The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2005

management. The reason most often cited by survey respondents for their preference for mission employment was, ironically, “salary.” Many pointed out that jobs in the local economy in most parts of the world, while potentially more interesting than embassy jobs, offer unacceptably low compensation. Other reasons for their preference for embassy jobs include: the ability to accumulate retirement pay and other benefits (for certain types of positions), a secure environment, ease of commuting with their spouses, contact with the embassy community and the ability to be more “plugged in” to what is going on in the community. More family members work inside missions than out- side. About 25 percent of all family members overseas work inside missions, and 10 percent work outside, accord- ing to data from the Family Liaison Office. FLO data for 2004 show that 35 percent of Foreign Service family mem- bers overseas were working, and that 50 percent would like to be working. Data from 169 posts, compiled by FLO in its December 2004 Family Mem- ber Employment Report, show that the total number of spous- es overseas was 8,413. Of those, 6,680 (or 79 percent), were women and 1,733 were men. The total number of spouses working overseas was reported to be 2,907: 2,092 working inside the mission and 815 working outside. The goal of State management, through the office of the director general, the Human Resources Bureau, the FLO and post management, is to help increase the number of working family members to 50 percent, which would meet the current demand. The family members who responded to our survey expressed a wide diversity of attitudes about mission jobs. Their experiences were strongly influenced by how they felt they were treated by post management. Some were extremely pleased with their mission jobs, while others either did not find a suitable job in the embassy or were frustrated by the ones they did find. There is no one uni- form family member employment system at work in all mis- sions, and no uniform group of family members seeking work at all posts. The success or failure of each family member employment program appears to depend on the actual needs and resources at the post, combined with the level of commitment to fostering opportunities from post management. This can explain the wide diversity of expe- rience family members have with mission employment. Hiring Categories There are numerous hiring mechanisms under which spouses are brought on board for embassy employment (see p. 75 for a guide to some of the most commonly used acronyms and abbreviations). Eligible Family Members who are American citizens and considered “AEFM,” or Appointment-Eligible Family Members, have the broadest options for mission employment. An AEFM is a U.S. citi- zen spouse or U.S. citizen child at least 18 years old, on the travel orders of a U.S. citizen Foreign or Civil Service employee or military service member assigned to a U.S. mis- sion. Non-American-citizen spouses are EFMs but are not eligible for spousal preference as outlined in the statute on preference. Members of Household and other non-married part- ners of Foreign Service employees overseas are not considered to be EFMs. Most State Department mis- sion jobs are limited to those with AEFM status, as they require a security clearance. Non-sensitive positions with other agencies are open to all EFMs. In March 1994, the State Department established the Professional Associates Pro- gram to open up unfilled junior officer positions to EFMs. In the same year, State also implemented the Rockefeller Amendment, which allowed embassies and consulates to employ expatriate American citizens and family members in positions formerly available only to foreign nationals, and gave preference to American-citizen family members over other applicants for these jobs. One of the most important developments in family- member mission employment was the creation of the State Department’s Family Member Appointment hiring mecha- nism in 1998. Prior to the FMA, spouses were hired under mechanisms that were truly the pits. The PIT (part-time intermittent temporary) appointment, used for many State embassy jobs, usually meant a low salary, virtually no bene- fits, no advancement and no continuity of career. The PIT has been replaced by the TEMP, “temporary appoint- ments” for up to one year. These appointments are reserved for U.S. citizens and come with some benefits. (See chart on p. 72 for a breakdown of hiring categories.) Another hiring mechanism that has long been used by a number of agencies is the Personal Service Contract. Family members hired locally by USAID are often hired on J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 67 A commitment from post management to fostering opportunities for family members is the key element to the success or failure of any post family member employment program.