Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Career Development
DEFENSEACQUISITION | May-June 2019 | 1
Military Hiring ConferencesOrion Military Hiring Conferences will be held at the fol-lowing locations and dates:
Dates Location
May 5-6 Military Hiring Conference, Parsippany , N.J.
May 6-7 Military Hiring Conference, Chicago, Ill.
May 6-7 Military Hiring Conference, Columbia, S.C.
May 9-10 Military Hiring Conference, Austin, Texas
May 9-10 Military Hiring Conference, Seattle, Wash.
June 2-3 Military Hiring Conference, Houston, Texas
June 2-3 Military Hiring Conference, Norfolk, Va.
June 2-4 Military Hiring Conference, San Diego, Calif.
June 2-3 Military Hiring Conference, Atlanta, Ga.
June 9-10 Military Hiring Conference, Detroit, Mich.
June 10-11
Military Hiring Conference, Parsippany , N.J.
June 27-28
Military Hiring Conference, Seattle, Wash.
For more information, e-mail [email protected] or visit http://www.oriontalent.com/jobseekers_hiring-conferences.aspx.
An Orion Military Hiring Conference is a chance for veterans to be interviewed and potential employers to select the best military job seekers. Veterans attend-ing will be prescreened, qualified, and suitably matched with available opportunities.
Employers can interview up to 10 candidates in a single day, all in a private and professional interview setting. Orion carefully selects its hotels to enhance its clients’ experience. The afternoon prior to interviews, employ-ers will have the opportunity to familiarize the candi-dates with their company and the position(s) for which they will be interviewing (highly recommended, but not required).
Throughout the conference, veterans and potential em-ployers will receive personalized attention to ensure the best in customer service, including insight on the candi-dates, and advice on the most effective hiring strategy. Orion’s goal is that its candidates will have completed the hiring process and accepted employer offers within 14 days of attending the conference.
Talent Marketplace Assignment System Expands to All Officer Specialty CodesAIR FORCE PERSONNEL CENTER PUBLIC AFFAIRS (JAN. 31, 2019)Kat Bailey JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas—Air Force officers in the ranks of lieutenant colonel and below in all Air Force specialty codes, with the exception of judge advocate general, will use the Talent Marketplace web-based platform as their assignment system for the Winter 2019-2020 officer assignment cycle.
The Air Force will use this key talent management technol-ogy to publish and manage the Vulnerable-to-Move List, submit and prioritize fill actions (requisitions), and submit assignment preferences in place of Airman Development Plans. ADPs may still be used in some special circum-stances such as Squadron Command Statements of Intent.
Talent Marketplace examines officer assignment solu-tions by offering transparency of potential jobs available to officers, increasing visibility of officers’ assignment preferences to commanders, and incorporating gaining commander input into the action. The website possesses interactive filtering capabilities, expanded billet informa-tion, and enhanced officer information to facilitate this level of responsiveness and agility.
“The key to Talent Marketplace is its ability to provide of-ficers with more realistic assignment expectations,” said Capt. William Werner, chief, Assignment Program Devel-opment at the Air Force Personnel Center. “At the same time, Talent Marketplace gives all stakeholders—airmen, commanders, billet owners, higher headquarters manage-ment levels, and AFPC—a greater voice in the process.”
AFPC expanded the use of the Talent Marketplace assign-ment system platform in the last summer cycle to all rated, cyberspace operations, force support, air liaison, space operations, operations research, and health services ad-ministrator officers, more than 4,000 in all.
In the future, AFPC intends to increase inputs from even more stakeholders in Talent Marketplace, to include pro-fessional development and higher headquarters requisition priorities. By continuously developing the software, AFPC can improve its ability to provide agile and artful talent management.
“This system will not magically fix our various officer short-ages nor dramatically increase retention,” said Werner.
But it is designed to provide increased transparency and
Career Development
2 | May-June 2019 | DEFENSEACQUISITION
Upcoming Career Conferences and Events
Dallas Engineering, Technology & Security Clearance Career FairGraduate School USA will hold its 2nd Annual Federal Dallas Engineering, Technology & Security Clearance Career Fair May 8 at the Crystal Banquet Hall in Plano, Texas. Come meet face to face with hiring managers from many area em-ployers. There will be opportunities for Engineering (all disci-plines): Electrical, Mechanical, Electronics, Cyber, Software, Persistent Infrared (PIR) Analyst I, Signal Processing/Radar Engineer, Chief Architecture Software/System Engineer, SAR Scientist/Engineer, and many more! Show up anytime from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. for face-to-face interviews and free onsite resumé reviews. Relevant government agencies are Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Intelligence Agencies, DoD, and Military. For more information, visit https://www.govevents.com/details/30917/the-dallas-engineering-technology-and-security-clearance-career-fair/.
