Professional Associates Program (Hard-to-Fill)

2023 Professional Associates Program for Appointment Eligible Family Members

• The 2023 Professional Associates Program application window is now closed.

Program Background

The regular Foreign Service assignments process invariably leaves some overseas positions without sufficient qualified Foreign Service bidders. These positions are designated Hard-To-Fill (HTF) and are open to Appointment Eligible Family Members (AEFMs) and to Department of State Civil Service employees for a limited time. Positions are usually announced in the spring by cable. AEFMs may only apply for positions at the posts listed if their sponsoring employee is currently assigned there.

Foreign Service direct-hire employees can continue to bid on these positions and receive priority. Qualified AEFMs are given preference over equally qualified Civil Service employees. Among AEFMs, those with Veterans’ preference will be given priority.

Note: The Professional Associates Program is different from the Expanded Professional Associates Program (EPAP). For more information, go to the EPAP webpage.

Eligibility Requirements

In order to be eligible for the Professional Associates (PA) program, applicants must be the AEFM (defined in 3 FAM 7120) of a direct hire government employee from any agency under Chief of Mission authority assigned to a full time position at an overseas post. Members of Household (MOH) and family members of contractors are not eligible.

Professional Associates Program Selection Process

Global Talent Management/Career Development Administration (GTM/CDA) convenes Qualifications Evaluation Panels (QEP) that review applications from AEFMs and from Civil Service employees for relevant experience and skills, including foreign language proficiency if the position requires. AEFMs without supervisory experience will not be considered for positions with supervisory responsibilities. A representative from the Global Community Liaison Office (GCLO) participates in the QEP as a non-voting member.

At the close of the open application period, a panel will review applications for relevant experience and basic skills. Following the qualification review process, AEFMs who are certified as qualified by the QEP will be notified by the PA Coordinator and results will be forwarded to the respective bureau executive offices. Qualified AEFMs should contact the bureau Executive Officer directly to express their interest and to discuss their qualifications. Interested applicants must meet the additional minimum qualifications. Bureaus make the final candidate selection decisions.

Note: Eligibility Requirement for Information Resource Management Positions

• AEFMs should have specialized experience working with computers, upgrading, repairing, replacing hardware and software components; or working with network devices, switches and routers; or performing Sys-Admin functions such as mail server maintenance; adding, deleting and assigning users to roles and providing direct assistance to customers, patch management and server maintenance; configuring or administering virtual network environment; the cloud; telecommunications or voice communications; information security; or Program Management for IT projects or Data Analytics experience. Interested AEFMs may request the additional information from HTFProfAssoc@state.gov.

How To Apply

Application packages must include:

1. An updated federal resume or curriculum vitae. Consistent with the federal application process, Professional Associate applicants must clearly demonstrate that they meet or exceed Professional Associate requirements. GTM’s Global Community Liaison Office (GTM/GCLO) Global Employment Advisors (GEA) can assist AEFMs with developing a federal resume. View the GEA contact list and learn more about GCLO’s Global Employment Initiative (GEI).
2. Form DS-174 Department of State Application for Employment as a Locally Employed Staff or Family Member. The form can be found on the internet or in myData if applicant has access to OpenNet.  Be sure to include all relevant work experience you wish to be considered. Use additional pages, if necessary. List HTF 2023 for the vacancy announcement number.
3. Evidence of relevant training, education, and/or experience for the position.
4. A signed and dated cover memorandum with the following language:
   • “I am applying for position X (include POST/TITLE/POSITION NUMBER/GRADE/SKILL CODE/LANGUAGE/AVAILABILITY). My sponsoring employee, (name), is assigned to (post) until (month/year).”
5. A copy of the sponsoring employee’s assignment cable/notification or approved form OF- 126 signed by an Authorizing Official in GTM/EX/IDSD listing the applicant by name as a dependent, the sponsoring agency, and current or upcoming post of assignment.
6. Employee evaluation reports from previous federal employment.
7. If applying for an International Relations Officer, General (IROG), Political Officer (POL), Economic Officer (ECON), or Public Diplomacy (PD) position, please provide a writing sample, which can be a recent memorandum or report. Please ensure that the sample is unclassified.

