FSS: SOP 134B3

BUREAU OF GLOBAL TALENT MANAGEMENT
OFFICE OF TALENT ACQUISITION

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (SOP) NOTICE NO. 134B3

(This SOP replaces and supersedes SOP 115A dated November 3, 2006, and all previous versions of SOP 134B.)

SUBJECT: Salary Standards for Entry-Level Foreign Service Specialist Career Candidates, with the exception of Diplomatic Security Special Agent Candidates, effective February 28, 2022.

(SOP 134C provides procedures for Diplomatic Security Special Agent Candidates)

PURPOSE: To provide procedures for determining the entry-level salary for Foreign Service Specialist Career Candidates (except Diplomatic Security Special Agents), in accordance with 3 FAM 3121.1-2.

AUTHORITY: 22 USC 3964 and Section 404 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 authorize the Secretary to assign all Foreign Service personnel “to appropriate salary classes in the Foreign Service Schedule.”
3 FAM 3121.1-2 governs salary assignments for Foreign Service Specialists.

PROCEDURE:

The Office of the Registrar is responsible for determining the entry-level salary (grade and step) that the candidate is offered, based on the candidate’s qualifying work experience, education, and current salary. Salary review/appeal procedures are covered by Salary Review Procedures SOP No. 134D.

Determination of Entry-level Grade and Step

The vacancy announcement for each specialist position provides the minimum education and specialized work experience requirements, and specifies applicable grade levels, i.e., FP-06 through FP-01. Candidates who meet the minimum education and specialized work experience qualifications will be offered the grade stipulated in the vacancy announcement; if the vacancy announcement includes more than one possible entry grade, the grade offered will be the highest that is justified by the candidate’s education and specialized work experience at the time the Registrar sends a Confirmed Offer of Employment (that is, an offer to join a specific specialist orientation class with a specified starting date). Candidates will be appointed at the minimum step within the grade for which they are qualified, that is, at Step 1, unless a higher step is specified in the vacancy announcement.

Education:

To be considered, a degree must be conferred prior to appointment by a nationally accredited college or university. The accrediting institution or association must be one recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. The minimum education requirements stated in the vacancy announcement must be completed at the time of application. A degree received after the Registrar has sent a Confirmed Offer of Employment Letter (that is, an offer to join a specific orientation class with a specified starting date), but before the candidate has been sworn into the Foreign Service, will be credited for grade and salary determination upon submission of evidence of the degree to the Registrar. Advanced degrees in fields related to a candidate’s specialty above the minimum vacancy announcement requirements may be considered if conferred prior to being sworn in as a Foreign Service Specialist, as described below, for an additional step consideration. Education completed at foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet education requirements if the candidate can show that the foreign education is comparable to education received in the United States.

Education: For Specialists, when a bachelor’s degree is not required to qualify for a Foreign Service Specialist category, or when a bachelor’s degree is not used to substitute for general experience, the candidate should be awarded one step for a bachelor’s degree, in any field of study, awarded before being sworn in as a Foreign Service Specialist.

When a graduate degree is not required to qualify for a Foreign Service Specialist category, or when graduate studies are not substituted for required experience, the candidate should be awarded:

• One step for one (and only one) graduate degree below the doctoral level, in a work-related field, awarded before the date of appointment as a Foreign Service Specialist; and/or
• One additional step for a doctoral degree, in a work-related field, awarded before the date of appointment as a Foreign Service Specialist.

Specialized Experience:

Specialized experience is professional work that demonstrates the applicant has acquired, and is able to apply, specific knowledge, skills, and abilities appropriate to the Foreign Service specialty for which they are applying. Candidates must meet the minimum requirements for length of time in qualifying specialized experience as specified in the vacancy announcement, and it should contribute to their potential to perform in progressively more responsible positions in the field of specialty. An applicant’s work experience will be evaluated for level of responsibility and length of experience. Specific examples of work experience that qualify as being directly related to the work of the Foreign Service specialties covered by this SOP are included in the relevant vacancy announcement.

Calculation of Specialized Experience (SE)

An additional step may be granted for each year of specialized work experience. Specialized experience is calculated up to the effective date of the Appointment Offer (i.e., class starting date). In no case will more than 40 hours of specialized experience be credited for any one-week period, regardless of the type of work performed, the number of jobs held, the hours worked or the employment status (self-employed or other). Specialized experience that is part-time work will be prorated. When a candidate’s specialized experiences is totaled, no credit will be given for periods of less than one year, e.g., a total of four years and eleven months of specialized experience is credited as four years.

Adjustment of Step within Entry Grade

Candidates may be awarded additional steps within the entry grade up to the highest step (Step 14) for:

1. Education and experience above the minimum, as described above; and/or
2. Shortage/Hard To Fill Categories and other factors deemed appropriate by the Director of the Office of Talent Acquisition (GTM/TAC) to meet the needs of the Service.

Progressive Specialized Experience: Candidates should be awarded an additional step for each full year of progressive specialized work experience beyond the experience required to qualify for the occupation and grade level in question, or for each full year of progressive specialized work experience where a degree is used to substitute for experience. Progressive specialized experience is that which clearly shows the candidate has acquired increasing levels of responsibility, knowledge, skills and abilities while performing work where the primary duties are directly-related to the specialist category for which the applicant is being hired.

Shortage/Hard-To-Fill Categories: The candidate may be awarded up to a maximum of six (6) steps above the base salary for occupations the Director of GTM/TAC designates as within a shortage category or as hard-to-fill (HTF) positions. Shortage categories and HTF positions will be identified on an as-needed basis for such reasons as availability of qualified/eligible applicants, the conditions of the available labor force, and the prevailing rates in the market place. “Shortage Category/Hard-to-Fill” steps should be given to the minimum extent necessary to attract a reasonable flow of qualified applicants in any given Foreign Service Specialist category and grade.

Other Factors: The candidate may be awarded additional steps within the entry grade, up to Step 14, for work experience of particular relevance and importance to the Foreign Service, as determined by the Director of GTM/TAC.

Salary Matching Considerations

Once the candidate’s grade and step are determined based on education and qualifying experience, the Registrar will compare the candidate’s “current salary” (defined below) with the base salary at the projected grade and step. If the candidate’s current salary is higher than the candidate’s projected grade and step salary as provided in the Foreign Service “Base” Salary Schedule, the candidate’s starting salary will be raised to the step in the grade for which they are qualified that is closest to, but not less than, their current salary. If the current salary is too high to be matched in the Foreign Service grade for which the candidate is qualified, step 14 of that grade is the starting salary. The candidate’s salary rate is then set at that grade and step as provided in the Foreign Service “Overseas Comparability Pay” Salary Schedule.

For purposes of this SOP, “current salary” means base salary earned for at least 90 days prior to appointment as a Foreign Service Specialist Career Candidate. Candidates must submit proof of their current salary, e.g., a copy of 90 days’ worth of earnings statements; a signed statement on letterhead from the Human Resources Office of their most recent employer; (for federal civilian employees only) an SF-50 Notification of Personnel Action for most recent promotion, cost of living adjustment, or within-grade-increase; and/or other appropriate personnel documentation.

For Candidates with current or previous federal employment, only base salary will be considered for the purposes of salary matching. Locality pay or other special differentials will not be considered part of “current salary.”  The highest federal base salary held for at least 90 days may be considered for purposes of salary matching regardless of how long ago the position was held.

For all other (non-federal) candidates, there must not be a break in service of more than 45 calendar days between the candidate’s most recent employment and the date of appointment as a Foreign Service Career Candidate for salary matching considerations to apply.