FSS: SOP 134B4
BUREAU OF GLOBAL TALENT MANAGEMENT
OFFICE OF TALENT ACQUISITION
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (SOP) NOTICE NO. 134B4
This SOP replaces and supersedes SOP 134B3 dated 2/28/2022 and all previous versions of SOP 134B.
SUBJECT: Salary Standards for Entry-Level Foreign Service Specialist Career Candidates, effective October 15, 2024
PURPOSE: To provide procedures for determining the entry-level salary for Foreign Service Specialist Career Candidates 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 Intake, Planning, and Onboarding (IPO) is responsible for determining the entry-level salary (grade and step) offered to a candidate, based on their qualifying professional experience, education, and current federal agency salary history. Salary review/appeal
procedures are covered by Salary Review Procedure SOP No. 134D5.
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 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 IPO 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 IPO. 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 institution 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.
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 experience 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.
Military Service:
All relevant military experience, whether as a commissioned or non-commissioned officer, can be considered qualifying professional experience if it aligns with the job requirements of the position.
Adjustment of Step within Entry Grade:
Candidates may be awarded additional steps within the entry grade up to the highest step (Step 14) for:
- Education and experience above the minimum, as described above; and/or
- 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 marketplace. “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 relevance and importance to the Foreign Service, as determined by the Director of GTM/TAC.
Salary Matching Considerations:
Executive Order 14035 titled “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce” was signed into law on June 25, 2021. It directed OPM to consider whether to prohibit agencies from seeking or relying on an applicant’s salary history to set pay. On January 30, 2024, OPM issued a final rule titled “Advancing Pay Equity in Governmentwide Pay Systems” which prohibits the use of an applicant’s non-federal salary history to set pay for an applicant receiving their first appointment as a civilian employee in the federal government. To adhere to this rule, salary matching will no longer be considered for Foreign Service candidates who do not have federal salary history.
For candidates who do have federal salary history, once the candidate’s grade and step are determined based on education and QPE, IPO will compare the candidate’s “current federal salary history” (defined below) with the base salary at the projected grade and step. If the candidate’s “current federal salary history” is higher than the projected grade and step salary provided in the Foreign Service “Base” Salary Schedule, the candidate’s starting salary will be raised to the closest step within the grade for which they are qualified, without being less than their current salary. If the current salary is too high to be matched within the qualified grade, step 14 of that grade will be the starting salary. The salary rate is then set at that grade and step as provided in the Foreign Service “Overseas Comparability Pay” Salary Schedule.
For the purposes of this SOP, “current federal salary” means base salary earned for at least 90 days for government civilian direct-hire employment prior to appointment as a Foreign Service Career Candidate. Candidates must submit a copy of their SF-50 Notification of Personnel Action for the 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 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 salary matching regardless of how long ago the position was held.
Salary Offer Response Deadline:
You will have 10 calendar days to accept, decline, or appeal the salary offered.