The application package should be scanned and sent electronically to HTFProfAssoc@state.gov. Please ensure that all documents are provided in a single email, each as a separate attachment. Do not submit documentation in multiple emails. All attachments should be labeled accordingly (e.g., application attachment should be labeled “LAST NAME – Application” or “LAST NAME – Form DS-174”).

Length of Tours

Length of tour will be tied to the original tour length of the sponsoring employee. Should the sponsor extend, there is no guarantee that an AEFM will retain employment as there may be a FS employee who has been assigned to the position.

Guidelines for Applicants

Professional Associates are appointed using the Family Member Appointment (FMA) mechanism in most cases. Salary, including grade and step, is determined by the respective Bureau’s Human Resources Specialist consistent with the Department’s EFM qualification and pay setting standards (see 3 FAM 8200). Qualification and pay setting standards for EFMs differ from the standards used to determine FS salaries and may result in a salary determination that varies from the salary advertised to FSOs. Professional Associates hired under a FMA will receive Overseas Foreign Service Comparability pay and will accrue leave at a rate based on their length of service.  Professional Associates on a FMA are eligible for Thrift Savings Plan, FEGLI, FEHB, and FERS. They may also be eligible to receive Non-Competitive Eligibility after 52 weeks of government service, per Executive Order 12721. GCLO’s Non-Competitive Eligibility (NCE) webpage contains information about Executive Order 12721 eligibility, regulations and FAQs.

There is no mechanism for the conversion of a Professional Associate to career FS. AEFMs selected for a position will not be able to convert to the career Foreign Service at the end of a tour.

Security Clearances

Selected AEFMs are required to obtain the appropriate security clearances for the position of assignment prior to onboarding into the position.

Training

If required, Foreign Service Institute training, including language, may be provided.

Cautionary Notes

The FS positions in this notice remain open to eligible FS bidders until the date the assignment can be finalized. However, once an offer has been extended and accepted by an AEFM, the assignment will be considered finalized. AEFMs are not eligible for mid-level Consular Officer positions.

Factors Which Affect Onboarding

A variety of factors may delay the hiring of a family member (e.g., security clearance, nepotism review, training, or other process delays). Family members should understand that there is no specific timeframe for obtaining a security clearance which will affect a candidate’s start date for employment.

Further Information

AEFMs may contact the bureau executive office contacts below for capsule position descriptions:

• AF: AF-EX-Assignments@state.gov
• CA: ConsularBidders@state.gov
• EAP: EAP-Assignments@state.gov
• EUR/IO: EUR-IO-FSAssignments@state.gov
• INL/EX: INL-HR-FS-Requests@state.gov
• NEA/SCA: NEA-SCA-Assignments@state.gov
• WHA: WHAEX-Assignments@state.gov

Please send queries to GTM-CDA-PDU-OCSA@STATE.GOV if you have any questions.

List of Summer 2023 Available Positions

Positions by region:

• Africa (AF)
• East Asia Pacific (EAP)
• Europe (EUR)
• Near East Asia (NEA)
• South and Central Asia (SCA)
• Western Hemisphere (WHA)

Africa (AF)

*Indicates service need differential (SND) posts.

Language Legends: AD-Arabic (Modern Standard); FR-French; PY-Portuguese; QB-Spanish-
Caribbean

East Asia Pacific (EAP)

*Indicates service need differential (SND) posts.

Language Legends: CC-Chinese Cantonese; CM-Chinese Mandarin; VN-Vietnamese-Hanoi

Europe (EUR)

*Indicates service need differential (SND) posts.

Language Legends: AR-Armenian; RU-Russian; TU-Turkish

Near East Asia (NEA)

*Indicates service need differential (SND) posts.

Language Legends: AD-Arabic (Modern Standard); FR-French

South and Central Asia (SCA)

*Indicates service need differential (SND) posts.

Language Legends: BN-Bengali; KE-Kazakh; KM-Kirghiz; RU-Russian; TB-Tadjik

Western Hemisphere (WHA)

*Indicates service need differential (SND) posts.

Language Legends: FR-French; PY-Portuguese; QB-Spanish-Caribbean