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Group Director for Trademark Quality, Training, and Customer Experience

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Alexandria, Virginia
Closing date
Sep 24, 2019
Duties

Summary

The Office of the Commissioner for Trademarks is seeking a high performing, innovative professional and leader to join its Senior Executive Team and serve as Group Director for Trademark Quality, Training, and Customer Experience (Director). The Director promotes and carries out initiatives and practices consistent with the strategic plan and goals of the USPTO. The Director also furthers the objectives enumerated by the Commissioner for Trademarks.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The Group Director for Trademark Quality, Training, and Customer Experience (Director) serves under the general administrative direction of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy. The Director provides strategic vision, guidance, and direction to ensure that the necessary monitoring, assessment, and training required to instill confidence in the quality of trademark examination work products are provided to internal and external stakeholders. The Director makes managerial and technical decisions required for successful program development, administration, and management.

The Director performs the following duties:
  • Develops new ideas and innovative strategic approaches to enhance training, quality and the customer experience.
  • Responsible for the execution of a multi-part quality enhancement strategy (i.e., products/services, customer service, measurement of quality, and engaging the public).
  • Conducts quality roundtables to introduce initiatives and collect public feedback, and evaluates public input to determine next steps.
  • Oversees quality review for all areas to ensure objectives are met and to identify systemic prosecution mistakes in order to facilitate further examiner and professional staff training.
  • Administers all Trademark training programs; oversees the Office of Trademark Quality Review and Training, the Trademark Customer Experience program, and the Trademark Assistance Center.
  • Oversees programs to track and resolve systemic procedural prosecution problems with the intent of enhancing these programs to receive substantive quality complaints with the goal of identifying systemic problems.
  • Monitors decisions of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), District Court, and Federal Circuit to identify systemic examiner errors in order to facilitate implementation of further examiner training.
  • Collaborates with the Office of Trademark Administration and the Office of the Chief Information Officer to review IT processes that impact examiners' prosecution actions.
  • Directs the assembly and leadership of cross-functional teams of technical, legal, and operational experts required to operationalize and implement cooperative programs effective to achieve the goals developed by the USPTO as they relate to trademark quality.
  • Provides briefings to the Commissioner for Trademarks, the Deputy Commissioners for Trademark Examination Policy, Operations, and Administration on Trademark quality, training, and customer experience matters.
  • Provides high quality delivery of information via speeches and presentations through outreach efforts to internal and external stakeholders on topics related to Trademark quality.
  • Collaborates with Group Directors in Trademark operations and the Director of Services to improve training, quality, customer service throughout Trademarks.
  • Provides direction, analysis, and feedback to assure Trademarks meets mission and goals.


Travel Required

Occasional travel - May be required

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
00

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
  • Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-278) will be required upon appointment.
  • Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov)


To qualify, the applicant's resume and answers to questions must demonstrate their technical and leadership experience/expertise as they relate to the duties described.

Qualifications

Experience must have been at a sufficiently high level of difficulty to clearly show that the candidate possesses the required professional/technical qualifications and executive core qualifications set forth below.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Maximum length of 10000 characters when addressing the PTQs and ECQs.

Professional Technical Qualifications: Applicants must clearly demonstrate in their application materials that they possess technical attributes in the Professional/Technical Qualifications (PTQs). The PTQs for this position are:

1. Experience in directing, supervising, and evaluating the activities of a professional and technical organization unit.

2. Knowledge of management principles, theories; and practices as applied to a professional organization.

3. Knowledge or public administration principles and their relationship to the development and implementation of agency programs and national policies.

4. Knowledge of the legal principles and technical subject matter associated with the US trademark registration processes.

Please Note: Current career SES members, former career SES members with reinstatement eligibility, and SES Candidate Development Program graduates who have been certified by OPM, only need to submit a resume and narrative statement covering each of the Professional Technical Qualification (PTQs) requirements and do NOT need to address the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).

For the following five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs), you are required to submit a narrative response addressing your specific knowledge, skills, and abilities that demonstrate your possession of these qualifications. Be sure to provide specific examples of what you've done that demonstrates your possession of each ECQ.

For more information about the Executive Core Qualifications please visit this site:

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executiveservice/referencematerials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf.

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.

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 a teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.

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.

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

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 are encouraged to follow the Challenge, Context, Action and Result (C-C-A-R) model outlined in the Guide To SES Qualifications.

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.

Education

The incumbent must have a law degree from an accredited law school program and currently be a member in good standing of a bar in the United States or a Territory of the United States.

Additional information

Probationary Period: You will be required to serve a one-year probationary period unless you previously completed the probationary period in the SES.

Mobility: Organizational and geographic mobility is essential in developing and managing SES leaders and generally is a key to advancement. Therefore, applicants are expected to be mobile and once appointed SES members may be reassigned at the discretion of the appointing authority.

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information

This is a Non Bargaining Unit position. This is a Public Trust position and has a risk level designation of "high" risk.

If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.

The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1185221678150.shtm

All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.

Relocation expenses and recruitment incentives will not authorized.

Veteran preference does not apply to the Senior Executive Service.

The Ethics in Government Act of 1978, as amended, requires senior officials in the executive, legislative and judicial branches to file public reports of their finances as well as other interests outside the Government. If selected for this position you will be required to file a Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278). The OGE 278 is available to the public. The primary purpose of disclosure is to assist agencies in identifying potential conflicts of interest between a filer's official duties and the filer's private financial interests and affiliations.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Applicants must clearly demonstrate in their application materials that they possess managerial attributes in the Professional/Technical Qualifications (PTQs). Each response should include a brief summary of the applicant's experience in relation to the specific PTQ and specific examples of accomplishments. Applicants must also clearly demonstrate in their application materials that they possess managerial attributes in the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs). Each response should include a brief summary of the applicant's experience in relation to the specific ECQ and specific examples of accomplishments.

Your application will be evaluated by a rating and ranking panel, and highly qualified candidates will be submitted to the Selecting Official for further review and consideration.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

A complete application consists of:

1) A resume or any other written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications; optional cover letter: Your resume should indicate your citizenship and should list your educational and work experience. Please Note: Responses to job questions that are not fully supported by the information in your resume may result in adjustments to your rating.

2) Your narrative responses to the Professional Technical Qualification (PTQs) and Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs). Do not write "see resume". Input narrative responses when prompted. Please Note: Responses to the PTQs and ECQs that are not fully supported by the information in your resume may result in adjustments to your rating.

3) Documentation showing membership in good standing of the Bar.

If you are a Federal Employee, please submit a current Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) that shows your position title, series, and grade level. If you are a current or previous Senior Executive Service career member you must submit a copy of your SF-50 to show proof. NOTE: Submit only the documents requested. Additional documents will not be reviewed by the rating panel.

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.

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