2nd Annual Federal Workforce Development ConferenceGraduate School USA will hold its 2nd Annual Federal Work-force Development Conference May 9 at the Holiday Inn, Capitol in Washington, D.C. This free half-day event cel-ebrates and educates those in the federal sector. The 2019 Conference is designed to provide participants with infor-mation on how to help their agencies achieve their missions through innovative solutions. The conference will showcase how developing and cultivating effective solutions for every-day challenges improves productivity, quality, and teamwork. Learn more about the conference at https://www.govevents.com/details/31751/2nd-annual-federal-workforce-develop-ment-conference/.
34th Federal Asian Pacific American Council National Leadership Training ProgramThe 34th Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC) National Leadership Training Program (NLTP) will be held May 13–16 at the Von Braun Center, in Huntsville, Ala. The theme for the observance of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in May 2019 is “Unite Our Mission By Engaging Each Other.” This year’s theme is a continuation of the “Unite” series and focuses on leadership and engagement to advance the AAPI community. The 34th Annual FAPAC National Leadership Training Program is a premier training destination for federal employees, including D.C. government and military. It is designed to provide training in leadership, diversity, inclusion, career advancement, and management. Past participants included federal and D.C. government em-
ployees, military personnel, veterans, current students, and recent graduates. Learn more about the program at https://www.govevents.com/details/30549/fapac-national-lead-ership-training-program/.
AUSA Veteran, Soldier, and Family Job FairThe Association of the United States Army (AUSA) is proud to host its Veteran, Soldier, and Family Job Fair on June 5 at the General Gordon R. Sullivan Conference and Event Center, Arlington, Virginia. Forty military-friendly companies—de-fense and non-defense—will be in attendance and ready to discuss open positions with veterans, transitioning soldiers, and their families. AUSA encourages all job seekers to utilize its complimentary resumé polishing service provided by vol-unteers from Atlas Research. Submit your resumé during reg-istration no later than June 5 to take advantage of this service. Registration is free. Questions? Contact [email protected].
10th Annual Key Executive Leadership ConferenceThe 10th Annual Key Executive Leadership Conference will be held June 12 from 8:00 a.m. -6:00 p.m., at the American University in Washington, D.C. This event is a 200-person conference provided by the School of Public Affairs Key Ex-ecutive Leadership Programs at American University. This event provides participants with the opportunity to explore principles, industry trends, and best leadership practices through key plenary and concurrent session presentations given by exceptional leaders in the field. Set in the heart of Washington, D.C., key conference participants are from the federal government and public sector as well as non-gov-ernmental and non-profit organizations. Questions? Contact Jennifer Tether at [email protected]. Register online at https://www.american.edu/spa/key/Key-Conference.cfm.
The Phoenix Engineering, Technology, and Security Clearance Career FairThe Phoenix Engineering, Technology, and Security Clear-ance Career Fair will be held June 18 at the Mesa Conven-tion Center in Mesa, Arizona. Come meet face to face with hiring managers from many area employers. There will be opportunities for Engineering (all disciplines): Electrical, Mechanical, Electronics, Cyber, Software, Persistent Infra-red (PIR) Analyst I, Signal Processing/Radar Engineer, Chief Architecture Software/System Engineer, SAR Scientist/En-gineer, and many more! Learn more information about the Career Fair or register online at https://www.govevents.com/details/26054/the-phoenix-engineering-technology-and-security-clearance-career-fair/.
Career Development
DEFENSEACQUISITION | May-June 2019 | 3
interaction that should lead to greater awareness and sat-isfaction with the assignment process.
“We are also confident that there’s quite a bit left to de-velop, so we continue to incorporate feedback and make modifications as we go in order to meet the Air Force’s ever-changing needs,” he said.
AFPC is also investigating Talent Marketplace as a po-tential way to manage enlisted assignments and 365-day deployments.
All officers should ensure they have an updated myVEC-TOR account and enter Talent Marketplace to update their profile information. A playlist with Talent Marketplace tu-torials is available on AFPC’s YouTube.
*Talent Marketplace is best viewed using Google Chrome.
Specialized, “What Next Leader”—Professional Development Prepares for UnexpectedAIR FORCE MATERIEL COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS (FEB. 5, 2019)Estella HolmesWRIGHT PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio—Supervi-sor training is the traditional first step to helping a person learn the skills they need to effectively lead and man-age their teams. However, sometimes this training is not enough to prepare him or her for unique situations that arise on the job.
The first “What Next Leader,” scenario-based professional development for Air Force Materiel Command’s mid-level supervisors was held Jan. 16, 2019.
This professional development gives supervisors a chance to explore an uncommon workplace situation, under the watchful eye of a panel of experts. For many, the discus-sion topic was new and not part of their initial training for a supervisory position.
