Clarification from the agency

This job is opened to Current Federal Employees in the Excepted Service and Competitive Service and all qualified U.S. Citizens.

The Director, Strategic Deterrence and Capability (SDC) is responsible to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategic, Space & Intelligence Portfolio Management (DASD(SSIPM)) for overseeing efforts to modernize and sustain the nuclear deterrent, which includes over $400B in nuclear delivery system total acquisition costs across multiple acquisition programs (e.g., Sentinel (Ground Based Strategic Deterrent), Long Range Standoff), assessments of nuclear sustainment systems, and leading DoD-wide portfolio and capability reviews (e.g., the Nuclear Posture Review). The Director is also responsible for ensuring DoD compliance, on behalf of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment (USD(A&S), with respect to U.S. Government (USG) strategic arms control treaty obligations and for supporting international negotiations. Major duties and responsibilities include, but not limited to:

• Directing the professional staff and overseeing the management of the activities of the Office of Director, SDC. Ensuring staff is individually trained and experienced such that they are recognized as the Department's primary Acquisition Corps authorities on the planning, management, system engineering, acquisition strategies, and technical content of major acquisition program portfolios. Working closely with relevant Program Executive Officers, Service Acquisition Executives, and/or Component Acquisition Executives to promote sound planning and management of assigned programs.
• Collaborating with key executive staff members in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment (USD(A&S)), other Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) offices and agencies, the Joint Staff (JS) and the Services, and the Intelligence Community on matters involving assigned SSIPM portfolios, including technical, cost, and schedule issues that might affect the availability of capabilities.
• Leading the conduct of mission based portfolio analyses within the incumbent's assigned portfolios. Responsible for developing quantitative and qualitative measures of performance or effectiveness, tied to factors impacting operational mission success.
• Serving as DASD(SSIPM)'s SDC portfolio manager. Overseeing and analyzing assigned capability portfolios across the Department to assess cost, schedule, and performance risks. Responsible for leveraging Department-wide data to identify capability gaps across Services and works with the JS, the Services, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)), and other organizations to address these gaps.
• Responsible for supporting the Department's strategic reviews as directed with analysis of assigned portfolios and programs capabilities and gaps. This includes recommendations on tradeoffs among programs in portfolios. Assessing performance of strategic deterrence and capability portfolios in support of the Office of the USD(A&S) participation in OSD Program and Budget Reviews and in support of Congressional reporting requirements.
• Providing acquisition management direction and integration efforts across DoD components, and synchronizing critical information associated with a variety of different acquisition program types and efforts (e.g., Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs), MDAP-level Middle Tier Acquisitions, major software intensive systems, related non-program specific capabilities, tailored highly classified program management activities).
• Leading and providing direction in support of strategic system reviews, nuclear modernization acquisition programs, and nuclear treaty compliance, including advising senior leadership on the full range of nuclear force platform and delivery system modernization and sustainment programs
• Leading oversight activities to support USD(A&S) for nuclear system acquisition programs ("strategic systems") in the nuclear triad, including the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) program, the Long Range Standoff (LRSO) nuclear cruise missile, the B61-Tail-kit, and other ACAT 1C programs and activities that support a revitalized nuclear enterprise.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to qualify for this position.
• All newly appointed Career SES leaders must sign the Reassignment Rights Obligations Agreement as a condition of appointment into the SES.
• You must submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test before you can be appointed into this position. Designated and/or Random Drug Testing required.
• In order to qualify for this position, you must be able to obtain a Top Secret security clearance and access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI).
• Submit resume and all other required documents online by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on 05/02/2022
• 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.
• Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Level III certification in Program Management is required for this position. Must have or obtain Level III Program Management Certification within 24 months and maintain it. The incumbent is required to sign a Critical Acquisition Position (CAP) service agreement to remain assigned to the position for three years.

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.

1. Demonstrated ability to analyze detailed, complex strategic deterrence and capability related issues in the context of portfolio management, resources, and acquisition programs and projects across a myriad of technical and managerial disciplines.
2. Demonstrated managerial competence and broad background in strategic deterrence and capability-related research development and acquisition matters.
3. Demonstrated knowledge of and ability to translate broad national security objectives/policies into specific programmatic guidance for the strategic deterrence capability portfolio; demonstrated knowledge of strategic arms control treaties and compliance is also desired.

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.