Economic Specialist – Canberra

HIRING PREFERENCE SELECTION PROCESS:  

A hiring preference is extended to eligible and qualified applicants in the order listed below.  It is essential you accurately describe your status in your application, failure to do so may result in a determination that you are not eligible for a hiring preference. 

HIRING PREFERENCE ORDER 

1. Appointment Eligible Family Member (AEFM) / U.S. citizen Eligible Family Member (USEFM) who is a preference-eligible U.S. Veteran* 
2. AEFM / USEFM 
3. Foreign Service (FS) on Leave without Pay (LWOP) and Civil Service (CS) with reemployment rights ** 

* IMPORTANT:  US citizen Eligible Family Member (USEFM) applicants who claim status as a preference-eligible U.S. Veteran must submit a copy of their most recent DD-214 (“Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty”) preferably Member Copy 4, Letter from Veterans’ Affairs which indicates the present existence of a service-connected disability, equivalent documentation, or certification.  A “certification” is any written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions within 120 days after the certification is submitted by the applicant. The certification letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the character of service.  Acceptable documentation must be submitted in order for the preference to be given.  

** This level of preference applies to all FS employees on LWOP and CS with re-employment rights back to their agency or bureau. 

For complete definitions of AEFM, USEFM, EFM, Member of Household, etc., please visit the 3 FAM 7210 Definitions.    

ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT CONSIDERATIONS

The following apply to EFMs, USEFMs, and AEFMs only:    

• Current employees who used a hiring preference to gain employment who are within their first 90 calendar days of employment are not eligible. This does not apply when the hiring mechanism is TEMP or the work schedule is intermittent or irregular.    
• Candidates with a hiring preference who have already accepted a conditional offer of employment may NOT be extended a second conditional offer of employment unless and until they withdraw their candidacy for the first position in writing. 

The following apply to Locally Employed (LE) staff only:   

• Current employees serving a probationary period are not eligible. 
• Current employees with an Overall Summary Rating of Needs Improvement, Unsatisfactory, or an MBC score of less than 100 points on their most recent Employee Performance Report are not eligible.