“These are areas that are not really covered or have not been dealt with during a supervisor’s career. Critical blanks exist when we are not sure of what should be done or who we can reach out to when challenging questions come up,” said Chief Master Sgt. Jennifer Hellwig, AFMC functional manager and course lead. “This professional experience can bridge that.”
The initial lunchtime session showcased a scenario fo-cused on how a supervisor might answer questions posed by an airman interested in starting the process of gender transformation.
The scenario was introduced to the group in phases, with information released periodically to prompt the group re-sponse. Questions were asked, prefaced by, ‘what would you do,’ followed by discussion by participating supervi-sors.
“We have Airman Leadership School and Non-Commis-sioned Officer Academy, but we don’t offer opportunities where you can get the real shock factor of ‘how are you going to respond or what are you going to do,” said Jennifer Walden, AFMC Communication & Coordination Center superintendent and co-lead for the course. “This is a great opportunity because of the unique construct here of mili-tary and civilian airmen.”
“We work with the subject matter experts to know what they can do for us when people come to us with these issues.”
A panel of SMEs provided professional support from areas relating to the scenario. For example, questions related to medical issues were addressed by members of the AFMC headquarters and 88th Air Base Wing medical teams, while legal questions were fielded by experts from the AFMC legal office.
The panel’s diversity SME tutored the group on the essen-tial ‘people’ perspective and the importance of all airmen as members of the Air Force team.
“No one has total awareness. We have to count on our experts and those who have experience in different areas to help us develop critical thinking and remove the fear of providing incorrect information,” said Hellwig.
Over the course of the hour, individual perspectives were broadened, with the interjection of the experiences of dif-ferent team leaders, directors, and project officers. Some participants expressed experiences from their past, which were valuable learning tools for others in the group, but they also acknowledged that such experiences were not generated on a frequent enough basis to develop the knowledge required to make fast decisions during critical situations.
“People get strategic training, but not a lot get people skill development,” said Hellwig.
Scenarios mirror those given to enlisted leaders during First Sergeant and Senior Non-Commissioned Officer edu-cation and are taken from things that have happened in the Air Force, to provide authenticity to the process. During the
Career Development
4 | May-June 2019 | DEFENSEACQUISITION
class session, supervisors were able to develop confidence to handle challenging situations before emergencies arise.
While the AFMC class is still in early stages of implemen-tation, strong engagement and participation will serve as the impetus to continue the course as an option for AFMC supervisors.
Though topics are kept secret until the day of the class, some potential future scenarios might include: domestic issues, diversity situations, or workplace violence.
What’s assured is that topics will be pertinent to the pro-fessional development of AFMC’s supervisors and the challenges they might face moving forward.Department of the Navy Announces New Education InitiativesUNDER SECRETARY OF THE NAVY PUBLIC AFFAIRS (FEB. 12, 2019)WASHINGTON—The Department of the Navy (DoN) re-leased its Education for Seapower report Feb. 12, along with the Secretary of the Navy’s action memorandum pro-viding the way forward for the new education initiatives for the department.
The Education for Seapower study was a clean-sheet re-view of naval learning and focused on flagship institutions like the U.S. Naval Academy, Naval Postgraduate School,
What Next Leader ClassU.S. Air Force photo by R.J. Oriez
and Naval and Marine War Colleges, along with a fresh look at the relationships with civilian academic institutions and corporate learning structures.
Members of the Education for Seapower Executive Board included luminaries such as Adm. Mike Mullen, USN (Ret.), Gen. John Allen, USMC (Ret.), Ambassador Bar-bara Barrett, Vice Adm. Ann Rondeau, USN (Ret.), and Dr. Harlan Ullman.
“I am convinced, now more than ever before that the in-tellectual development of our naval leaders is the most critical warfighting capability for our national security,” said the Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “That is why the Department of the Navy intends to create a Naval University System that further integrates and aligns naval education to the need of the enterprise.”
Highlights from the memorandum include a new Secre-tary of the Navy staff assistant, Chief Learning Officer for naval education, intent to establish a Naval Community College with universal transcripts so enlisted Sailors and Marines can soon earn accredited associate’s degrees in technology-rich fields, and a new Naval University System that retains the strengths of current educational institu-tions, while aligning strategic intent in order to provide increased agility. While the Department of the Navy is
Career Development
DEFENSEACQUISITION | May-June 2019 | 5
enacting these changes, many initiatives within them will, over the next year, be evaluated for their efficacy before being fully implemented.
“Any success we may enjoy in the future will be enabled by an ever-more-agile force—led by agile people who thirst for knowledge and who are adept at thinking, learning, and processing information quickly,” said Under Secretary of the Navy Thomas B. Modly. “The development of such a force does not happen by accident. It must be constantly cultivated through a renewed emphasis on education, and the deliberate construction of a learning culture across the entire naval service.”
