The Foreign Service Journal, May 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2015 51 Eligible Family Member Employment Ensuring adequate employ- ment opportunities for For- eign Service family members is becoming increasingly important, both for morale and retention. Unlike the period prior to 1972, when an FSO’s effi- ciency report included an assessment of how well his wife supported her hus- band’s career by entertain- ing as many local officials as possible, today’s Foreign Service mirrors the chang- ing demographics of the United States, in which both spouses often want their own careers. Eligible Family Member employment was on the minds of many of you who participated in the last AFSA USAID survey. Because of what that survey showed and what we learned from other sources, USAID now views EFM initiatives as a top priority—not only for FSO retention and morale, but also because it makes fiscal sense. Many EFMs are highly skilled professionals, and employing them allows USAID to optimize its budget resources. In the AFSA survey, increasing EFM employment came in as the fourth-highest priority. Ensuring equal ben- efits among Foreign Service officers was the highest priority labor management issue. Significantly, however, one difference in the parity Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA USAID VP. Contact: swayne@usaid.gov or (202) 712-1631 USAID VP VOICE | BY SHARON WAYNE AFSA NEWS of benefits highlighted in the survey feedback is that EFMs working at USAID are often not entitled to non-competi- tive eligibility for federal jobs in the United States—a ben- efit that State Department EFMs readily receive. To delve into this and other issues, USAID has cre- ated the Office for Overseas Human Capital Initiatives, dedicated to EFM initiatives, it is led by Executive Officer Ann Posner. OHCI is working in part- nership with State’s Family Liaison Office and the Office of Human Resources/Over- seas Employment to iden- tify better ways to support USAID’s EFMs. For example: Family Member Appoint- ments. USAID is partner- ing with State to formalize the FMA program from its 2004 pilot. FMA is the State Department hiring mecha- nism for Appointment-Eligi- ble Family Members. USAID can hire using the FMA mechanism in collabo- ration with State, previously, it has more commonly used other hiring mechanisms, such as personal service contracts. When EFMs (an unmar- ried child under age 23, a spouse or a domestic partner) serve in an FMA position for 52 weeks, or up to 2,087 hours (if part-time), they earn non-competitive eligibility status for future federal employment through Executive Order 12721. USAID recognizes and encourages EFMs who have non-competitive eligibility to apply to status-eligible posi- tions (i.e., Civil Service posi- tions) in Washington, D.C. OHCI’s goal is to use lessons learned in this long pilot period to formalize the program and clarify the roles governing USAID and State’s partnership. With better clarification and enhanced procedures, OHCI hopes to facilitate USAID’s increased use of this mechanism. Direct Communication. OHCI also seeks to estab- lish direct lines of commu- nication with EFMs, so all information doesn’t have to flow through the employee. This would allow the spouse to feel more plugged in and supported through all the changes and challenges associated with life as a For- eign Service spouse. Communications are already taking place through orientation with the newly hired C3 officers, virtual town halls and USAID’s EFM listserv (to join, contact EFM Coordinator Lindsey Johnson at ljohnson@usaid.gov) . Training. USAID is seeking to expand training opportu- nities for its eligible fam- ily members. Toward that end, OHCI is working with the Center for Professional Development at USAID to identify training that would support the agency’s EFM positions. USAID also reimburses the tuition costs for both in- person and distance courses at the Foreign Service Institute. Finally, USAID gives EFMs access to career devel- opment resource services. USAID and State’s FLO office are sponsoring an EFM event in May; information will be posted on FLO’s website. Like most changes, there will be issues that need to be ironed out. For example, could some EFM positions be filled by FSOs? I encourage you to share your suggestions, concerns and thoughts on this topic to help mold these exciting initiatives to make USAID a better place to work. OHCI has also created an FSO Telework Initiatives unit, which I look forward to explor- ing in a future column. n Having employment options for spouses who want to work is critical to employee morale and retention.