As feds resign, state and local governments turn to talent matching program | StateScoop

More than 200 state and local governments are using a new, nonpartisan talent program called Civic Match that’s connecting outgoing federal workers and campaign staff with new government jobs.

The Civic Match program, which was launched in November by the workforce nonprofit Work for America, is a talent matching platform designed to help federal employees remain in public service, but at the state and local level. More than 1,200 outgoing federal workers and campaign staffers from both Democratic and Republican campaigns have signed up to use the platform, and 220 state and local government hiring managers are reviewing those candidates for placement in government, according to program organizers.

Caitlin Lewis, Work for America’s executive director, said the timing of political campaigns ending after the November election and the presidential transition this month motivated the platform’s launch. She said the transition ended jobs for 4,000 political appointees.

“In this moment of political transition, we saw a huge opportunity for the cities and states that we work with to capture the outgoing federal talent that not only can bring expertise about D.C., but also can help shepherd and implement some of the federally funded programs that are now in boots on the ground implementation mode in places across the country,” Lewis told StateScoop.

As part of the Trump administration’s plans to reduce the size of the federal government, the Office of Personnel Management issued a mass email Tuesday informing federal employees that it will offer buyouts — including about eight months salary pay — to any who opts to leave their post by Feb. 8. The pressure from the White House, coupled with the Civic Match program, creates a unique situation for both federal employees and the state and local governments that are experiencing workforce shortages.

“We, of course, also had a sense that based on the priorities and agenda of the Trump administration, that there would be some other categories of federal workers whose jobs would be terminated or placed on administrative leave when the new administration came in,” Lewis said.

According to Civic Match’s open job listings, cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Alexandria, Virginia, are hiring for systems and network engineers. There are open artificial intelligence roles at New York State’s Office of the Attorney General and Colorado’s Division of Insurance.

Civic Match’s Airtable website allows candidates to express interest in particular roles, which notifies state and local government hiring managers. Hiring managers can create short lists of candidates they want to reach out to or save information on. Of the 1,200 candidates that have signed up to use the platform, Lewis said more than 700 have expressed interest in specific roles, 238 have been placed on a short list and about 50 have been invited to interviews.

Lewis cited one candidate making it to the final interviews for a position that would oversee the implementation of Nashville, Tennessee, Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s Choose How You Move transportation improvement program. Lewis said the mayor’s team in Nashville has been engaged with Civic Match, and they’ve used the platform to share several open roles tied to the implementation of the transit plan.

Lewis said Work for America and Civic Match will on Thursday host a virtual career fair — called Civic Match Live — where more than 150 candidates hear pitches from 10 state and local governments about roles they’re hiring for. She said candidates can meet those hiring managers “in a more intimate setting” afterwards.

“We are in no way eager to promote that we think candidates should leave the federal government, and to the extent there are folks who want to stay in their jobs in the federal government, we think that’s fantastic, and would love to see people continue to serve,” Lewis said. “For those who have decided that they want to leave or have had their roles eliminated, we want to make sure that we can be a landing place for those that want to keep working in government and are looking for their next role.”