Enterprise Hiring Effort Draws New Talent, Faster AIR FORCE MATERIEL COMMAND (FEB. 13, 2019) Marisa Alia-NovobilskiWRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio—With a command mission that relies heavily on a more than 65,000-person civilian workforce, recruiting, developing, and retaining top talent is critical to success.
This is the driving force behind the ongoing AFMC effort to transform the civilian hiring process across the enterprise to meet mission needs today and for the future.
“Ask anyone to describe the federal government’s civil-ian hiring process and they will probably say the current system is too slow, too cumbersome, and badly out of sync with our mission needs,” said Bill Snodgrass, direc-tor, Manpower, Personnel and Services, AFMC. “We need to change this in order to build a human capital system that meets the needs of a 21st Century Air Force. A big part of this effort is focused on finding ways to speed up the civilian hiring process.”
Recent hiring events lead by the Air Force Life Cycle Man-agement Center at the Air Force’s Kessel Run project in Boston and at Eglin AFB, Florida, provided prospective em-ployees the opportunity to register, interview, and receive on-the-spot job offers, filling a number of open positions at one time. More than 90 same-day offers were made to candidates at the Kessel Run and Eglin AFB events in January, with candidates hired to fill programing, manage-ment, and engineering positions at AFLCMC and the 96th Test Wing.
“We are extremely pleased about our success at these events and the high-caliber of talent that we acquired to fill critical needs across the center,” said Eric Dilworth, Direc-tor of Personnel, AFLCMC. “The model works, and we are
excited to expand use of the process and the decreased hiring timelines at future events.”
AFMC improved its civilian hiring timeliness by 12 percent in fiscal year 2018 and plans to continue finding ways to speed up the employment process. Four major secretary-approved hiring initiatives are providing positive returns, particularly when coupled with continued process im-provements in all talent acquisition areas.
“By leveraging multiple Secretary of the Air Force [Heather Wilson]-approved civilian hiring initiatives, continued utili-zation of congressionally provided direct hiring authorities, and by implementing an enterprise recruiting approach that capitalizes on process improvements, we are exhaust-ing all means to more efficiently hire civilian employees,” said Snodgrass. “A lot of work remains; however, we are moving out of the industrial hiring age and driving towards a world class hiring model. We are leading the Air Force in this area.”
The establishment of a non-competition cell to process non-competitive hiring actions such as temporary pro-motions or management reassignments helped human resources teams to close more than 3,000 actions in the past six months, with an end-to-end average of 31 days—less than half of the time of the previous average of 70 days.
A centralized selection team for the contracting and lo-gistics career fields is decreasing the time it takes for the command to recruit and hire new entry-level hires. Similar to the way the military assigns entry-level enlisted and officers to teams, selection and assignment relies on the expertise of a central hiring team consisting of subject matter experts and human resources specialists, result-ing in faster acquisition of new talent.
A two-year civilian hiring pilot program that realigned Air Force Personnel Center operating location manpower and resources at Hill, Robins, Tinker, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to AFMC began in Oct. 2018, and is better po-sitioning the command to identify and implement process change and efficiencies across the enterprise. The realign-ment also provides opportunities for teams to identify best practices at individual locations that can be leveraged as enterprise-wide solutions.
Additionally, an effort to automate resumé review is under development to help streamline the assessment process. This, coupled with a command-wide resumé repository, is creating new opportunities to share resumés collected
Career Development
6 | May-June 2019 | DEFENSEACQUISITION
during recruiting events enterprise-wide in an effort to ensure the right candidate is identified for specific, hard-to-fill positions across the command.
“As we work through new strategies to recruit an agile civilian workforce, we are harnessing the power of industry tools to produce change,” said Marcae Riggs, chief, AFMC Personnel Programs Branch.
At the Air Force Sustainment Center’s Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, the Pre-Employment Process Center (PEPC) model is used on a biweekly basis to fill open po-sitions at the center. At the PEPC one-day hiring events, candidates are interviewed, receive a tentative job offer, complete pre-employment requirements such as physi-cals, drug testing and fingerprints, and leave with a firm job offer and projected start date. The average total time to complete the process is less than three hours and has resulted in 500 firm job offers to date.
Pulling off these events requires a lot of planning, team-work, and collaboration to set the stage and ensure the appropriate decision makers are on site to complete the hiring process.
“AFMC has partnered with the AFPC Talent Acquisition Team, center personnel teams, hiring managers, and instal-lation personnel offices to ensure events are a success,” said Riggs.
The command also plans to maximize the use of Air Force intern programs such as the Palace Acquire, Copper Cap, Workforce Recruitment Program, and the SMART pro-grams to recruit the next generation workforce, particu-larly focused on the science, engineering. and mathemat-ics fields. The Secretary of the Air Force’s Premier College Intern Program, which yielded more than 300 high-caliber interns across the command during the 2018 cycle, will grow to 350 AFMC interns for 2019, training them to be-come competent, effective, and productive employees in
Newcomers Expo attendees learn about the work and mission of various directorates across the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Oct. 3, 2018. Events to draw new talent to Air Force Materiel Command are planned throughout 2019. U.S. Air Force photo by Loreen Deer
Career Development
DEFENSEACQUISITION | May-June 2019 | 7
mission-critical career fields.
