Duties

Summary

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is the principal staff element of the Secretary of Defense in the exercise of policy development, planning, resource management, and program evaluation responsibilities. OSD includes the Offices of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, Under Secretaries of Defense, Deputy Chief Management Officer, Assistant Secretaries of Defense, General Counsel, and the Director of Administration.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The Director for Platforms and Weapons Technologies has cognizance over the complete spectrum of efforts in the advancement of developments in propulsion, directed energy, materials, munitions, power and energy, across platforms and weapons in the domains of Air, Land, Sea and Space.

• The incumbent will participate in the planning, programming, and budgetary decisions affecting all programs in the area of purview. Responsibilities include reviewing, evaluating, and monitoring program and project plans to ensure that planned efforts properly support program objectives. This activity includes establishment of priorities, evaluation of alternatives, determination of funding requirements, and assessment of technical feasibility. The incumbent will assess program deficiencies and recommend remedial actions when appropriate.
  
• The incumbent will oversee the coordination of programs among the Military Departments and Defense Agencies to minimize duplication of efforts and to maximize information transfer among organizations. The incumbent will coordinate program activities that are interrelated with other DoD offices and government agencies, as appropriate, assuring that all scientific/technical and management aspects have been properly evaluated and staffed prior to initiating or recommending action thereon.
  
• The incumbent will provide analyses of the requirements and the program and project plans proposed by the Military Departments and Defense Agencies in the area of weapon system related technologies. These analyses must consider the current and potential threats, national priorities and objectives, and technical opportunities in order to develop the specific criteria for assessing the validity of the proposals and their value to the DoD. Analyses must also establish thresholds for performance, schedule and cost within which the details of program implementation are delegated to the implementing Military Department or Agency.
  
• The incumbent will conduct comprehensive reviews of technology efforts in areas of relevance for fulfillment of duties and/or as assigned by the Director, S&T, and will present a written report of such reviews, which will include a comprehensive analysis of programs involved, a statement of objectives, program deficiencies and remedial action recommendations. This will include participation and leadership in technology readiness level assessments to inform technology readiness in support of Defense Acquisition Boards, Major Defense Acquisition Programs, and other acquisition milestones, as appropriate.

Travel Required

25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
00

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to qualify for this position.
• Designated and/or Random Drug Testing required.
• You must be able to obtain/maintain a Top Secret/SCI clearance.
• Please read the vacancy announcement in its entirety before applying.
• All newly appointed Career SES leaders must sign the Reassignment Rights Obligations Agreement as a condition of appointment into the SES.
• The individual selected will be required to file an 'Executive Branch Personnel Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-278) in accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
• You will serve a two-year probationary period unless you have previously completed the probationary period in the SES.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show that you possess the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs), the Mandatory Technical Qualifications, and other qualifications, if applicable, listed below.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS: All applicants must submit written statements (narrative format) describing accomplishments that would satisfy the ECQs. You must address each ECQ separately, not to exceed 10 pages. You are required to respond to all ECQs. If you fail to do so will result in a rating of 'ineligible.' When responding to the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs), you must clearly show that you possess the experience, knowledge, skills and ability to perform the duties of this position by submitting narrative responses in which you detail your experience in each of the ECQs. Your examples should be clear and emphasize your level of responsibilities, scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments with results of your actions, policy initiatives and level of contacts. You should limit your narrative to two pages per ECQ, and address each ECQ separately. OPM's Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications can assist you in writing an effective SES application. In particular, please note the Challenge-Context-Action-Result Model that is recommended and very helpful when drafting ECQ narrative responses. The Guide is available on OPM's Website at:
http://www.opm.gov/ses/references/guidetoSESQuals_2012.pdf

Applicants must utilize the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) Model when writing Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ). Use two examples of relevant experience for each ECQ being sure your experience matches the ECQ criteria.
Challenge - Describe a specific problem or goal.
Context - Describe the individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to address a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale).
Action - Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge.
Result - Give specific examples of measures/outcomes that had some impact on the organization. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills.

