L.A. Firm Recruiting for Posts in Moscow : Americans Take Over Embassy Jobs

A unique nationwide recruiting campaign for employees ranging from car mechanics to translators, being presided over by a Los Angeles-based firm, is on the verge of accomplishing the Americanization of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

The first batch of U.S. citizens who will replace already departed U.S.S.R. nationals as embassy employees will arrive in Moscow in mid-January. The staffing of the embassy compound solely by Americans should be completed in March, according to Pacific Architects and Engineers Inc., headquartered here in the 1100 block of W. 6th Street, two continents away from the Soviet capital.

When accomplished, the embassy’s transition from a mostly Soviet to an all-American support staff, officials believe, will be unique in diplomatic history. The State Department’s David Mulenex said he knows of no other American embassy in the world which has gone from being staffed by a mix of local residents and U.S. citizens to one totally staffed by the latter.

The pending transformation results from diplomatic discord between the two superpowers. The Soviet Union, piqued last fall by the expulsion of 55 of its diplomats from the United States as part of a U.S. crackdown against Kremlin espionage, ordered all Soviet nationals who historically had worked in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to quit. The Soviets’ reaction left a yawning gap in the administrative and clerical, as well as the operational and maintainance, staffs of the embassy.

To fill it, the State Department turned to Pacific Architects and Engineers, an old hand at maintaining both public- and private-sector American outposts overseas. Employees of the 31-year-old firm currently are at work in 13 foreign countries.

Since it signed a contract with the State Department last month, Pacific has undertaken a nationwide campaign seeking Americans for the Moscow postings. And there have been plenty of interested job seekers.

“The number of applicants has run into the thousands,” said Michael Gulino, a senior vice president of Pacific, who is based in Washington, where the search has been directed. “A lot of people who have a background in Russian studies are interested.”

Now Making Offers

George Power, 45, who will be Pacific’s resident manager at the embassy, said that while no jobs have been filled, recruiting is winding down and the firm “is completing the selecting process and making offers.”

Those hired will face a security check by State Department investigators, which could take from three weeks to three months, said the department’s Mulenex, post management officer for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

Between 60 and 90 people will be hired to go to Moscow, Mulenex said.

“The recruits will be doing the things foreign service officers aren’t trained to do or don’t have time to do,” Gulino explained.

Many applicants, Mulenex said, have some facility with the Russian language. While that is not required, he added, “all things being equal, we prefer Russian speakers.

Could Need to Talk

“Take the case of a driver, for instance. He or she could be driving about Moscow, get lost and consult a map. But he or she would still have to ask someone exactly where he is and how to get to where he wants to go.”

Pacific’s most active recruiting instrument has been advertisements in newspapers throughout the United States. One appearing in The Times’ classified section in late October called attention to “immediate” openings for such positions as auto mechanics, drivers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters and food service workers.

Gulino said a vast number of job inquiries have been received from present and past employees who have worked at other Pacific-operated installations overseas and “are interested in the Moscow opportunity.”

Other applicants include people intrigued by the possibility of working in the Soviet Union after reading about the staffing plans in newspaper articles or heard about them by word of mouth, Gulino said.

“Some people from whom we’ve received resumes even have visited Russia,” Power said. “And they know what to expect.”

Variety of Jobs

While the newspaper ads have appealed largely to blue-collar workers such as plumbers, carpenters and mechanics, Gulino said, a second category includes recruits who will fill “administrative and clerical jobs.” Those positions include translators, employees who operate word processors and those who will deal with Soviet custom officials and Soviet citizens seeking visas.

Successful job applicants must commit themselves to two years in Moscow, said Gulino, who declined to specify what their salaries will be. But the pay, he added, “will be commensurate with what is the going rate to attract people overseas--it’s a good overseas package.”

The embassy will provide housing for the Americans, Power said. Most, he added, probably will live in an apartment building adjacent to the aging embassy office building or will be quartered in townhouse-like structures surrounding a new office building nearby. Some of the latter, which also are occupied by foreign service officers, have as many as four bedrooms, Power said.

However, only single applicants and working couples are being accepted now, Power said. He added that a high priority is being given to couples because they will simplify housing needs and provide a degree of “stability.”