An additional 161 recruiting events targeted at the sci-ence and engineering career fields are planned for 2019 at locations across the country. A virtual career fair is also planned for early spring.
Civilians play a crucial role in AFMC missions across the spectrum and comprise almost 79 percent of the total command workforce. More than 28,000 civilians deliver engineering, sustainment, logistics, and maintenance sup-port impacting every Air Force platform and installation across the globe. Civilian scientists and engineers discover, develop, and integrate new warfighting technologies and perform testing on weapon systems, munitions, networks, and more. In addition, acquisition and contracting, intel-ligence, nuclear capabilities, and base operational support rely heavily on specialized civilian professionals daily.
“AFMC civilians support the warfighter in every way imag-inable. While we are nowhere close to declaring victory, we are making good progress and are focused on develop-ing new strategies that position AFMC as an employer of choice,” said Snodgrass.
Celebrating 20 Years of AcqDemoOFFICE OF THE UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR ACQUISITION AND SUSTAINMENT, HUMAN CAPITAL INITIATIVES (MARCH 1, 2019)Scott Wortman The Department of Defense (DoD) Civilian Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project (AcqDemo) is celebrating 20 years of enhancing workforce quality, management, and professionalism.
AcqDemo has provided an inherently flexible pay and personnel management system. The Human Capital Ini-tiatives (HCI) directorate, under the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD([A&S]), manages the AcqDemo program across the DoD. Continuously seeking greater efficiencies and flex-ibilities, HCI collaborates with stakeholders to streamline
processes for significant improvements to AcqDemo and enhanced workforce quality and professionalism.
The most significant recent improvements since incep-tion include simplification of the contribution assessment process; addition of a performance appraisal in compliance with changes in Reduction-in-Force (RIF) procedures; sim-plified and accelerated hiring; Contribution-Based Com-pensation and Appraisal System (CCAS) updates; modi-fied appointment authorities; enhanced academic degree and certification training; student relocation incentives; and the Voluntary Emeritus Program. For the specific de-tails, see the Federal Register notice (82 FR 52104) dated Nov. 9, 2017.
For 20 years, AcqDemo has provided a system that retains, recognizes, and rewards employees for their contributions and supports their personal and professional development.
BackgroundAcqDemo was implemented on Feb. 7, 1999, in accordance with the Federal Register notice (62 FR 1426) of Jan. 8, 1999. One of the goals of the Defense Acquisition Work-force Improvement Act (DAWIA) was creation of well-trained, multi-skilled professionals who could effectively manage multi-million-dollar programs. AcqDemo sup-ports DAWIA in demonstrating the effectiveness of DoD acquisition by allowing greater managerial control over personnel processes and functions, and expanding the employees’ opportunities through a more responsive and flexible personnel system. The introduction of AcqDemo increased flexibilities in recruitment, staffing, classifica-tion, performance management, compensation, and em-ployee development. AcqDemo also provided a dramati-cally different way of recognizing employee contributions in contrast to the very inflexible General Schedule (GS) system that based salary increases on meeting minimal performance standards and length of service.
Since AcqDemo’s 1999 start, Congress has repeatedly extended AcqDemo’s temporary authority. As a result of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 extension in the National De-
fense Authorization Act (NDAA), AcqDemo’s participation has dou-bled to more than 40,000 DoD employees. To enhance DoD’s AcqDemo success, Congress, in the FY 2011 NDAA, codified Acq-Demo into Title 10 of the United States Code and, through the FY 2017 NDAA, transferred full man-agement authority for AcqDemo
Career Development
8 | May-June 2019 | DEFENSEACQUISITION
from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF).
BenefitsAcqDemo has garnered numerous participants over its 20 years of service by offering a host of benefits. AcqDemo also is the first alternative personnel program to cross DoD component lines, and now includes representation from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, DoD Office of the Secretary organizations, Defense agencies, and Field Activities.
AcqDemo provides multiple advantages to its diverse set of participants. The project offers the potential for faster promotion advancement than the standard federal GS process. It also grants supervisors flexibility to adequately compensate employees through nontraditional salary in-creases and award payments.
“My experience as an AcqDemo employee was positive due to the negotiations of my salary upon assignment to an AcqDemo position, the salary increases that were sooner and greater than under the General Schedule, and the yearly performance awards due to my contributions to the mission and goals of my organization,” said Jerold A. Lee, a former Department of the Army AcqDemo program director, who now works as a contractor with the DoD AcqDemo Program Office.
