Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from all United States citizens. You do not need to be a current or former federal employee to apply. Veteran's preference does not apply to the Senior Executive Service.

As the Director, External and Public Affairs, you will:

• Serve as a principal and senior advisor in the administration of naval nuclear propulsion programs, including physical security, nuclear safeguards, and transportation of nuclear materials, public affairs, procurement, logistics, and fiscal management.
• Oversee public affairs, as it relates to both the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program and various nuclear powered warship port entries around the world. Provide external agency briefs on, foreign naval nuclear propulsion matters, including propulsion plant designs, their warship construction, and operations.
• Direct efforts to establish and/or maintain liaison with leading technical experts in other nations on a wide variety of nuclear engineering and other technical and foreign affairs issues. Provide expert nuclear engineering and other technical advice on international and public affairs, Australia, United Kingdom, United States (AUKUS) Program.
• Manage a technical information exchange agreement between the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States, including serving as the primary liaison with the Head, Atomic Coordinating Office, UK Embassy and the Royal Navy's Director, Nuclear Propulsion in the UK on nuclear engineering and other matters concerning naval nuclear propulsion.
• Provide expert nuclear engineering guidance to senior Naval Reactors (NA-30) management on programs, projects, treaties, and other initiatives to ensure that nuclear engineering principles, guidelines, and perspective is assured in all foreign and public affairs matters.
• Contribute to major policy formulation concerning the application of nuclear propulsion in attack submarines and the AUKUS technology exchange.

Conditions of employment

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT FOR THIS VACANCY: This is a career position in the SES. Unless the selectee is already a member of the SES with career status or has successfully completed an SES Candidate Development Program certified by OPM, executive qualifications must be approved by OPM before the appointment can be effected. If you are selected, you will be responsible for working with a NNSA Executive Consultant to finalize your ECQ narrative for OPM submission.

HOMELAND SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE (HSPD-12): A selectee's appointment is contingent upon compliance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-12) governing personal identity. May be required to pass a pre-employment drug test, random testing after appointment.

Qualifications

YOU MUST UPLOAD YOUR RESPONSES TO THE EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs) AND MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (MTQs).

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, candidates must possess specialized experience at a senior level which demonstrates the ability to perform the duties described above; including progressively responsible supervisory or managerial experience demonstrating the ability to manage people and resources.

Candidates must fully address all Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) in order to receive consideration. Your responses must demonstrate possession of these qualifications; typically acquired through education, experience, or training, and reflect progressive development and achievement in managing a comprehensive program and/or organization. Please provide examples that are clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibility, the scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments, policy initiatives undertaken, and level of contacts. Do not enter "Refer to Resume" to explain your answer. Applications directing the reviewer to search within the application or to see resume are considered incomplete and will not receive further consideration. All qualified candidates will be evaluated on the relevance of their experience, education, training, self-development, honors, awards, and outside activities.

Applicants currently serving under a career Senior Executive Service (SES) appointment; eligible for reinstatement into the SES; or have successfully completed an SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) approved by OPM are not required to address the ECQs; but MUST address all MTQs. Failure by a non-Senior Executive Service member to upload a narrative statement addressing each of the ECQs and MTQs will result in loss of consideration.

Executive Core Qualifications: A supplemental narrative must be uploaded and attached to your application addressing each ECQ listed below. 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. All applicants must submit a written narrative to address the ECQs. Your narrative must address each ECQ separately and should contain one or two examples per ECQ describing your experiences and accomplishments/results. The narrative should be clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibility, scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments, policy initiatives undertaken and the results of your actions. Applicants should not enter "Refer to Resume" to describe your experiences. Applications directing the reviewer to search within the application or to see the resume are considered incomplete and may not receive further consideration. The narrative must not exceed 10 pages.
There are five ECQs:

ECQ 1: LEADING CHANGE: Ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals and establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.

ECQ 2: LEADING PEOPLE: Ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals and provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.

ECQ 3: RESULTS DRIVEN: Ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations, and make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.

ECQ 4: BUSINESS ACUMEN: Ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.

ECQ 5: BUILDING COALITIONS: 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.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is required by law to review the executive core qualifications of each new career appointee to the Senior Executive Service (SES) prior to appointment.

Failure to submit a narrative statement addressing each of the ECQs will cause your application to be deemed incomplete and not be considered.

Additional information on the ECQs is available at http://www.opm.gov/ses/recruitment/ecq.asp. Example ECQ statements are available at http://www.opm.gov/ses/references/GuidetoSESQuals_2012.pdf.


Mandatory Technical Qualifications: A supplemental narrative must be uploaded and attached to your application addressing each MTQ listed below. No more than one (1) page per MTQ is allowed; additional informational information will not be considered. MTQs must provide specific examples that address relevant experience and accomplishments. Applicants must reflect superior technical qualifications demonstrated through leadership and management in the following MTQs:

1. Knowledge and experience with Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (NNPP) organizational structure and activities, as well as budgeting, cost control, and schedule management practices as they relate to nuclear propulsion plant design, construction, operation, maintenance, and testing.
2. Knowledge and practical experience interfacing with senior leadership within and outside Government, including representing the organization to senior Department of Defense, Department of Navy, and/or DOE leadership, as well as interfacing with other Government and industry leadership, and senior advisory panels. Must have the demonstrated ability to initiate, guide, coordinate, and review all technical work connected with the research, design, development, construction, testing, operation, and maintenance of components associated with nuclear power plants in submarines. These activities involve highly complex technical and public policy issues lacking precedent or a base of experience upon which to make judgments and decisions.
3. Knowledge of foreign government nuclear and other technical engineering and policy issues, coupled with expert ability to communicate with high-level foreign government officials, to secure cooperation on numerous Program issues.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be rated and ranked using only the information submitted for consideration.

Applicants who do not demonstrate sufficient possession of the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) AND demonstrated specialized experience, training, and/or education in support of the Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) by uploading the narratives, will be determined ineligible for further consideration. The narrative must demonstrate the necessary level of skills, specialized knowledge, and technical competence that would indicate success at this level and must include clear and concise examples that emphasize the applicant's level of responsibilities, scope, and complexity. Based on the Panel's evaluation, applicants who were determined best qualified will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration. Once a candidate has been identified for selection, the Executive Resources Board will make final approval, and in competitive cases, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Qualifications Review Board (QRB), will certify qualifications. This process can take up to 90 working days.

Please refer to the reference guide indicated in the Qualifications section to ensure the proper procedures for submission are followed. For detailed guidance on ECQs, applicants are strongly encouraged to review the Office of Personnel Management's Guide to Executive Qualifications at SES RECRUITMENT/ECQ.