Nearly a year to the day that Nick learned he had finally received his security clearance and was added on the Foreign Service register, I too was notified that I have received my security clearance. As a result, I have been onboarded at U.S. Embassy Nouakchott and am wrapping up my first month on the job. Wow does it feel great to be working again.
As I have mentioned previously, I am by trade a Nurse Practitioner, but because there are strict nepotism rules against spouses supervising one another, working at the embassy in that capacity is impossible (and there aren’t opportunities on the Mauritanian market either). Not one to just sit around, shortly after I arrived, I reviewed the vacant positions at post, and ultimately applied for/was chosen to work in the management section within the General Services Office. It was nice to have a job offer shortly after arriving, but without my clearance, I was not able to work immediately. As a result, the last few months I have passed the time volunteering my medical skills at a local NGO, I finally learned how to bake, I’ve been the embassies main supplier of empanadas, I’ve been spending time with my kids, and have been running the house. While all of this has been great, I am not going to lie and say it has been easy. I definitely am one of those people that enjoys gainful employment, so the past several months waiting for my clearance have been really difficult for me.
It’s amazing what even a week on the job can do to brighten your experience of an assignment and this lifestyle as a whole. I have loved this tour and experience so far, but finally being able to feel like I am contributing to something bigger than myself is a game changer. Although I am working outside my immediate wheelhouse, I definitely understand why Nick enjoys working so much in the embassy. The leadership is fantastic and the management section gets along so well. It feels like there is always something going on or something to keep yourself busy without it crushing you, which is definitely a breathe of fresh air. To be honest, the gravity of the job is also a nice change of pace from working in healthcare. I was working with mostly end stage kidney disease patients on dialysis, a very sick population group, so event planning and housing projects is definitely on the lighter side of things for me.
Specific to my job, General Services manages the logistical and physical resources of an embassy. Things like housing, motor pool, warehousing, property management, and the travel office falls under this umbrella. It’s a large section of the embassy in terms of locally employed staff as well, so it’s a great opportunity to polish my management/leadership skills. Prior to becoming a Nurse Practitioner, I was a Nurse Clinical Coordinator of a large dialysis practice, and had to manage a relatively large staff, so I am grateful I have that background as there are a lot of parallels.
Overall, the experience has been very refreshing. Refreshing for the soul to feel productive again and refreshing professionally in that I am learning so much about the running of an embassy. What’s also nice is that I have joined the Foreign Service Family Reserve Corps, which allows me to take my security clearance with me between posts. This will hopefully mean the downtime between jobs when moving to a new country will be much less. Inshallah.
Thank you for stopping by and reading. Spouse employment is a really big issue within the Foreign Service. It was definitely my biggest frustration since arriving to post, and that was with things going perfectly. If anyone ever has questions about spousal employment or is/was in the same process and just wants to vent, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I get it. -Angeli