AcqDemo offers a simplified classification system. The current GS system includes 434 occupational series grouped into 22 occupational families. AcqDemo retains the occupational series and titles, but the occupational families are replaced by three career paths: Business Man-agement and Technical Management Professional (NH), Technical Management Support (NJ), and Administrative Support (NK). In what is known as broadbanding, Acq-Demo groups the acquisition occupations with similar characteristics into the three career paths with four broad-band levels for each career path. The system is designed to facilitate pay progression and internal assignment of duties while allowing for more competitive recruiting of quality candidates at differing pay rates.
AcqDemo also uses a streamlined hiring process so that participating organizations can expedite the hiring and ap-pointment of qualified persons to acquisition positions and direct support positions. AcqDemo includes appointment flexibilities designed to make DoD’s acquisition organiza-tions more agile and improve their ability to compete for talent, especially from the private sector. Hiring managers in participating organizations can make on-the-spot ten-
tative job offers to candidates at recruiting events when using noncompetitive or direct hiring authority.
Recruitment of students often is limited to the local com-muting area of the employing organization, perhaps be-cause it may prove cost-prohibitive for college students to relocate for student intern job offers in a commuting area away from their college or university, or their permanent home residence. To alleviate this barrier to recruiting the next generation of high performers, AcqDemo offers the option to the head of a participating organization to ap-prove relocation incentives for new student interns and relocation incentives to student interns whose worksites are in a different geographic location than that of their col-lege or university, or their home residence each time the interns return to duty at their official worksites.
In addition to the Expedited Hiring Authority available to all DoD hiring officials, AcqDemo has four unique di-rect hire appointment authorities available for AcqDemo participating organizations, including Veterans, select positions within AcqDemo’s Business Management and Technical Management Professional (NH) and Technical Management Support (NJ) Career Paths, Student Interns, and for specific scholastic achievements.
AcqDemo utilizes supervisory and team leader cash dif-ferentials as an additional incentive for difficult-to-fill or particularly challenging positions. Heads of participating organizations can use supervisory and team leader cash differentials as an additional tool to incentivize and com-pensate supervisors and team leaders as defined by OPM’s General Schedule Supervisory Guide or Leader Grade Evaluation Guide.
AcqDemo offers an Accelerated Compensation for Devel-opmental Positions (ACDP), which permits more frequent basic pay increases for developmental positions that would normally occur with the annual CCAS pay pool payout. This allows participating organizations to be more compet-itive with industry by advancing employees through their career progression and aligning pay with those advances. Eligible employees participate in formal training programs, internships, or other developmental efforts that allow them to advance in their acquisition career.
AcqDemo offers sabbaticals. Eligible employees have op-portunities to engage in a work or study experience that will contribute to their professional development. The pro-gram lets employees use their sabbatical for training with business, manufacturing, or on-the-job work experience with public, private, or nonprofit organizations.
Career Development
DEFENSEACQUISITION | May-June 2019 | 9
In 2000, the first sabbatical was approved by Program Executive Officer for Command, Control and Communi-cations Systems (C3S) for a Field Artillery Tactical Data Systems Project Manager. The sabbatical allowed him to attend the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, California, where he developed curriculum for the first-ever, doctorate-level degree program in systems acquisi-tion, taught graduate-level classes in systems manage-ment and systems acquisition, and instructed personnel enrolled in the NPS distance-learning program.
AcqDemo’s Voluntary Emeritus Program ensures contin-ued quality acquisition by allowing retired or separated civilian employees who served in either DAWIA-covered positions or positions directly supporting DAWIA-covered positions and non-AcqDemo retired or separated civilian employees and former military members who worked in DAWIA-covered positions to accept retirement while re-taining ties to the acquisition community. Heads of a par-ticipating organizations can temporarily retain the services of retired or separated individuals to provide on-the-job training, work on a special project, or mentor less experi-enced employees.
PermanenceTo attract and retain a motivated, diverse, and highly skilled civilian workforce, we must recognize that lock-step career progression is contrary to recognition and growth. The GS system fails to recognize the differences in indi-vidual capabilities and will never enable DoD agencies to compete with industry for essential talent. Simply stated, an inflexible, one-size-fits-all salary system is out of sync with reality.
AcqDemo is a proven and innovative performance man-agement system. Recent growth indicates that more acquisition organizations realize the need for AcqDemo flexibilities in order to compete with the private sector, other demonstration projects, and other federal agencies in attracting and retaining a high-quality workforce. Per-manence of AcqDemo will greatly increase confidence by acquisition organizations to convert their acquisition workforce to AcqDemo. Permanence will enable DoD to retain the highly successful personnel initiatives imple-mented through AcqDemo; retain the ability to create new personnel programs expeditiously to meet emerging ac-quisition requirements; and maintain dedicated personnel systems designed to enhance the agility, effectiveness, and professionalism of DoD’s acquisition workforce and direct support personnel.
