The Foreign Service Journal, April 2011

8 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / A P R I L 2 0 1 1 the benefits of keeping Locally Em- ployed Staff at post for years. These dedicated employees provide continu- ity and institutional memory and use their contacts to enable Foreign Serv- ice personnel to carry out our mis- sions. Indeed, many visitors to post express appreciation for their contri- butions. But while we publicly praise our LES colleagues, we do them a great disservice when it comes to career ad- vancement. I recently went through the long process of creating a new Lo- cally Employed Staff position within my office here in Nairobi. After I drafted the position description and conducted the standard Computer Aided Job Evaluation, the job came out at grade 10. We then interviewed ap- plicants and made our selection, a cur- rent LES at the grade of 8. Only after we completed all the pa- perwork to hire and promote the new employee to the designated rank of 10 did we learn that the Foreign Affairs Manual (3 FAM 7576.1, to be precise) requires him to serve at least one full year at grade 9 before being promoted to 10. The Bureau of Human Re- sources tells me that I can apply for a waiver of the minimumwaiting period, which we will do. But this policy makes no sense. It simply punishes local staff who are already employed at post. After all, if we had selected an out- side candidate for the position, that person would join the mission at the advertised grade of 10 right away. Or if the Locally Employed Staff member were to resign his current position be- fore accepting our offer, he could start at the 10 level. What possible justification could there be for penalizing exemplary em- ployees who are trying to better them- selves, and help their post, by assuming more responsibilities? Our Locally Employed Staff members deserve to be promoted and paid just like any other employee in the federal govern- ment. Steven D’Angelo Diplomatic Security Special Agent Embassy Nairobi L E T T E R S CHANGE OF ADDRESS Moving? Take AFSA With You! Change your address online at: www.afsa.org/ address_change.aspx To log in, use your AFSA membership number on the mailing label of your Foreign Service Journal. The number is on the top left corner of the label, right above your name. It may be 2 digits or up to 7 digits. The password is your last name. It is not case sensitive. Or Send change of address to: AFSA Membership Department 2101 E Street NW Washington, DC 20037 Have something to say? The FSJ wants to know! Send us your Letter to the Editor OR Speak Out about something that’s on your mind! E-mail: journal@afsa.org All submissions are edited for style, format, grammar and punctuation, and must meet FSJ editorial guidelines.