Federal
job opportunities abound in the National Capital Region, as most
federal agencies and commissions have offices in this
area. Refer to the "Quick Links for this topic" for contact
information for the Office of Personnel Management and other relevant
resources.
Depending on their individual circumstances, spouses may be eligible to
apply for the DoD Priority Placement Program (PPP), Program S (Military
Spouse Preference Program). Note: this is a
Department of Defense program and does not apply to other Federal
agencies.
To be eligible the spouse must be available for immediately appointment
to a position in the competitive service (i.e., have transfer
eligibility, have reinstatement eligibility, have eligibility under
Executive Order 12721, etc.). The spouse must be making a
Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move with the sponsor, that is not in
conjunction with the retirement or separation of the military member,
and have been married to the active duty member prior to the member's
reporting date into the new geographic area.
The documents required for registration into the program are Standard
Form 50, Notification of Personnel Action, which indicates tenure and
grade; a copy of the last performance appraisal; an updated Optional
Form 612 or resume; and a copy of the sponsor's PCS
orders. If eligible for spouse preference based on EO12721,
a copy of Form 5433R is required, or eligibility must be annotated on
the SF 50.
The spouse cannot be registered prior to 30 days before the sponsor's
reporting date to the new duty station and registration is limited to
activities within the commuting area of that duty
station. Length of registration is indefinite, but
eligibility terminates upon acceptance or declination of valid
nontemporary or temporary (expected to exceed one year) employment in
DoD, including Non-appropriated Fund (NAF) positions. Offers
must be accepted or declined within 3 days.
NAF, i.e., the Services Division, also offers a military spouse hiring
preference once per permanent change of station for a military
spouse. After permanent employment has been obtained with
any government agency however, this military spouse hiring preference
requirement has been met.
You may also be eligible for preferential employment consideration with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) if you:
Are married to an active duty military member
Transfer with your sponsor
Apply for work at the exchange facility up to 30 days before your
sponsor's report date, or six months before you sponsor's tour ends
The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) also offers a military spouse
preference program. You may be eligible for this preference
if you are the spouse of an active duty military member who is moving
because of your sponsor's service under a statutory tour and you were
married before your move to the new duty station. You will
be required to submit proof (a copy of the sponsor's orders) at the
time you are contacted for employment. Acceptance or
declination of a permanent or a temporary position (not to exceed one
year in the Federal service) will result in loss of eligibility for
this program. If the move was the result of the separation
or retirement of the sponsor, you are not entitled to this preference.
For additional information on spouse preference programs and other
employment-related issues, please refer to the "contacts/links" section
on the left-hand side of this web page.