State Magazine May 2013 : Page 14
Double Duty Megan Peiler and her husband, Bill, gather with members of a band that performed at an Embassy New Delhi event. Photo by Sarah Duffy Tandem Couples Balance Career, Family By Gabrielle Hampson, communications and outreach officer, Family Liaison Office Since 2003, the number of the Department’s tandem couples overseas has increased by almost 47 percent. In fact, tandems, in which both spouses or same-sex domestic partners are in the Foreign Service, now constitute more than 10 percent of all Foreign Service employees. With the growth of tandems have come greater challenges in finding assignments that balance careers and family life. Successful tandem couples plan early, do their research and remain flexible. They use the Career Development and Assignments Office (CDA) to navigate the assignment process and the Family Liaison Office (FLO) to help navigate Foreign Service life. “We plan as far ahead as possible and have had great communication with our respective career development officers (CDO) and bureaus,” said Brigid Weiller, who has been in a tandem with her husband, Matt, for almost a decade. The Weillers have also served apart, on unaccompanied tours, the first in 2002 when Matt went to Afghanistan and Brigid stayed in Washington with their children. 14 STATE MAGAZINE // MAY 2013 Later, they took turns doing solo assignments during their four-year posting to Jakarta, with Brigid spending the first year in Islamabad and Matt spending the last year in Baghdad. “We’ve received incredible support from FLO, from our colleagues and from our front offices,” Brigid said. “The Department has shown extraordinary growth in terms of helping, not just tandem couples, but any employees going off to unaccompanied or hardship tours.” A tandem couple can find bidding on jobs especially tricky at the entry level, where employees must meet tenure requirements. In their directed assignments, an entry-level officer is the “lead bidder” for his or her first two tours. The partner’s prospects are considered, but if the tenured officer can’t secure an assignment at the same post as his or her partner, it is unlikely the entry-level officer’s assignment will be broken. Eligible family members (EFMs) considering joining the Foreign Service have much to consider, including matching the timing of their spouse/partner’s onward posting. They can defer entry for up to two years if their partner is on assignment abroad and they want to join him or her on the next tour. But there isn’t always an available entry-level opportunity in the same location as a partner’s onward assignment, since assignments made during an employee’s orientation are subject to the Department’s needs. Alicia Edwards, CDA’s entry-level tandem coordinator and a tandem herself, advises tenured tandems to explore all options, if not offered a position. Consider taking leave without pay (LWOP), she said, filling a later vacancy via in-country language training or taking language training at FSI on salary, hoping a job will open at post. (This is available to the unassigned member of a tandem couple who may be going to a post in LWOP status where the language would be an asset, since a need may subsequently arise there.) Alicia and her husband, Bevan, are mulling their own options. “Since my onward mid-level assignment is three years and my husband’s entry-level assignment is limited to two, either he’ll bid on a one-
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