Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Office of Entrepreneurial Development (OED) and reports to the Deputy Associate Administrator, OED. The incumbent serves as Associate Administrator for the Office of Small Business Development Centers (SBDC). The Mission of the SBDC is to promote entrepreneurship, small business growth and the U.S. economy by providing the critical funding, oversight and support needed by the nationwide network of SBDCs. Link: Office of Small Business Development Centers (sba.gov)
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Develops plans, operating procedures and standards to effectively strengthen and improve the Agency's Small Business Development Centers program.
• Reviews and recommends the annual budgets submitted to establish appropriate funding levels.
• Maintains a clearinghouse to provide for the dissemination and exchange of information between the small business development centers.
• Maintains liaison with members of Congress and committee staff members relating to the SBDC program.
• Develops national policies, goals, and operating procedures for the SBDC program.
• Develops, implements, and manages all aspects of internal controls.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - 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 or National to qualify for this position
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Veterans Preference is not applicable in the Senior Executive Service
• Initial appointments are required to serve a one (1) year probationary period
• Application package must be received by closing date of this announcement
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a favorable background investigation
• OPM Candidate Development Program (CDP) graduates and current Career SES members need only to address the Professional/Technical qualifications and need not respond to the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).

Qualifications

As a basic requirement for entry into the SES, applicants must provide evidence of progressively responsible executive leadership and supervisory experience that is indicative of senior executive level management capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under Executive Core Qualifications and Technical Qualifications listed below. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-14/15 grade level in the federal service or its equivalent in the private sector.

As such, your resume should demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully fulfill responsibilities inherent in most SES positions such as:

- Directing the work of an organizational unit;
- Ensuring the success of one or more specific major programs or projects;
- Monitoring progress toward strategic organizational goals, evaluating organizational performance and taking action to improve performance; and
- Supervising the work of employees; and exercising important policy-making, policy determining, or other executive functions.

Failure to meet the basic qualification requirement and address all Mandatory Technical and Executive Core Qualification factors will result in your application being disqualified.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs): The ECQs were designed to assess executive experience and potential not technical expertise. They measure whether an individual has the broad executive skills needed to succeed in a variety of SES positions. To meet the minimum qualifications, applicants must possess all the necessary requirements for this position. You must show in your resume that you possess the five mandatory executive core qualifications.

NOTE: Current career SES members, former career SES members with reinstatement eligibility, and SES Candidate Development Program graduates who have been certified by OPM do NOT need to address the ECQs.

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. (Competencies: creativity and innovation, external awareness, flexibility, resilience, strategic thinking, vision)

2. Leading People: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organizations 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. (Competencies: conflict management, leveraging diversity, developing others, team building)

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. (Competencies: accountability, customer service, decisiveness, entrepreneurship, problem solving, technical credibility)

4. Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. (Competencies: financial management, human capital management, technology management)

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. (Competencies: partnering, political savvy, influencing/negotiating)

Fundamental Competencies: These competencies are the foundation for success in each of the Executive Core Qualifications; Interpersonal Skills, Oral Communication, Continual Learning, Written Communication, Integrity/Honesty, Public Service Motivation. The Fundamental Competencies are crosscutting; and should be addressed over the course of each ECQ narratives. It is not necessary for you to address the Fundamental Competencies directly as long as the narrative, in its totality, shows mastery of these competencies on the whole.

Applicants are encouraged to follow the Challenge, Context, Action and Result (C-C-A-R) model outlined in the guide.

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.

Additional information about the SES and Executive Core Qualifications can be found on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) SES Website. You are strongly encouraged to review OPMs Guide to SES Qualifications for specific examples and guidance on writing effective ECQ narrative statements.

MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (TQs): All applicants must submit a written narrative response to the following TQs. You must address each TQ separately. Each TQ narratives must not exceed two (2) pages . Please give examples and explain the complexity of the knowledge possessed and the sensitivity of the issued you handled.

Demonstrated knowledge, experience and ability in oversight and implementation of new legislation, initiatives, and projects for grants management programs targeted to support the needs of small businesses.

Demonstrated experience advising agency executives on program and system performance, effectiveness of small business development programs and the socio-economic conditions that impact local, regional, and nationwide economies and building support for agency mission and programs' accomplishment through strong communication and collaboration with diverse stakeholders.

Education

Education cannot be substituted for specialized experience at this level.

Additional information

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 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. Resumes and the Technical Qualifications will be evaluated by a rating and ranking panel and highly qualified candidates may be invited to participate in a structured interview and undergo a reference check. The SBA Executive Resources Board (ERB) will review results and make recommendations on final selections to the approving authority.

Unless you have already been certified by a Qualifications Review Board (QRB) in the past, your ECQs must be certified by a QRB before appointment can occur.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
NCS/High Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

--Resume

• Resume which demonstrates your experience, accomplishments, training, education and awards reflecting your ability to meet each of the MANDATORY executive core qualification and technical qualification requirement(s) for this position. Elaborate on your experience and accomplishments, highlighting your level of responsibilities, scope and complexity of programs managed, work objectives met (the results of your efforts), policy initiatives and level of contacts.
• Ensure your resume does not exceed five (5) pages. Information beyond the five page resume will not be evaluated. DO NOT submit the application form OF-612, Optional Application for Federal Employment in lieu of a resume.

--A narrative statement covering the following:

• Technical Qualification (TQ) - Limited to two pages per each TQ. Each TQ must be addressed seperately. Your examples should emphasize your level of responsibilities, scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments with results of your actions, policy initiatives and level of contacts.

-- Senior Executive Service (SES) noncompetitive applicants: If you are currently serving under a career SES appointment, are eligible for reinstatement into the SES, or have successfully completed a SES Career Development Program approved by OPM, you are required to submit a narrative statement addressing MTQs. Proof of SES noncompetitive eligibility must be submitted:SF-50 showing your status as a:

• current Career SES appointee,
• former Career SES appointee with career SES reinstatement eligibility, or
• current or reinstatement eligible Career SES-equivalent executive who is/was employed in a Federal government agency that has an interchange agreement with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) allowing form movement between the agency's SES-equivalent personnel system and the SES; OR

A certificate of completion from an OPM-approved SES Candidate Development Program (CDP). This applies only if your ECQs have been approved by an OPM Qualifications Review Board through the SES CDP.