The purpose of the work plan is to ensure an enriching professional learning experience for the fellow. Work plans include details on such items as fellowship goals, mentor assignment, and fellowship structure.
DEDICATED MENTOR
For the duration of the fellowship, the mentor will serve as the primary point of contact and coach. The mentor should hold a senior-level position in the organization and schedule a weekly or biweekly feedback session for the fellow to ask questions, have their resume reviewed, and seek career advice. Learn more in this article about the impact that a host organization had on a fellow.
SALARY AND BENEFITS
Host communities incur no financial costs for hosting a veteran fellow because the veteran is still on active military service and receives full pay and benefits from the military while participating in the fellowship as part of the transition from service.
ICMA PROVIDES:
RECRUITMENT AND SCREENING
ICMA staff will recruit and screen all applicants for the program
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Fellows are expected to participate in several scheduled professional development calls with ICMA throughout their fellowship. Along with access to ICMA’s free coaching resources, fellows receive complimentary registration to the ICMA Annual Conference, and access to the local government 101/201 certificate. They are also granted free access to ICMA’s Management Assessment and a free subscription to PM magazine.
ICMA MEMBERSHIP
Fellows receive a complimentary 2-year membership to ICMA with access to all qualifying member benefits.
Q. Is the host community required to offer employment after the fellowship?
A. While hosts are not required to have a specific job identified for a candidate at the outset, hosts should view fellows as strong potential hires for open or upcoming positions within their local government.
Q. Is the host community required to sign a contract to participate?
A. No, the host community is not required to sign a contract but they sign an agreement indicating understanding and willingness to comply with the standards for the program.
Q. How often will I be asked to host a veteran?
A. It varies based on the number of applicants and their locations. This means that a host community may be asked to host a veteran up to three times a year but other years they may not be approached at all. The host community should only take on as many fellows as it has capacity for potential employment and mentorship and may turn down the opportunity if the fellowship requirements cannot be met.
Q. Who decides what projects the service member will be doing?
A. The projects are decided by the host community with the service member to meet the objectives of both parties.
Q. I'm ready - how do I sign-up to host?
A. Email veterans@icma.org and note that you'd like to be considered as a VLGMF host.