With 20 years of success, increasing participation, and
looking to the future, AcqDemo seeks permanency as an alternative personnel system in the DoD.
Join AcqDemoHCI invites all eligible acquisition organizations that have not yet opted to join AcqDemo to check out the improved AcqDemo and to see if it will be a good fit for your organi-zations and your acquisition professionals. To participate, an organization must meet the following criteria: “at least one-third of the workforce participating in the demonstra-tion project consist of members of the acquisition work-force; and at least two-thirds of the workforce participating in the demonstration project consist of members of the acquisition workforce and supporting personnel assigned to work directly with the acquisition workforce” (NDAA of 2004), and comply with the eligibility requirements as outlined in the AcqDemo Operating Guidance. DoD or-ganizations interested in participating in AcqDemo can contact the author of this article at [email protected].
Additional information about AcqDemo, including train-ing and guidance resources, is available on the AcqDemo website at http://acqdemo.hci.mil.
Wortman is the DoD AcqDemo program manager, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment’s Human Capital Initiatives at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
AFRL Branch Builds a LEGACY in MentoringAIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY (MARCH 5, 2019) Holly Jordan WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio—A group of scientists and engineers within the Air Force Research Laboratory has emerged as a champion of student men-toring, recently earning the LEGACY Mentor of the Year award.
The AFRL LEGACY office presented the honor to the Mate-rials Integrity Branch of the AFRL Materials and Manufac-turing Directorate at a recent Director’s Call. The team was applauded for hosting five students during the summer of 2018. During their internships, these students worked to learn laboratory processes and techniques the branch re-searchers use as part of their daily material analysis work.
LEGACY, which stands for Leadership Experience Grow-ing Apprenticeships Committed to Youth, is an Air Force outreach program that focuses on under-represented or underserved students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, fields. Students in the LEGACY program participate in age-based camps and internships designed to stimulate their interest in these
Career Development
10 | May-June 2019 | DEFENSEACQUISITION
areas of study, which could lead to future career opportunities within the Air Force.
“We’re so proud of this honor,” said Seg-rid Harris, chief of the Materials Integrity Branch. “The students in the LEGACY program provided us with great service and fresh perspectives. It’s a win-win for us. They put forth an exceptional effort, and we help shape the next generation of engineers.”
The students performed a variety of ma-terials analysis tasks in support of the projects within the branch. According to Brett Jordan, Electrical and Electronic Materials Evaluation team lead, the work the students performed was intended not only to serve laboratory needs, but to align to their personal academic in-terests.
“The LEGACY students we were fortu-nate to have this summer possess a pas-sion for their scientific areas that makes it fun to help guide and mold them into young professionals,” said Jordan. “The LEGACY office found students who had powerful desires to learn from experienced engineers.”
LEGACY Program Managers Justin Earley and Niki Lange say it is these positive experiences from both the students and host organizations that have helped the LEGACY pro-gram, only in its third year, grow so rapidly.
“This program is the real deal, which is why we are ex-panding so quickly,” Earley said. “I love the impact we’re having every day, helping change students’ lives. I want to thank the folks from the Materials and Manufacturing Di-rectorate who have embraced the program and who have assisted in making LEGACY the game-changing STEM program it is today.”
This year will see the LEGACY program expanding to en-compass two new locations, Hill Air Force Base and Santa Rosa, Fla., where Air Force personnel from the established program at Eglin Air Force Base will be partnering with the Navy to host a new student camp. The programs at these locations broaden the LEGACY reach to six sites in total, including Wright-Patterson and Robins Air Force Bases, and the United States Air Force Academy.
Most significantly, LEGACY anticipates hosting a total of 491 students for 2019. Earley said he hopes to continue this rapid growth through the help of mentors and orga-nizations such as the Materials Integrity Branch.
“We are always looking for mentors to host students for the summer or volunteer to do a hands-on demo at camp,” he said.
Those interested in learning more about the LEGACY pro-gram and volunteer opportunities can visit http://wpafb-stem.com/pages/legacy.html.
WRP Gives Agency 64 Chances to Hire College Students, Recent GradsDEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY (MARCH 14, 2019)Beth Reece The Defense Logistics Agency has 64 openings in this year’s Workforce Recruitment Program. For managers, that’s 64 opportunities to test a prospective employee before hiring them.
The WRP is an annual recruitment and referral program that places prescreened college students and recent grad-uates with disabilities in 14-week internships at federal agencies. One of several tools DLA uses to attract and
Madisen Millender was one of five LEGACY (Leadership Experience Growing Ap-prenticeships Committed to Youth) students who worked in the AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Materials Integrity Branch during the summer of 2018. The branch received the LEGACY Mentor of the Year award for their support of the student internship program.U.S. Air Force Photo by David Dixon
Career Development
DEFENSEACQUISITION | May-June 2019 | 11
retain people with disabilities, the program outweighs the typical hiring processes because supervisors get the chance to assess candidates’ capabilities with no strings attached, said Nancy Rivera, DLA’s WRP program man-ager.
