Duties

Summary

The Foreign Service Family Reserve Corps (FSFRC) is a non-pay program. The FSFRC was created in order to improve the efficiency of the hiring process for Appointment Eligible Family Members (AEFMs). Family members who meet the eligibility requirements and are accepted into the FSFRC, will be appointed into a position without compensation or benefits. FSFRC members will then compete for available positions at their sponsoring employee's post overseas.
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Responsibilities

There are no major duties associated with this vacancy announcement, as it is not associated with any one job series code. Duties will be determined when an AEFM applies for and is selected for a local position at post. If selected, they will be appointed to the local position and will receive a salary based on the grade of the position and benefits (if applicable) when they begin working. Family members who join the FSFRC will be permitted to remain in the FSFRC as long as they continue to meet program eligibility requirements and respond to recertification requests.

The FSFRC, in and of itself, will not create additional employment opportunities or positions overseas, nor will it provide an independent pathway to gain a security clearance. Being a member of the FSFRC does not guarantee employment. FSFRC applicants without a clearance will be required to submit a SF-85 upon acceptance of their application. Once they receive a Low Risk/Non-Sensitive (LRNS) determination they will be appointed into the FSFRC. If they are selected for an overseas position that requires access to classified information, they will be required to obtain the required security clearance. Members will remain in the FSFRC in an unpaid reserve status when they are not working in a local position at post.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
NA

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a low risk non-sensitive determination.
• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• Verification of employment eligibility in the United States is required.

An individual who meets all the following criteria is eligible to apply for membership in the FSFRC:

1. Is a U.S. citizen; and

2. Is the spouse or domestic partner (as defined in 3 FAM 1610) of a sponsoring employee (i.e., a direct-hire Foreign Service, Civil Service, or uniformed service member); and

3. Is either:

a). Listed on an HR/EX approved Form OF-126, Foreign Service Residence and Dependency Report (or Foreign Affairs Agency equivalent), of a sponsoring employee; or
b). Listed on the current travel orders (TMFOUR or agency equivalent) of a sponsoring employee for a post abroad at a U.S. mission under Chief of Mission authority including an office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT); or
c). Has a letter from the sponsoring employee's agency stating that you are their spouse or domestic partner, and that the sponsoring employee is expected to serve at an overseas post under Chief of Mission authority within the next 12 months.

NOTE: The Chief of Mission is in charge of all Executive Branch activities and operations and is fully responsible for the direction, coordination, and supervision of all U.S. Executive Branch employees, regardless of their employment categories or location, except those under command of a U.S. area military commander or on the staff of an international organization. Family Members whose sponsoring employee is under the command of a U.S. area military commander are not eligible for the FSFRC.

4. Does not receive a U.S. Government retirement annuity or pension from a career in the U.S. Foreign Service or Civil Service; and

5. Is not a Foreign Service Officer in Leave Without Pay (LWOP) status.

NOTE: Currently, eligible family members currently employed on a Personal Services Agreement (PSA) will be unable to apply for membership due to limitations of the current pay system.

6. Is not a Civil Service employee with re-employment rights to their agency or bureau.

NOTE: U.S. citizen spouses/domestic partners who are on approved Voluntary Separate Maintenance Allowance (VSMA) or Involuntary Separate Maintenance Allowance (ISMA) and are temporarily residing apart from the sponsoring employee are also eligible to join the FSFRC in non-paid status. However, they may begin working in a local assignment only when they resume residing with the sponsoring employee.

Qualifications

Applicants will be evaluated based solely on FSFRC Program eligibility requirements using agency-developed standards. Applicants who meet the program requirements will be accepted as members into the FSFRC.

NOTE: If it is determined that you do not meet program eligibility requirements or fail to submit proper documentation in a timely manner, you will be removed from consideration.

Recertification to remain a member of the FSFRC will be conducted annually for all Category One and Category Two, and every five (5) years for FSFRC members in Category Three for members not currently in a local assignment. The FSFRC member will be required to respond to ongoing security reinvestigation requests from Diplomatic Security (DS). The FSFRC appointment will terminate if the member no longer qualifies for the FSFRC or does not respond to the HR Shared Services' (HR/SS) recertification query within the required timeline. FSFRC members must notify HRSS of any event (such as divorce, etc.) which may result in a loss of eligibility for the program.

Education

.

Additional information

Due to the anticipated high volume of appliations, vacancy announcements will be posted on a bi-monthly basis. No family member will be disadvantaged by the application caps as there will be no changes to hiring preference at post until steady state has been reached.

There is a maximum number of applications for this vacancy announcement. The vacancy will close on the closing date listed above or when the maximum number of applications is received. The vacancy will close when the first of these conditions are met. If the application limit is reached on the same day the announcement opened, the open and close date will be the same. Vacancy announcements will be posted on a bi-monthly basis. No family member will be disadvantaged by the application caps as there will be no changes to hiring preference at post until steady state has been reached.

For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or ReasonableAccommodations@state.gov.

FLO and HR Shared Services have created an informative video and slide deck to assist in the application process, you can access these tools at: https://www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c71288.htm .

E-Verify: EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROGRAM (E-Verify) - U.S. law requires organizations to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States - either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization. This agency utilizes E-Verify to compare information from the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm employment eligibility. If the employee's information does not match DHS and/or SSA records, the employee is given an opportunity to resolve the problem. If eligibility cannot be verified, employment will be terminated.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Family members who meet the eligibility requirements stated above will be able to apply for FSFRC membership. Family members who join the FSFRC will be have their FSFRC membership category verified by Diplomatic Security (DS) and will be appointed by HR Shared Services (HR/SS) to one of three categories based on their current or most recent security clearance:

Category One for those with a current Top Secret clearance or those eligible to revalidate a recent Top Secret clearance;
Category Two for those with a current Secret clearance or those eligible to revalidate a recent Secret clearance; or
Category Three for those with a Low Risk/Non-Sensitive (LRNS), Moderate Risk Public Trust (MRPT), or High Risk Public Trust (HRPT) determination -- members in this category do not hold a valid security clearance or are not eligible to have a previous clearance revalidated and includes those who are not currently employed by the Department or those who are working in non-sensitive positions.

Regardless of category, FSFRC members will be eligible to apply for local assignments overseas where the sponsoring employee is assigned. If selected for a local assignment that requires access to classified information, FSFRC members who do not already hold the required level of clearance will begin the security clearance process.

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Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Confidential

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

* Resume; and * HR/EX Approved OF-126-Foreign Service Residence and Dependency Report or your sponsor's Agency equivalent for non DoS employees; OR * Current Travel Orders (TMFOUR or Agency equivalent) of Sponsoring Employee (TMOne Assignment b>Notifications do not meet this requirement).

Note to EFMs whose sponsoring employee is not employed by Department of State: If you are unable to provide travel orders for travel clearly reflecting an upcoming future tour at a U.S. Mission overseas under Chief of Mission authority, you will need to provide written certification (official letter or memo) from your sponsoring employee's Agency's executive office affirming there is an expectation to serve future tours at U.S. Missions overseas under Chief of Mission authority (see Requirements section for additional information). Either document will need to clearly reflect that you are listed as an eligible dependent expected to accompany your sponsoring employee. As noted above, assignment notifications do not meet this requirement.

FLO and HR Shared Services have created an informative video and slide deck to assist in the application process, you can access these tools at: https://www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/c71288.htm .

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.