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SENIOR OFFICER- CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Securities and Exchange Commission
Office of the Chief Operating Officer

Summary

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a key strategic leadership and operational oversight position within the SEC and essential to the agency executing on its essential missions of protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly and efficient markets and facilitating capital formation. The Chairman of the SEC has declared a new day at the SEC with transformational plans and goals across its divisions and offices and the COO will be a driving force in implementing all of these initiatives.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
02/10/2026 to 02/25/2026
This job will close when we have received 200 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$205,772 to - $312,357 per year
Pay scale & grade
SO 1
Location
Washington, DC
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
2
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
26-DE-12884149-RT
Control number
857255900

Duties

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The COO has overall responsibility, as well as delegated authority, for the oversight of the SEC's human resources, finance and budget, procurement, data management, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and records, leasing and facilities, physical and personnel security, continuity, and risk management functions, among other areas. Reporting to the SEC Chairman, the incumbent will drive the development and implementation of agency-wide operational priorities for the agency and many change initiatives.

Typical duties include:

  • Providing thought leadership, and real-world implementation strategies, for improvements in agency-wide operations and processes and management to raise the agency's service level and advance its core mission in an efficient manner.
  • Communicating SEC operational priorities, issues, and risks effectively to executive and lay audiences.
  • Maintaining close working relationship with Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, Government Accountability Office, General Services Administration, Office of Personnel Management, and other agencies as necessary and/or appropriate to ensure proper coordination of the SEC's operational activities with other Federal agencies.
  • Overseeing the design and implementation of mission-focused operational strategies and solutions that address complex business problems, promote the efficient and effective use of agency resources, and advance Presidential and agency priorities.
  • Assessing the adequacy and effectiveness of the SEC's operational policies, driving the update of outdated or ineffective policies, and leading the development of new policies to support best practices and core managerial frameworks, such as Total Quality Control/Total Quality Management, balanced scorecard, Lean, or Six Sigma.
  • Providing leadership in overseeing agency risk management and internal controls, and reviewing operational policies, practices, and programs for compliance with relevant legal requirements.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen.
  • Application procedures are specific to this vacancy announcement. Please read all the instructions carefully. Failure to follow the instructions may result in you not being considered for this position.
  • Supplementary vacancies may be filled in addition to the number stated in this announcement and may be filled from any division or office within the agency.
  • This position has promotion potential to the SO-02.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: This appointment may require completion of a one-year probationary period.
  • SECURITY CLEARANCE: Entrance on duty is contingent upon completion of a pre-employment security investigation. Favorable results on a Background Investigation may be a condition of employment or selection to another position.
  • DRUG TESTING: This position may be subjected to drug testing requirements.
  • PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION (PCS): Moving/Relocation expenses are not authorized.
  • DIRECT DEPOSIT: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
  • This position is not in the collective bargaining unit.
  • SUPERVISORY PROBATIONARY PERIOD: This appointment may require completion of a two-year supervisory probationary period.

Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sector. 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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Applicants are responsible for confirming all required materials are submitted by the deadline. Please check the 'How You Will Be Evaluated' and 'Required Documents' sections carefully, as missing documents will render the application incomplete and ineligible for review.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT:
SO-01: Applicant must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/SK-14 level:

  1. Providing executive-level leadership - overseeing multiple levels of supervision and multiple divisions or offices that support various aspects of the organizations mission;
  2. Providing organization level strategic management and policy direction, optimizing an organization's operational functions;
  3. Leading large, multi-year, customer-focused initiatives, including managing multi-million dollar contracts, to transform an organization's operations; AND
  4. Experience applying best practices (e.g., Total Quality Control/Total Quality Management, balanced scorecard, Lean, or Six Sigma) in driving program performance, efficient use of resources, and effective management of organizational risks.

Additional information

SEC COMPENSATION PROGRAM: The overall salary range listed above is provided for informational purposes as it represents the full range that is applicable to current employees in this occupation/grade; however, a selectee's initial pay is always set below the maximum rate of the range. Please click here for additional information.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SURPLUS OR DISPLACED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not I/CTAP eligible. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; the questionnaire asks you to identify your ICTAP/CTAP eligibility (2) be rated well-qualified; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. View information about I/CTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

Reasonable Accommodation: If you are an applicant who needs a reasonable accommodation to participate in the SEC application process due to a medical disability, please contact reasonableaccommodation@sec.gov. For religious-based accommodations, please contact religiousaccommodation@sec.gov . Please be sure to submit your request at least 5 business days in advance of the date you need the requested accommodation.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Information for SEC Job Applicants: Federal EEO laws protect all applicants from discrimination on the following bases: race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. Applicants who believe they have been discriminated against on any EEO basis can seek recourse through the SEC's administrative complaints process. To be timely, an individual must enter the EEO process within 45 days from when they know (or should have known) of the alleged discrimination. Click here for additional information.

The Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint, or any other information, to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged non-compliance by contacting the Legal and Policy Office in the Office of Human Resources at ElliottT@sec.gov.

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.

Your resume and application package will be reviewed to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements outlined in this announcement.
If you are found minimally qualified, a rating panel will review your resume and Accomplishment Record narratives. Narratives should clearly demonstrate your proficiency in the following competencies:

  1. Leading the Organization: Build and support the vision, create strategies to achieve the vision, support and lead innovative and creative initiatives to meet organizational goals.
  2. Leading and Developing People: Recruit, lead, develop and manage the workforce, manage differences and potential conflicts between employees, build teams that meet and exceed an organization's mission, strategic plan, and goals.
  3. Results Orientation: Meet organizational goals by managing a program, identifying and solving important problems, making sound and timely decisions, and managing and sharing information.
  4. Building Coalitions: Build coalitions by partnering with others to build strategic relationships and influencing and negotiating to achieve favorable outcomes.
  5. Product/Service Design & Delivery Ownership: Conceptualize and develop the product/service to fulfill customer needs and deliver business value.
  6. Project and Process Innovation and Oversight: Manage and coordinate tasks, projects, and processes, including implementing innovative improvements, using relevant principles and practices (e.g., Total Quality Control/Total Quality Management, balanced scorecard, Lean, or Six Sigma).
  7. Flexibility: Adapt to changing circumstances and environments, receptive to new information and ideas, working for the best outcome for an organization's mission and operations.
Your resume must support the claims made in your Accomplishment Record narratives; both documents must showcase your qualifications. Each competency narrative should detail one specific, relevant example from your training or experience. Limit each response to a maximum of 300 words. Any text beyond this limit will not be considered. Upload one pdf or Word document with your narrative responses to each of the seven competencies. Responses must be in the below format:

Competency Title
Position title and dates from your resume that this experience was obtained
  • Describe the situation (i.e., the challenged faced, the problem solved)
  • Describe the specific actions you took
  • State the outcome, results, or long-term impact of your accomplishment
  • Name and email address of someone who can verify this information
Basis for Rating: The rating panel will evaluate applicants' accomplishment records and resume, then place them into one of the following categories: Highly Qualified, Well Qualified and Qualified.
  • Highly Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and has extensive skills and experience in most of the job related competencies above.
  • Well Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and has a moderate amount of skills and experience in most of the job related competencies above.
  • Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but may have a limited amount of experience in several of the job related competencies.
Top ranked applicants will be referred to the hiring office for further review and consideration. The hiring office may directly contact recommended candidates for interview(s). When the selection is made, applicants will be sent a referral status notification and a final disposition notification.

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