current tenured CS employees may be able to count time in a previous Family Member Appointment (FMA) towards the program’s eligibility requirements.

#### Security Clearances

Selected AEFMs are required to obtain the appropriate security clearances for the position of assignment prior to onboarding into the position.

#### Training

All the vacancies in this notice are for summer 2024 job starts, unless otherwise indicated. If required, Foreign Service Institute training, including language, may be provided.

#### Cautionary Notes

The FS positions in this notice remain open to eligible FS bidders until the date the assignment can be finalized. However, once an offer has been extended to and accepted by an AEFM, the assignment will be considered finalized. AEFMs are not eligible for mid-level Consular Officer positions.

#### Factors Which Affect Onboarding

A variety of factors may delay the hiring of a family member (e.g., security clearance, nepotism review, training, or other process delays). Family members should understand that there is no specific timeframe for obtaining a security clearance which will affect a candidate’s start date for employment.

#### Further Information

AEFMs may contact the bureau executive office contacts below for capsule position descriptions:
        - AF:  AF-EX-Assignments@state.gov
        - CA:  ConsularBidders@state.gov
        - EAP:  EAP-Assignments@state.gov
        - EUR/IO:  EUR-IO-FSAssignments@state.gov
        - NEA/SCA:  NEA-SCA-Assignments@state.gov
        - WHA:  WHAEX-Assignments@state.gov
        - OBO Facility Management:  OBO-FM-Assignments@state.gov

Please send queries to GTM-CDA-PDU-OCSA@STATE.GOV if you have any questions.

### List of Summer 2024 Available Positions

Positions by region:
        - Africa (AF)
        - East Asia Pacific (EAP)
        - Europe (EUR)
        - Near East Asia (NEA)
        - South and Central Asia (SCA)
        - Western Hemisphere (WHA)

Required Language Proficiency – The Department assigns language designations to positions where some level of language proficiency is required to successfully perform the job. These Language Designated Positions (LDP’s) are assigned proficiency scores required for speaking and for reading. The numeric score identifies the level required. For example, for an assignment requiring Arabic with a level 3 proficiency in **speaking** and a level 2 proficiency in **reading**, the position requirement is described as: Arabi**c S-3/R-2**. Language proficiency levels are described in 13 FAH-1 H-240.

#### Africa (AF)

#### East Asia Pacific (EAP)

#### Europe (EUR)

#### Near East Asia (NEA)

#### South and Central Asia (SCA)

#### Western Hemisphere (WHA)

Tags

Family Member EmploymentGlobal Community Liaison OfficeGlobal Community Liaison Office

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