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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
USAID WORKFORCE
In this section:
USAID Reaches Out, Gears Up For New Generation of Staff
USAID Reaches Out, Gears Up For New Generation of Staff
A new class of new entry professionals and international development interns was sworn in by Deputy Administrator Fred Schieck September 7. Pictured in the front row are Michael Johnson, James Carlson, and George Zarycky. Behind them, left to right, are Andrew Maybrook, Andrew Rebold, Amy Paro, James Gultry, Thomas LeBlanc, Kent Howard, Lorraine Sherman, Robert Lopez, Nils Mueller, Dora Plavetic, Lloyd Jackson, Nancy Eslick, Melissa Janis, Kevin Smith, Mary Skarie, Amy Meyer, and Adriana Barel.
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Chart depicting USAID diversity profile. With the exception of Hispanics, minorities and white women are represented nearly as much or more in the USAID civil and foreign services as in the general U.S. and federal labor force. Minorities and women are, however, underrepresented in the upper ranks of the services.
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Chart depicting USAID workforce by personnel category. More than half of USAID's workforce are foreign service nationals, who are local professionals and support staff. |
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Chart depicting foreign service retirement-eligible vs. actual retirements. Six percent of USAID's foreign service officers retired in 2003. More than one-third were eligible to retire. |
Twenty-one people were sworn in as foreign service officers September 7, bringing the number of career officers joining USAID in 2004 up to 88. Another 85 candidates were selected for five-year appointments.
"It is so energizing to see new people just as enthusiastic and excited about working for USAID as we were 30 years ago," said Cecilia Pitas of the Office of Human Resources (HR), who heads foreign service recruitment.
The Agency is recruiting a record number of people in 2004 to replace its many retirees and increase staff size by 50. But getting them on board can be a long, complex process.
"It takes approximately a year to bring people on board, with a good chunk of that for medical and security clearance," said Joe Dorsey, a foreign service officer with HR.
The current recruitment drive started in earnest in 2004, when Congress authorized additional staff. Promoting the Agency as an employer and streamlining application reviews became priorities, said Pat Brown, deputy director of the Office of Human Resources.
On the civil service side, Brown set up a system within HR for tracking exactly how many days each step of reviewing and selecting applicants takes. Now he and others in HR can see exactly where filling an individual vacancy stands.
"Until you see how the process is working, you don't know where your bottlenecks are," Brown said. With changes in place, getting vacancy notices out now takes 66 percent less time and certifying qualified applicants a third less time. Setting up small, specialized recruitment teams made the system more efficient. Learning to better use the new automated recruitment system helped too.
To attract applicants, staff from HR and the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs (EOP) are attending scores of job fairs at universities and professional associations this year and next. Sometimes they ask other career employees who are alumni to accompany them.
"If people don't know about you, they won't come to you," said Director Jessalyn Pendarvis, director of EOP, which is currently focused on increasing the overall number of Hispanics in the Agency workforce and the representation of African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and women in upper ranks.
"I think AID is one of the best kept secrets," she added.
With the new electronic application system, Pendarvis hopes to learn if certain minority groups are applying to the Agency and, if they are, where in the process they might be getting left behind.
Applications are screened electronically before HR and technical specialists look at them and select candidates to interview.
"When you sift through the résumés and meet people in person, you can't help but be impressed. There are some pretty sharp people," said Dorsey.
Civil service recruitment happens as vacancies occur, although USAID also participates in the federal government's Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF, previously PMI) program. PMFs are recent master's graduates.
USAID recruits junior foreign service officers into its International Development Internship (IDI) program from the nation's graduate schools as well.
To select new foreign service officers, HR uses a three-part interview system—a written exercise, an interview, and a group exercise in which five finalists discuss how to deal with a fictional scenario.
"They don't know each other and have to come up with a solution in a short amount of time. It gives you just a little snapshot of people's interpersonal and leadership skills," said HR's Barbara Ellington-Banks, who worked with the Office of Personnel Management to adapt the system to USAID's needs.
"It makes so much sense, because one of the biggest things we do is work in teams," Ellington-Banks said.
Once the panels select candidates, the Agency asks for references. Through reference checks and the security clearance process, the Agency confirms that candidates represented their educational and professional backgrounds accurately.
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