Clarification from the agency

All Qualified U.S. Citizens

• Provides executive oversight and management of all matters concerning the DoD Basic Research (6.1) program including direction, coordination, and top level justification.
• Serves as Chief advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering on all matters pertaining to DoD/academia interactions.
• Coordinates DoD research activities with the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), National Science Foundation and other Federal agencies in accordance with priorities set by the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)).
• Chairs the Defense Basic Research Advisory Group (DBRAG) consisting of the SES research managers from the Military Service's research offices, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).
• Responsible for DoD interaction with both the U.S. and International university community in research matters routinely engaging with the Presidents and heads of research of universities across the country and our international partners.
• Responsible for the Joint Defense Programs executed out of Service and Agency University Research Initiatives program elements to include the Multi University Research Initiatives, the Defense University Research Instrument Program and the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.
• Responsible for the execution of OSD's Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI) program element.Responsible for the execution of OSD's Basic Research Initiatives program element which includes the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (VBFF), Laboratory University Collaboration Initiative (LUCI), Science, Technology, Innovation Exchange (STIx), and other efforts and pilot programs, as applicable.
• Oversees the development and management of the Department's research policies to include grant policies.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to qualify for this position.
• Designated and/or Random Drug Testing required.
• You must be able to obtain/maintain a Top Secret/SCI clearance.
• Please read the vacancy announcement in its entirety before applying.
• All newly appointed Career SES leaders must sign the Reassignment Rights Obligations Agreement as a condition of appointment into the SES.
• 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 two-year probationary period unless you have previously completed the probationary period in the SES.

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 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 knowledge of cutting-edge science and technology research and development to include the ability to assess foreign technology developments and impact upon national and departmental programs, capabilities and initiatives.

2. Demonstrated knowledge of research and development and acquisition processes, including the budget and acquisition processes in accordance with the established guidelines and processes of the Military Departments and Defense Agencies, a large federal entity, or the organizational
equivalent within industry.

3. Demonstrated experience leading collaborative technical studies involving cost, schedule, risk, and performance of complex architectures against threat capabilities evolving over time with demonstrated experience building consensus within DoD, the Intelligence Community, Services, Combatant Commands or organizational equivalent within industry to solve problems of common interest.

DoD Joint Enterprise-Wide Experience Statement:

In addition, DoD requires an Enterprise Perspective. This individual must have the ability to apply a broad point of view and an awareness and understanding of individual or organizational responsibilities in relation to DoD or government-wide strategic priorities is required. Executives must demonstrate ability to work with internal and external partners to support national security objectives. This perspective is typically gained through a variety of diverse work experiences. A separate narrative statement is not required. This information should be embedded within the application package (Resume, Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications).

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.