Department of State Career Site Archive Site for State Department information prior to January 20, 2001. This site is not updated. The specific number to be hired will depend on the needs of the Foreign Service. Initial assignment will be to the Department of State in Washington, DC for training and orientation, followed by an overseas assignment of two years. Foreign Service Office Management Specialists normally spend most of their careers abroad, moving to new assignments at intervals of 2-4 years.
Duties vary greatly depending on the size of the post and the particular position.
Computer skills are an essential element of this career. Foreign Service Office Management Specialists are frequently called upon to perform a variety of special duties in addition to regular functions. Assignments can vary from working in a Political or Economic Section in one mission to working in the Administrative or Executive Office in another. Positions of increasingly higher responsibility are achieved as a result of competing for promotions which are earned through quality performance. All newly-hired Office Management Specialists enter at the junior level and are expected to follow a structured career path extending over a period of years.