The Foreign Service Journal, April 2012

20 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 2 hired. But others vociferously de- fended the nepotism rules as safe- guards against double standards and unfairness. In any case, most current embassy jobs are clerical. In 2010 (the most recent year for which data are avail- able), more than half of all spouses in embassy jobs were working as admin- istrative assistants (19 percent) or in management support (13 percent), consular affairs (12 percent), security (10 percent), or pro- gram support (7 percent). But that is slowly changing. Thanks to the professional associates program, which is open to both civil servants and eligible family members, and the four-year-old ex- panded professional associates program, which is limited to family members, an increasing number of spouses are obtaining more satisfying jobs in embassies or consulates. Only a handful of spouses typically find jobs through the professional associates program, but the expanded program now offers 160 jobs to eligible family members in entry-level (FS-7 to FS-4) positions. These jobs span most of those available to Foreign Service personnel. Ap- plicants must commit to working full time for at least a full year. These jobs are centrally funded, whichmeans they don’t depend on the vicissitudes of individual embassy finances. The application process is rigorous, but those who have gone through the program say the work was enjoyable. “Take the Training” When Carl Henriksen’s spouse decided to make a late- career switch to the Foreign Service in 2009, Henriksen decided to take advantage of the opportunities available for spouses to take courses at the Foreign Service Insti- tute. He had plenty of business experience from working for a company exporting forest products machinery to China, but wanted to learn more about how the federal government operates. Toward that end, he took general services courses at FSI, as well as Spanish, to prepare for his wife’s stint in Mexico. “One of the things I decided to do when I found myself getting into this world is that I would take any training they would give me,” he says. “That has stood me in good stead.” In 2010 Henriksen landed a job in Embassy Mexico City’s narcotics af- fairs section as a contracting officer, just as U.S. aid began flowing into Mexico to help it fight drug smug- gling. The previous year, Congress had launched the Mérida Initiative, and has since appropriated some $1.5 billion to help Mexico train police and prosecutors and reform its cor- rection system. The money is also bolstering Mexico’s armed forces and police with new hel- icopters and X-ray equipment. “It was good timing and luck. I got there right as we were trying to address training and equipment needs,” says Henriksen. “The narcotics affairs office had 20 peo- ple when I started, and when I left it had 160.” Mid-tour, that job led to an opportunity to become procurement and contracting general services officer for Mission Mex- ico through the expanded professional associates pro- gram. When his wife’s tour ended last April, Henriksen re- called a presentation given by the Family Liaison Office explaining Executive Order 12721. First issued by Pres- ident George H.W. Bush and maintained ever since, the order allows family members who have served 52 weeks in an embassy position to enter the Civil Service without going through the competitive process. “It’s important to get a letter from Human Resources confirming your eligibility before you leave post,” Henriksen says. That’s also a boon for agencies looking to hire quali- fied personnel quickly — and for people like Henriksen, who want to parlay their experience overseas into full- time jobs. Now a GS-11 civil servant in State’s Bureau of Narcotics and Law Enforcement, he is involved in contracting for U.S. aid to law enforcement agencies in seven Central American countries. And he’s able to do it while teleworking from his wife’s new post in Hon- duras. “My intention is to stay with State,” he says. “My plan is to continue to work in whatever post and telework to the same office.” State Isn’t the Only Agency Hiring Another option is to find work with a foreign affairs agency other than State. During her first overseas posting, Catherine Pierce F OCUS Most EFMs who work overseas do so at the embassy, consulate or mission where their spouse is stationed.