From today’s Al Kamen “In The Loop”:

An odd job posting floated by recently from “a leading international organization” looking for a director of communications in Washington. Sounds like a pretty good opportunity. You’d “lead and conduct public affairs and outreach programs in the U.S. and worldwide.” One part of your job would be “providing expert advice to senior officials on public affairs, communications, and outreach strategy.”

Curiously, the organization isn’t identified. Neither, much more important, is the pay range. Is it one of the spook folks? The CIA? DIA? NSA?

No, it’s just the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the government’s radio and television outlets, such as Voice of America and Radio Marti.

Why the secrecy? We’re told this is increasingly done these days in government to cast a wider net for applicants. Really, really, wide. (This job, if you want it, is a Senior Executive Service, Level I, max pay about $172,000 a year.)

Meanwhile, the agency is also minus a chairman because the current one, James K. Glassman, who took over just a year ago, was sworn in yesterday as public diplomacy czar at the State Department. Glassman will be on the BBG board, but only as delegated by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. There are two other vacancies on the eight-member board.

Having once held a similar position at the BBG, I can tell you that $172,000 is, well, quite a lot of money.  The price of “expert advice” keeps going up.