The position of Associate Administrator for Telecommunication Sciences and Director, Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (Director, ITS) is located in Boulder, Colorado, and reports to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Operations and Administration, NTIA.

The Director, ITS provides leadership and direction for all activities performed at NTIA's Boulder, CO, laboratory, including the management of all human, financial, and physical resources. As such, the incumbent of this position serves to:

• Advises the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and the two NTIA Deputy Assistant Secretaries on the role of research and development in the NTIA formulation and on policy considerations; performs as the leader and prime mover for the telecommunications and spectrum technology program and for planning and coordinating research and engineering efforts that support NTIA programs; and pursues, organizes, and coordinates ITS program development efforts to solve telecommunication and spectrum usage and management concerns of other Federal agencies, state and local governments, private corporations, and international organizations; and provides management oversight, guidance, and employee direction with ITS;
• Advises the Assistant Secretary and the two Deputy Assistant Secretaries on technologically-related policies and emerging issues as they relate to Administration goals and Department strategic objectives. In cooperation with the ITS management team, the incumbent designs, develops, and implements a research program that addresses long-term policy and can respond to high priority needs while recognizing the need for long-term research. In addition, the incumbent analyzes present and proposed policies for technological relevance and state-of-the-art advances, such as spectrum sharing or device innovation;
• Plans, coordinates, and implements research, analysis, and engineering efforts by facilitating the development of ITS-wide objectives, establishing priorities, and evaluating accomplishments;
• Joins other Directors and senior government executives of the Department of Commerce's Boulder, Colorado, laboratories in discussing and resolving managerial issues associated with shared space, common services, and other logistic matters;
• Ensures that all interagency agreements with sponsoring organizations are also properly documented, and that National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and NTIA responsibilities are delineated clearly and consistently with each organization's authorities;
• Builds professional networks in support of ITS spectrum management research policies and goals;
• Establishes and manages mechanisms for transferring data, information, and best practices across stakeholder groups in order to promote a better understanding of spectrum uses and applications; and,
• Evaluates proposed agreements in relation to statutory requirements and assures their proper balance with existing priorities and programs.

Conditions of employment

• Background and/or Security Investigation required.
• All members of the SES are subject to geographic relocation.
• A one-year probationary period is required for new SES members.
• Subject to pre-employment and employment random drug testing.
• Public Financial Disclosure (SF-278 filing within 30 days is required).

OPM approval is required before appointing any current or former political appointee to a permanent position in the civil service. This includes anyone who has been a political appointee in the last five years.

Qualifications

All candidates for SES positions with the Federal Government must demonstrate leadership experience indicative of senior executive level management capability.

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, your resume should demonstrate that you possess the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs), and the Professional Technical Qualifications (PTQ's), listed below.

It is recommended that your resume emphasize levels of responsibility, scope and complexity of programs managed, and program accomplishments and results. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the equivalent of the GS-15 grade level in the Federal service or its equivalent with state and local government, the private sector, or non-governmental organizations. Failure to meet all executive and technical qualification factors will automatically exclude you from further consideration.

Executive Core Qualifications: The following are the five ECQs and their competencies. The ECQs were developed to assess executive experience and potential, not to evaluate technical experience. ECQs measure whether an individual has the broad experience needed to succeed in a variety of SES positions.

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

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.(Competencies: conflict management, leveraging diversity, developing others, team building).

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

ECQ 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).

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

For detailed guidance on ECQs, applicants are strongly encouraged to review the Office of Personnel Management's Guide to Executive Qualifications at http://www.opm.gov/ses/recruitment/ecq.asp Example of ECQ statements are available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf

Professional/Technical Qualifications:

1. Demonstrated ability to plan, organize, provide authoritative direction, and manage complex, multi-disciplinary scientific and technical research, development, policy research, and analysis, as evidenced by experience and work record in technical management, program, policy, and technology development, including relevant experience in an area of advanced communications technology, capability, testing, or science.
2. Demonstrated ability to promote the work and capabilities of a scientific research institution to the public and to those in both government and the private sector who might find such capabilities useful to address engineering and scientific questions.
3. Demonstrated ability to present scientific and engineering positions and findings, both written and in person, to audiences representing a wide range of knowledge at a variety of organizational levels in the scientific and policy communities, including those in government, academia, and industry.

IF SELECTED, you will be required to complete an ECQ package by drafting narratives for each of the ECQs and be certified by an OPM Qualifications Review Board (QRB) in order to be placed in this position. If you are currently serving in a career SES appointment, are eligible for reinstatement into the SES, or have successfully completed an SES Candidate Development Program and your ECQs were certified by an OPM QRB, you WILL NOT need to draft the ECQs.

How you will be evaluated

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

1. Resume (not to exceed five pages) review. Your resume should demonstrate possession of the technical qualifications and executive core qualifications. Typically, experience demonstrating the technical and executive core qualifications will have been gained at or above the equivalent of the GS-15 or its equivalent with state and local government, the private sector, or non-governmental organizations. Follow the instructions in the vacancy announcement carefully when preparing your resume and adhere to the page limitations. Any pages in excess of the page limit will not be considered.
2. Basic qualification determination.
3. Rating panel assessment of your executive core qualifications and professional technical qualifications.
4. Structured interview and possible further interviews.
5. Tentative selection by the hiring organization.
6. OPM Qualification Review Board certification (as needed).