Foreign Relations and Defense Policy Manager

Position description

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is the principal staff element of the Secretary of Defense in the exercise of policy development, planning, resource management, and program evaluation responsibilities. OSD includes the Offices of the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, Under Secretaries of Defense, Assistant Secretaries of Defense, General Counsel, and the Director of Administration and Management.

The incumbent must exercise professional and technical judgment to resolve problems of exceptional complexity and which require innovative thinking, novel solutions and outstanding resourcefulness of ingenuity. The incumbent must represent the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD(P)) and/or Deputy USD(P) in sensitive presentations and negotiations, where tact, good judgment and professional expertise are required. Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Make recommendations on highly complex and abstract issues of DoD strategy and policy, taking into account their impact on the foreign affairs and political environment, and on related matters, including particularly those of immediate concern to the USD(P), and the Secretary of Defense.
• Use independent judgment and experience to prepare seniors officials for testimony before the Congress, and drafts testimony or other presentations to the Congress for use by the USD(P).
• Monitors congressional action on the DoD budget and formulates official responses to periodic Congressional inquiries and/or legislated reporting requirements.
• Coordinate and oversee the public and press contacts of the USD(P) and component staff, developing strategies and materials for public and press presentations, and participates in or conducts long-range studies of special interest to the USD(P).
• Draft issue and background papers on highly complex and important defense issues and makes oral and written presentations to the USD(P), other senior defense officials and counterparts from other USG agencies recommending a particular resolution of these matters.
• Maintain professional expertise by remaining knowledgeable of current developments in the broad area of foreign affairs and foreign policy, using judgment to identify items which require action by the USD(P), advising the USD(P) of the emergence of matters requiring attention by him/her or the Secretary of Defense, and defining and initiating follow-up actions where necessary.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to qualify for this position.
• All newly appointed Career SES leaders must sign the Reassignment Rights Obligations Agreement as a condition of appointment into the SES.
• You must submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test before you can be appointed into this position. Designated and/or Random Drug Testing required.
• In order to qualify for this position, you must be able to obtain a Top-Secret security clearance and access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI).
• Submit resume and all other required documents online by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on 05/08/2024
• 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 one-year probationary period unless you have previously completed the probationary period in the SES.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration).

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 ability to provide guidance and support to senior officials (such as internal decision-making, interagency deliberations, dealings with international counterparts, and/or testifying before Congress) in the areas of current defense policy development, planning, force posture, resourcing, foreign affairs, and/or national security.
2. Demonstrated ability to lead/manage teams. Provide two examples of leading a team through all stages of an issue from policy creation through implementation, including an evaluation of the impact.
3. Demonstrated ability to represent the U.S. Government in public settings, and to lead/manage negotiations with counterparts within the same agency, the interagency, Congress, and/or the international arena.

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).

Education

Basic Requirements

1. Degree: major or equivalent, or a combination of courses totaling at least 24 semester hours, in international law and international relations, political science, economics, history, sociology, geography, social or cultural anthropology, law, statistics, or in the humanities; or 12 semester hours in one of the above disciplines and 12 semester hours in statistics/quantitative methods.

   OR

2. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major, or a combination of related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

   OR

3. Experience: four years of appropriate experience in one or more of the fields listed above in work associated with international organizations, problems, or other aspects of foreign affairs.

Application instructions

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