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Continuous Improvement Planner

Department of Defense
Department of Defense Education Activity

Summary

About the Position:
This position is within the Office of the Director in the Strategic & Organization Excellence Division, Research, Planning and Monitoring Branch in Alexandria, Virginia.

This position is not covered by a bargaining unit.

This position may be eligible for situational telework as determined by the agency policy.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
01/20/2026 to 01/30/2026
Salary
$121,785 to - $158,322 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Alexandria, VA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
NC7X-26-12858585R-MP
Control number
854582500

Duties

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  • Leading development, implementation, and use of planning tools across the organization.
  • Leading strategic planning across the organization.
  • Supporting development and implementation of a strategic planning system.
  • Leading development of the continuous improvement policy, process, and guidance.
  • Creating high-level, important, lasting partnerships outside of the division.
  • Fostering positive working relationships by giving and receiving feedback.
  • Prioritizing competing demands and ensuring improvement efforts are deployed, implemented, and monitored system-wide.
  • Producing communication materials with short deadlines and rapidly changing situations.
  • Preparing written instructions, operating policies, procedures, guidelines, and training manuals.
  • Drafting strategic planning policy and guidance in coordination with subject matter experts.
  • Directing and shaping communication strategies.
  • Using results from system-level data analysis to inform organizational priorities.
  • Using results from system-level data analysis to inform system improvement and strategic-level planning.
  • Growing and developing the strategic planning process to improve organizational performance.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Requirement.
  • Proof of U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Direct deposit of pay is required.
  • One year probationary period may be required.
  • Appointment subject to a suitability/fitness determination, as determined by a background investigation.
  • This position requires a Tier 1 (T1) investigation.
  • You may be required to sign a transportation agreement.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

  • Current Competitive Service Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Civilian Employee
  • Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce
  • Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
  • Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible
  • Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998


In order to qualify, you must meet the experience requirements described 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application.

Specialized Experience: At least one year of specialized experience leading a strategic planning process; leading development, implementation, and use of planning processes to support organizational improvement; and coaching/supporting others to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of strategic initiatives. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-12).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-12).

All candidates must reside within the local commuting area where the position is located. Local commuting area is defined as the geographic area surrounding a work site that encompasses the localities where people live and reasonably can be expected to travel back and forth daily to work based on the generally held expectations of the local community. (5 CFR 575.203)

Additional information

  • Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
  • Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
  • Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
  • Be advised that effective Jan. 1 2018, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, most civilian employee relocation allowances became taxable. The Relocation Income Tax Allowance (RITA) reimburses eligible employees for the additional Federal, State, and local income taxes incurred as a result of receiving taxable travel income. RITA does not apply to new government employees or employees returning from an overseas assignment for the purpose of separation from Government service. For more information, visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction.html.
  • The selecting official has requested a competitive and noncompetitive candidate list for this vacancy. If you are eligible for the noncompetitive list, you will be evaluated on basic and/or minimum qualifications, as applicable. While required to answer the assessment questions, non-competitive candidates will not be evaluated against the competitive rating & ranking criteria. The selecting official may select from any of the candidate lists.
  • If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
  • You may claim Military Spouse preference.
  • You may claim Priority Placement Program (PPP) preference.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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 based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Teamwork


The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

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