• PD work is press. Press work comprises everything from drumming up talking points and guidance to being the mouthpiece of the post for local media outlets. They set up interviews with journalists, push the face of the ambo and the front office out there, and tailor Post's reaction to local events according to policy. Your public affairs section will also clear on anything to be published. If there's a CODEL in town, you bet the press officer is along for the ride to ensure that the Honorable Representative from So-and-So gets some time in front of the local teevee cameras.
  
  
• PD work is cultural, too. When the Secretary talked about exercising "smart power," and when Dubya was going on about hearts and minds, they were referring to the long-fuse, sometimes-mercurial work of the cultural affairs section. Using the yearly programming budget, the public affairs section manages a myriad of programs and grants to promote the image of the United States abroad and facilitate professional and educational exchanges. ART in Embassies? Cultural. The Fulbright Program? A cultural beast. Jazz Ambassadors? Another fine product of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).
  
  
• It's a job that will have you managing money and staff right away - but take that control with a grain of salt. Without the expertise of local staff, we would not be able to implement any bilateral programs or plan events. They maintain the relationships with local decision-makers as officers rotate in and out. Their knowledge of local politics and culture lets them say, "You know, I don't think Sayid Ahmad Q. Public would react well to this op-ed. Perhaps you should word it differently." In other words, if you've got a good staff, ignore them at your peril.
  
  
• There's a lot of opportunity to cross-agency cooperation. I had the opportunity to plan a major economic forum for small business owners at my first post, thanks to our commercial officer. Another time, I worked with our ICE attaché to plan an educational exchange for law enforcement, with the cooperation from a local police academy. If you have AID at your posting, see how their work plugs into your program and if there's an opportunity to partner up.
  
  
• You won't be taken seriously if you don't toot your horn: Let's face it: if you're not in the spotlight at a major post, most policy makers probably won't be as attentive to your big accomplishments. The onus is on you to demonstrate the importance of your work and to show that to DC. I have a wonderful mentor who said the question you should always ask yourself is "So what?" The literacy of the Shiboogamoo in Greater Bumblebug went up 10% thanks to your program. So what? That said, if you're in it to actually help people, it's all worth it. It's like that story about the guy throwing starfish back in the ocean after a storm. You may not be able to solve everyone's problems, but you can still use your resources to make a difference in the lives of people. And if you plan it right, the programs you create can live on long after move to another posting.
  

• At the entry level, an officer at a large post might be responsible for managing and maintaining a couple programs (much like a political officer would have specific issues to follow). That includes planning/executing events, facilitating the travel of featured guests, getting budget approval, working with the press side on media coverage, and reporting on the aftermath. During training, they emphasize this over and over - if you don't tell Washington, it may as well as not have happened. You may supervise a few local staff who help run those specific programs on the host-country side as well. If you're at a smaller mission, you may be responsible for much more, as oftentimes there may only be one or two PD jobs in an entire post.
  
  
• At the mid level, one can expect to manage the bigger programs, or perhaps even an entire section as the press or cultural attaché. This is where you're managing the direction of your section over the course of the year, working with the public affairs officer to ensure it all fits in the Big Picture of US policy. Your staff will have you out and cultivating relationships with a lot of your country's heavy-hitters to ensure they give you the access you need to do your job and reach your intended audience. And if the program you want to do doesn't exist? Then your grants officer (it may even be you) can simply build one from the ground up with your contacts. You have a lot of autonomy to accomplish your goals and address the needs of local people.
  
  
• Senior level officers guide an entire mission's image and outreach. They dictate how the section's budget is to be divvied out to support regular programs and to create one-off grants. They also -- in the capacity of the public affairs counselor -- are the go-to advisor to the front office on what to say and what to do. They answer the mail, so to speak, as they are responsible for annual taskings and demonstrating how Post's actions fit into policy directives. Back in Washington, they also act as the spokespersons for bureaus, run ECA's programs, and provide guidance to the Secretary on how our resources are being implemented.
  

Zoots fucked around with this message at 21:49 on Nov 14, 2011

Zoots fucked around with this message at 21:46 on Nov 14, 2011

Zoots fucked around with this message at 14:44 on Nov 23, 2011

Zoots fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Apr 8, 2012

Zoots fucked around with this message at 21:09 on Apr 30, 2012