Jobs at AFSA

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Employment at AFSA

The Foreign Service Act of 1980, the legal foundation for the Foreign Service, opens by declaring that “a career Foreign Service, characterized by excellence and professionalism, is essential in the national interest.” AFSA speaks for its members individually, ensuring that the law is upheld and due process followed, but also, crucially, for the long-term health and vigor of the Foreign Service as an institution, certain in the conviction that a career Foreign Service, characterized by excellence and professionalism, is in America’s national interest.

AFSA’s membership include active-duty and retired Foreign Service officers and specialists at the Department of State, as well as members of the Foreign Service from the U.S. Agency for International Development, Foreign Agricultural Service, Foreign Commercial Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Broadcasting Board of Governors. AFSA exists to support the United States Foreign Service, which deploys worldwide to protect and serve America’s people, interests and values. The Foreign Service is the only U.S. government entity that is globally deployed with an enduring physical presence in almost every country in the world, creating an enormous competitive advantage for America and for Americans from all walks of life. AFSA’s members are career professionals who spend roughly two thirds of their careers abroad representing America to the people and leaders of other countries. Members of the Foreign Service are posted to more than 270 U.S. embassies, consulates and other missions around the globe—most in difficult and many in dangerous environments.

Our AFSA staff are hired from across the Foreign Service and international affairs communities. If you are interested in supporting the Foreign Service mission and working for AFSA, please keep an eye on our website below for available jobs. In the meantime, we have posted our Employee Handbook here for your information.

Congressional Advocacy Fellow

Eligibility: Applicants must be American citizens with a passport and a U.S.-issued driver’s license or ID. Current graduate students and applicants who have graduated from college within the past few years are preferred. Applications for the fall fellowship are now being accepted until August 19th, 2018.

Position Description: The American Foreign Service Association is seeking a part-time Congressional Advocacy Fellow for the upcoming fall semester. This fellow will directly support AFSA’s Director of Congressional Advocacy. At AFSA, this fellow will have unique opportunities to learn about the Foreign Service and gain insights into the workings of the State Department, Capitol Hill, and other foreign affairs agencies. The fellow will receive a stipend of $3,500 for the semester.

Responsibilities will include:

  • Attending meetings on Capitol Hill in support of AFSA’s Congressional Advocacy efforts
  • Internally tracking AFSA’s interactions with Members of Congress and Congressional staff
  • Tracking Congressional hearings, markups, and votes that impact the U.S. Foreign Service
  • Attending internal meetings shaping AFSA’s Congressional Advocacy strategy
  • Drafting correspondence to Members of Congress and Congressional staff
  • Gathering and maintaining data regarding the U.S. Foreign Service
  • Perform other duties and tasks as assigned in support of AFSA

Desired Qualifications:

  • Bachelor's degree in political science, international relations, or a related field (current graduate students are preferred)
  • Part-time availability (no more than 15 hours/week) from Sept. 4, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2018
  • Experience working for or with offices on Capitol Hill
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills

How to Apply:

If you would like to be considered, please send a resume, cover letter and a short writing sample to Kim Greenplate, Director of Congressional Advocacy, at greenplate@afsa.org. (subject: Congressional Advocacy Fellowship).

In all cases, candidates who are under serious consideration for the position will be notified within a week after the deadline; all other applicants should assume they are no longer being considered if they have not been contacted by then. (We regret that we cannot acknowledge receipt of individual applications.)

We are located at 2101 E Street NW in Washington, DC, two blocks from the George Washington University campus and directly across from the State Department. The closest Metro stop is Foggy Bottom/GWU, on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines.

Law Clerk

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) is seeking a part-time law clerk (20 hours/week) to work in its Labor Management office at the Department of State at a rate of $20.00/hour. AFSA is the labor union and professional association for the U.S. Foreign Service at the State Department and five other foreign affairs agencies. This law clerk will work on several different areas of labor and employment law, primarily in the areas of administrative litigation and collective bargaining negotiations. As the exclusive bargaining agent for the Foreign Service, AFSA represents Foreign Service employees in everything from discipline cases and grievances to financial matters and dependent family education issues. This law clerk will work alongside attorneys both in representing clients and in negotiating bargaining agreements with the foreign affairs agencies.

Primary job responsibilities include

  • Draft responses to proposals for discipline in administrative cases, as well as draft grievances and grievance appeals.
  • Assist in the discovery process by writing requests for documents, requests for admissions, and interrogatories.
  • Research statutes and case law by reviewing Federal Labor Relations Authority and Foreign Service Grievance Board decisions; Agency regulations; relevant federal statutes, Agency collective bargaining agreements; and case comparators in the preparation of legal memoranda.
  • Draft language for collective bargaining agreements.

Qualifications

  • A 2L or 3L law student with an interest in labor and employment law.
  • Strong Academic Credentials. Membership on journal and a demonstrated interest in labor/employment preferred.

Candidates should submit a resume, cover letter, transcript, and writing sample to afsa@state.gov.

AFSA Employee Handbook