The Foreign Service Journal, October 2014

AFSA NEWS 50 OCTOBER 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL STATE VP VOICE | BY MATTHEW ASADA AFSA NEWS Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA State VP. Contact: asadam@state.gov | (202) 647-8160 | @matthewasada Conversions and the Foreign Service The Foreign Service Act of 1980 finds that a “career Foreign Service, characterized by excellence and profes- sionalism, is essential in the national interest” (www.bit. ly/USCode3901). The Act arms a merit-based Service with ocers appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and other members appointed by the Secretary of State, with promotions according to the principles of “a regular, pre- dictable flow of talent upward through the ranks” with “eective career development patterns to meet the needs of the Service.” With this in mind I turn to this month’s focus on conver- sions of people or positions into or from the Foreign Ser- vice. Conceptually, it is useful to think about conversions of people or positions of a temporary or permanent nature. Each conversion has its own impact on promotions, professional development opportunities and the overall integrity of the system. The number of promotion oppor- tunities is derived from the anticipated projected vacan- cies over the next couple of years normalized to ensure the “regular, predictable flow.” The permanent addition of people to or the removal of Foreign Service positions from the system, in excess of a certain number, will reduce the number of promotions available to existing mem- bers. AFSA is concerned by conversions into skill codes and at grades that are not in deficit, as such conversions will disadvantage at least one individual in the existing pool. At the same time, the temporary conversion of a domestic Foreign Service position (known as blue- sheeting)—or the limited non- career appointment of a non- Foreign Service employee to an overseas Foreign Service position—removes an oppor- tunity for a member of the Foreign Service to accumulate professional development experience as called for in our career development plans. Unlike the Hard-to-Fill Program, which occurs after members have had a chance to bid on positions, the pilot Overseas Development Pro- grammay remove positions before members have had a chance to bid on them. The stated goal of the ODP is to give Civil Service employ- ees opportunities to work and learn about the department’s work overseas, so that they can return and apply those experiences to their contin- ued professional development within the Civil Service. Because the ODP may take Foreign Service positions out of the bidding process, AFSA closely reviews each position for uniqueness, language designation, and policy and supervisory responsibilities before approving its inclusion in the program. AFSA has currently approved 20 positions for inclusion in the pilot program. However, we remain con- cerned that some employees see the ODP as a conversion program, and not a develop- mental program as originally envisioned. AFSA is also concerned about several changes to con- version programs piloted by the department that weaken the integrity of the Foreign Service’s merit-based person- nel system. Specifically, in 2012, pursuant to the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, State revised the conversion program to create two separate competition pools for those employees interested in converting into the Foreign Service. Whereas previously the best-qualified employee, regardless of personnel sys- tem, was selected to convert, now two distinct conversion pools have been created, one for Foreign Service and one for Civil Service personnel. AFSA is concerned that the conversion program no longer selects the best- qualified overall employee for conversion, and that this practice may violate the act’s merit-based principle. Moreover, AFSA is con- cerned by the increase of conversions at the FS-2 and FS-1 levels resulting from the changes to the conversion programs, particularly in light of the “pig in the python” problem. The previous sta- ing deficits at the 01 and 02 levels are being eliminated as the Diplomatic Readiness Initiative and Diplomacy 3.0 cohorts rise through the ranks. The department has an obligation to ensure that career personnel have predictable flow-through and career paths. It appears irresponsible to continue to accommodate non-deficit conversions at the upper mid-levels given the projected slowdown in promotions and increasing time in class for existing personnel. While AFSA agrees that it is important for employees to have professional devel- opment opportunities for temporary and permanent conversion, such opportuni- ties must take into account the Foreign Service Act’s requirements for a career Service governed by merit- based principles with regular, predictable career paths up to and through the senior ranks. AFSA will be considering these principles when it sits down later this year to negoti- ate the regularization of these pilot conversion initiatives. I encourage each of you to think about them prior to pro- posing any temporary or per- manent conversion of a Foreign Service position. n Next month: Retention and Attrition—Are We Keeping Our Best and Brightest?