Foggy Bottom Rambles

Family Member Employment Corner

USAJOBS.gov - Using Search Filters for NCE If you have earned Non-Competitive Eligibility (NCE) while working overseas, you can use filters on USAJOBS.gov to find vacancies that are NCE eligible. In the "Who May Apply" section of the job announcement, look for positions open to “Former Overseas Employees.” Also, try these key words that may generate additional vacant positions: non-competitive eligible, special hiring authorities, Peace Corps, military spouses, EO 12721, and CFR 315.608. Family Member Employment Q&A Question: If you have previously worked in a Family Member Appointment (FMA) or a temporary position overseas, you may have earned Non-Competitive Eligibility (NCE), but did you earn Civil Service (CS) tenure? Answer: No. An FMA is a Limited Non-Career Appointment (LNA) that allows you to earn federal service time, but does not confer tenure. However, NCE does allow you to apply non-competitively for CS positions in the competitive service in which you can become tenured. To earn tenure in the CS, you must first be hired in a career-conditional position for at least three years in the United States. Former CS employees who were hired under a career-conditional appointment or who had a tenured position before going overseas are eligible for positions advertised as “Reinstatement Eligible.” (See FLO’s employment FAQs to learn more about reinstatement.) If you are not eligible for reinstatement, you can find NCE, contractor, and private sector positions in The Network, FLO’s email subscription service. Subscribe by emailing FLONetwork@state.gov. Have more family member employment questions? Check out our frequently asked questions.