Clarification from the agency

This job is open to Current Federal Employees in the Excepted Service, Competitive Service, current Senior Executive Service, SES Reinstatement Eligibles, and SES Candidate Development Program Graduates.

The President, DAU leads a large and complex organization with 600 full-time equivalent employees, spread across multiple geographic locations, and with a significant online presence. Annually, DAU graduates 30,000 students from instructor-led courses, provides over 500,000 hours of acquisition consulting assistance, and delivers millions of hours of self-paced online learning. To lead this organization effectively, the incumbent must understand the rapidly changing environment that affects DAU's mission, including DoD leadership priorities, evolving warfighter requirements, acquisition processes and challenges, military technologies, business systems, and best practices in corporate learning. The incumbent must create a vision and strategy to address this complex environment, and must use leadership skills, political acumen, and management expertise to drive the continuing transformation of the enterprise. Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Exercises managerial authority and oversees the shaping of DAU's strategy, processes, and culture to thrive in a changing environment, ensuring agility and responsiveness to new challenges. Identifies and seizes on opportunities to improve the performance of the workforce.
• Maintains thorough awareness of the DAU operating environment, including DoD leadership priorities, acquisition system policies and challenges, warfighting technology and materiel priorities, and changes in learning technology.
• Builds a positive culture that supports individuals in the organization and the performance of DAU.
• Ensures that operations are conducted efficiently, that personnel policies and statute are adhered to, and that budgets are executed according to direction and law.
• Builds a central repository for the acquisition functional area competency models and the tracking of competencies to learning assets. Provides a uniform framework for certification standards, assignment specific learning, and
  qualification standards applicable to acquisition position categories.
• Directs the functions of and provides executive leadership and supervision to the Director, Human Capital Initiatives and the 4th Estate Director for Acquisition Career Management (DACM). Guides development of plans and policies; and encourages use of innovative principles in developing new policies, appraising establishes programs, identifying best practices, removing barriers, or devising creative approaches to supporting A&S goals in these Components.

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.
• In accordance with the NDAA FY23, this position is subject to a mandatory move after 5 years in this position, with the possibility of an additional 5 years (total of 10 years in this position).
• 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.
• Submit resume and all other required documents online by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on 07/22/2024
• 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 one-year probationary period unless you have previously completed the probationary period in the SES.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration).
• This is a Critical Acquisition Position. Incumbent must hold or attain advanced level certification in Program Management. Selectee must execute, as a condition of appointment, a written agreement to remain in federal service in the position for at least three years. In signing such agreement, the employee does not forfeit any employment rights, nor does such agreement alter any other terms or conditions of employment.

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 or former 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 experience and understanding of the Defense acquisition system which includes: (a) the workforce engaged in carrying out the acquisition of property and services for DoD; (b) the management structure responsible for directing and overseeing the acquisition of property and services for DoD; and (c) the statutory, regulatory, and policy framework that guides the acquisition of property and services for DoD.
2. Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate and engage with a wide range of audiences and stakeholders, such as DoD senior leaders, Congress and professional staff members, industry executives, foreign counterparts, the public, and the media.

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.