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SENIOR OFFICER-ACTING DIRECTOR

Securities and Exchange Commission
Office of Credit Ratings
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Office of Credit Ratings (OCR) is seeking applicants for a temporary promotion for 120 days as the Acting Director position located in Washington, DC. The selected applicant will be temporarily promoted to the Senior Officer position for 120 days.




Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
07/02/2025 to 07/09/2025
Salary
$205,772 to - $312,357 per year
Pay scale & grade
SO 1
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary promotion
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
2
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
25-12755288-TMP
Control number
839862700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current SEC employees in permanent competitive service positions (i.e. status candidates).

Duties

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If selected, you will serve as the Director, Office of Credit Ratings.

Typical duties include:

  • Leading the Office of Credit Ratings staff and providing overall strategic direction and management oversight for the office.
  • Leading oversight of credit rating agencies pursuant to the requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act, including the production of studies and development of recommendations.
  • Managing a group of team members that will examine, monitor and analyze developments at credit rating agencies registered with the Commission as nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs) under Section 15E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The results of this work inform senior policy makers at the Commission and is frequently shared with other relevant regulators in the US and internationally.
  • Managing the annual examinations of the credit rating agencies required by the Dodd-Frank Act and the preparation and publication of an annual public report on such examinations.
  • Formulating, implementing and interpreting policies, rules and regulations applicable to registered credit rating agencies, consistent with the Commission's statutory mandates under the Exchange Act and subject to approval by the Chairman and other Commissioners as appropriate.
  • Overseeing the execution of on-site examinations of NRSROs for compliance with Commission's rules and applicable provisions of the Exchange Act and works closely with other Commission divisions/offices in the preparation of the studies and reports.
  • Assessing the economic impact, feasibility, practicality, and effectiveness of existing and/or proposed legislation, standards, regulations, and/or policies in order to develop, review, and/or approve high-level policies that have a broad impact on the NRSROs.

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.
  • This position has promotion potential to the SO-02.
  • DRUG TESTING: This position may be subjected to drug testing requirements.
  • PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION (PCS): Moving/Relocation expenses are not authorized.
  • This position is not in the collective bargaining unit.
  • For consideration at the SO-2 level, you must currently hold a SO-2 position within the SEC.
  • This temporary promotion may be extended OR it may end at any time during the course of the assignment at the discretion of management.
  • This temporary promotion will not lead to a permanent appointment.

Qualifications

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

Time-in-grade for this announcement is one year at the GS/SK-14 level.

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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT:

SO-01: Applicant must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/SK-14 level. Specialized experience includes the following:

  1. Experience applying federal securities laws and rules, particularly those applicable to the credit rating agencies and its participants;
  2. Applying the rules under Section 15E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and other applicable rules;
  3. Providing advice on post rating reviews of corporate ratings, structured finance ratings, municipal ratings, and other ratings;
  4. Compiling specialized written communications derived from a variety of sources; AND
  5. Planning, organizing, and overseeing the completion of difficult and sensitive projects that may have no precedent.

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.

Disability Employment: For information on disability appointments, please visit http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employment/

*SEC EMPLOYEES: OHR will verify your competitive service eligibility via the SEC's personnel database. Reasonable Accommodation: If you are an applicant who needs a reasonable accommodation for disability to participate in the application process at the SEC, submit the form for Reasonable Accommodation for Participation in Job Application Process here. 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.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your resume will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume will be compared to your responses on the Occupational Questionnaire.

You will be rated on the following SEC SO Competencies/Technical Qualifications:

SEC SO Competencies:

  1. Leading the Organization: involves building and supporting the organization's vision, creating strategies to achieve the vision, supporting and leading innovative and creative initiatives to meet organizational goals.
  2. Leading and Developing People: involves the ability to recruit, lead, develop and manage the workforce, constructively manages differences and potential conflicts between employees, building teams that meet and exceed SEC's mission, strategic plan, and goals.
  3. Results Orientation: involves the ability to meet organizational goals by effectively managing program area, identifying and solving important problems, making sound and timely decisions, and effectively managing and sharing information.
  4. Building Coalitions: involves the ability to build coalitions by partnering with others to build strategic relationships, influencing and negotiating with those in sphere of influence to achieve favorable outcomes for SEC.
Technical Qualifications:
  1. Knowledge and understanding of Section 15E of the Exchange Act ("Section 15E") and Exchange Act Rules 17g-1 through 17g-10 which govern the registration and oversight program for credit rating agencies that are registered with the Commission as nationally recognized statistical rating organizations ("NRSROs").
  2. Knowledge and understanding of the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act of 2006 (the "Rating Agency Act") as amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the "Dodd-Frank Act").

The Assessment Questionnaire will take you approximately 20 minutes to complete. To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click the following link https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12755288.

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