Duties

The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria, VA. However, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is currently under a maximum telework posture due to the COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, this position is currently under a 100 percent telework schedule. The position's telework schedule will likely change in the future when USPTO moves away from its maximum telework posture. At that time, the incumbent will be expected to report to the physical work site in accordance with the updated status requirements of their supervisor. The nature and scope of future telework opportunities will be subject to the unit's telework policy, any applicable bargaining unit agreements, and supervisory approval. Payment of relocation expenses, as applicable, will be paid in accordance with this Job Opportunity Announcement. As required by Executive Order 14043, Federal employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of the employee's duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.), subject to such exceptions as required by law. If selected, you will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before appointment or onboarding with the agency. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request of the agency a legally required exception from this requirement. Contact the USPTO's Office of Equal Employment and Diversity at (571) 272-8292 or OEEOD@uspto.gov for information on requesting a reasonable accommodation. The incumbent of this position will be responsible for representing the USPTO on all telework matters, providing oversight of the enterprise-wide telework programs, and providing telework expertise to federal agencies and organizations across public and private sectors. The primary duties of this position include implementing all telework regulations and legislation. The incumbent will also testify before Congress and represent the USPTO in discussions with the White House; provide interviews to the press about USPTO telework programs; prepare/brief the USPTO Director for reporting on telework operations, proposed expansions, and business results; brief management and union officials to discuss issues and negotiate positive outcomes; establish and update/refine the USPTO enterprise -wide telework policy; advise agency leadership and partners with business unit heads to design, develop and modify specific telework programs. The incumbent will also lead and/or serve on high-level internal and external agency committees; serve as speaker at international, national, regional, and local conferences and meetings; serve as expert advisor to agencies and organizations across the public and private sector; be responsible for ensuring accuracy and timeliness of agency-wide telework statistics for reporting to upper management, DOC, OPM, and Congress; oversee all USPTO telework programs; provide justification for new telework programs; and develop cost/benefit analysis and other financial documentation as necessary. The Director of Telework will also be the senior leader responsible for leading teams of employees and management to perform duties such as:

• Conduct studies and analyzing results in regards to employee and supervisory attitudes concerning work at home programs;
• Identify barriers to program participation and devises programs to overcome these barriers;
• Study differences in productivity between participants and non participants in telework programs in order to develop correlates of successful participation;
• Track costs of equipment and other services provided to telework program participants and compares them to productivity benefits achieved by the program, including such outcomes as reduced employee turnover, savings on space utilization, etc.;
• Develop strategies to improve cost/benefit results;
• Develop plans for office hoteling of telework participants considering such factors as necessary equipment, and the needs of telework participants for training and team building in the office.
• Other duties may be assigned.

The incumbent serves as a recognized authority in the analysis and development of telework programs and is subject only to administrative and policy direction concerning overall program priorities and agency objectives. This position may include some supervisory and related managerial duties. These duties should occupy less than 25 percent of the incumbent's time.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or a National.
• Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
• Submit a Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-178) upon appointment.
• You must use the questionnaire text boxes when submitting narrative responses to the PTQs (10,000 character limitation).
• Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related competencies.

Qualifications

Candidates must provide evidence that is related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Professional Technical Qualifications (PTQ). Experience must have been at a sufficiently high level of difficulty to clearly show that the candidate possesses the required professional/technical 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.

Professional Technical Qualifications: Applicants must clearly demonstrate in their application materials that they possess technical attributes in the PTQs. Maximum length of 10,000 characters when addressing each PTQ. Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume and your responses below to the job specific self-assessment questions. The incumbent must possess senior level expert knowledge and/or skill in the following PTQs.

The Professional Technical Qualifications (PTQs) for this position are:

1. Demonstrated ability to plan and execute high level programs and/or projects that are highly specialized and impact the agency or organization level. This includes setting vision and strategy, making decisions and influencing others, having a direct and major impact on the quality of the program or project results.

2. Demonstrated expert level ability to implement a telework program including the establishment of goals and objectives along with detailed program plans with established targets and milestones. Be sure to include the descriptions of successful implementations and any challenges you may have incurred.

3. Demonstrated expert level ability to manage special projects that have agency-wide impact, including demonstrated expert ability to advise and partner with management, unions and executive leadership. Be sure to include in your answer how you coordinated these projects with internal and external stakeholders.

4. Demonstrated expert level ability to lead team efforts from a senior level position to effectively manage a distributed or hybrid workforce.

5. Demonstrated expert level ability to be a high level and highly visible representative of a large organization or Federal agency across both the public and private sectors, including demonstrated expert level ability to communicate with both internal and external entities.

Education

There is no education requirement for this position.

Additional information

Applicants applying for this position must be a United States Citizen. Probationary Period: You will be required to serve a one-year probationary period. 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 moderate risk. Relocation expenses are not authorized and will not be paid. Background Investigation: 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. Drug Testing- All applicants tentatively selected for this position may be required to submit to a drug test to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and, if appointed, the individual will be subjected to random drug testing procedures. All appointments are contingent upon a negative drug test result. The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1185221678150.shtmUpon appointment you will be required to submit a Financial Disclosure OGE-278 form. All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice. More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued. All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 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. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. If you believe that you have been discriminated against and would like to file an EEO complaint, you must do so within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Claims of employment discrimination must be submitted to the attention of the USPTO's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity via email (oeeod@uspto.gov) or phone (571-272-8292).