Each accomplishment should be clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities; the scope and complexity of the programs, activities, or services you managed; program accomplishments; policy initiatives undertaken; level of contacts; the sensitivity and criticality of the issues you addressed; and the results of your actions. You should use action oriented leadership words to describe your experience and accomplishments (e.g., Led the development and implementation of....) and quantify your experience wherever possible to demonstrate your accomplishments (e.g., number of employees supervised; size of budget managed; amount of money saved, etc.).

ECQ 1 - Leading Change: This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.

ECQ 2 - Leading People: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.

ECQ 3 - Results Driven: This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.

ECQ 4 - Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.

ECQ 5 - Building Coalitions: This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.

Applicants that are either Career SES members, or graduates of the Office of Personnel Management Certified Development Program are not required to address the ECQs.

MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS: All applicants must submit written statements (narrative format) of accomplishments that would satisfy the technical qualifications. You must address each technical qualification separately. You are required to respond to all of the technical qualifications. If you fail to do so, you will be rated as ineligible. Please limit your written statements to no more than two pages per technical qualification. DoD Joint Enterprise-Wide Experience Statement:

1. Broad knowledge of defense research and technology fields across space, aerospace, land and sea domains including but not limited to munitions, propulsion and direct energy technologies, explosive and energetic materials, power and energy, and advanced materials and manufacture.

2. Demonstrated knowledge of global academic, industry and military trends in advanced research concepts technologies, and capabilities related to platforms and weapons.

3. Demonstrated experience in planning, coordinating, and executing complex, multi-agency technical studies leading to the implementation of competitively dominating strategies.

In addition, DoD requires an Enterprise Perspective. This individual must have the ability to apply a broad point of view and an awareness and understanding of individual or organizational responsibilities in relation to DoD or government-wide strategic priorities is required. Executives must demonstrate ability to work with internal and external partners to support national security objectives. This perspective is typically gained through a variety of diverse work experiences. A separate narrative statement is not required. This information should be embedded within the application package (Resume, Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications).

Education

This position does not have a positive education requirement.

Additional information

Veterans preference is not applicable to the Senior Executive Service.

Applications MUST be submitted through USAJobs.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated on the quality and extent of your total accomplishments, experience, and education. Your application will be evaluated by a rating and ranking panel. Highly qualified candidates may undergo an interview and a reference check. The Office of the Secretary of Defense Executive Resources Board will review results and make recommendations on final selections to the appointing authority. Unless you have already been certified by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Review Board (QRB), your ECQs must be certified by the OPM QRB before your appointment can occur.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk

Trust determination process
National security

Required Documents

1. Resume - In addition to your written statements addressing the Executive Core Qualifications, the Mandatory Technical Qualification(s), and other qualifications as applicable, submit a resume or any other written format you choose to describe your qualifications, not to exceed five pages. Applicants typically provide the following information:

• Vacancy Announcement number SES-10536351-19-VH
• Full name, email and mailing address, and day and evening telephone numbers
• Educational information including the name, city, and state of colleges or universities you attended, as well as the type of any degree received. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For more information, you may refer to the following U.S. Department of Education website: http://http://www.edu.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html
• Information about your paid and nonpaid work experience related to this position including: job title, duties and accomplishments, employer's name and address, duration of employment, and salary
• Information about honors, awards, and special accomplishments
• Submit resume and all other required documents online by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on 07/29/2019~

2. Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs): A narrative statement specifically addressing each mandatory technical qualification. Statement should not exceed two pages per MTQ.

3. Mandatory ECQ Statement: A narrative statement specifically addressing each individual ECQ. In lieu of the narrative statement, current career SES members, reinstatement eligibles, and SES Candidate Development Program graduates must provide the documentation in item #4.

4. Copy of the Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50): Current and former career SES members must provide an SF-50 showing their status or reinstatement eligibility. Candidates who have successfully completed an Office of Personnel Management approved SES Candidate Development Program must submit a copy of their ECQ certification.

5. Demographics Information of Applicants: Click on the link to access the Demographics Information of Applicants http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/upload/Applicant_Tracking_Form_2-19-2014-2.pdf

DO NOT SUBMIT ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Extraneous materials such as award certificates will not be considered.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.