“Those 14 weeks are actually a free performance period that can help supervisors determine whether the person is a good fit for the agency. Most the time, supervisors know whether it’s a good match within just a couple of days,” she said.
Of the 1,109 WRP interns DLA has temporarily hired since 1995, 150 have been permanently hired through the non-competitive “Schedule A” authority or the agency’s Path-ways to Career Excellence Program, a two-year program designed to train entry-level personnel for subsequent advancement.
“It’s better to hire someone whose work you can see through the WRP than someone through USAJOBS, where you’re only going by a person’s resumé and interview,” Ri-vera added.
Interns’ salaries are paid for by the Department of Defense and slots are portioned out to federal agencies through DoD’s Office of Diversity Management and Equal Oppor-tunity. The agency’s participation has almost tripled since 2015, when it had just 38 slots.
DLA employees like Edward Dalton, a scientist at the DLA Troop Support Analytical Product Test Center, and Michael “Cody” Romine, a contracting specialist at DLA Aviation, are recent examples of WRP interns who’ve been noncom-petitively hired into permanent positions.
Paul Jensen, chief of DLA Aviation in Huntsville, Alabama, requested four WRP interns when his staff struggled to keep up with increasing demands three years ago.
“I went into it just needing some help, but found people who were willing to learn and work hard. Their perfor-mance was so outstanding that I’ve tried to use them to fill permanent positions as they’ve come open,” he said last year.
He hired Romine through the Pathways to Career Excel-lence Program last February and has since hired another
WRP.jpg
The WRP is an annual recruitment and referral program that places prescreened college students and recent graduates with dis-abilities in 14-week internships at federal agencies.Image by Paul Crank
Career Development
12 | May-June 2019 | DEFENSEACQUISITION
WRP intern, Jennifer Triolo, into a permanent GS-11 con-tracting specialist position based on her performance and prior procurement experience.
Allison Higashi, a contracting specialist with DLA Troop Support Pacific, completed her first WRP internship with DLA Disposition Services in 2009 and her second with DLA Troop Support the following year. Higashi initially planned to work in human resources but was attracted to the contracting field one year before completing her graduate degree. Like Romine, she permanently joined DLA through the PACE Program and is now a contracting officer who interacts daily with warfighters in Japan.
Hiring a WRP intern is a quick process that takes two to four weeks and minimal effort from supervisors. It be-gins when supervisors notify a WRP coordinator at DLA Headquarters or their major subordinate command that they’re interested in hiring an intern. Coordinators then generate a list of candidates from WRP’s database of over 2,000 students and recent graduates in career paths such as management, information technology, and accounting.
“WRP coordinators are here to make things as smooth and easy as possible, but once we give supervisors the list, it’s really up to them how quickly things go from there as they conduct interviews and select a candidate,” Rivera said.
For more information, visit [email protected].
Application Period Opens for Fleet Seminar ProgramU.S. NAVAL WAR COLLEGE PUBLIC AFFAIRS (APRIL 1, 2019)NEWPORT, R.I.—U.S. Naval War College will begin accept-ing applications April 1 for new and returning students in the Fleet Seminar Program for the academic year begin-ning in September 2019.
The program consists of the three core courses of the Col-lege of Naval Command and Staff, offered through the Col-lege of Distance Education. The application window runs through May 31.
The program provides Joint Intermediate-Level Profes-sional Military Education (JPME-I) in a seminar format at 19 naval and joint bases around the country, in keeping with the efforts of the chief of naval personnel to foster a deliberate and flexible learning environment.
“The Fleet Seminar Program provides rigorous and rel-evant professional military education to mid-grade naval officers,” said Ron Oard, Fleet Seminar program manager.
“It allows students to develop an appreciation for the po-litical uses of military power and to explore the roles of military and political leaders in policy formulation, military planning, and the conduct of war,” he said.
Each course runs from September through May, meet-ing one evening a week for three hours. The seminars are conducted at the graduate level and require appropriate initiative, research work, writing, and class participation from each student.
After successfully completing their first course, students may apply for acceptance into the Naval War College’s graduate degree program in which, with additional elec-tive coursework, they can earn a Master of Arts degree in defense and strategic studies.
Nearly 1,000 students are currently enrolled, and more than 900 have earned a master’s degree through the pro-gram in the past five years.
Enrollment is open to eligible active and reserve officers in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard in the grade of O-3 and above. Active and reserve officers in other mili-tary services must be in the grade of O-4 and above to be eligible. Federal civilian employees in the grade of GS-11 and equivalent or above are also eligible.
Selected staff members in the federal executive, legisla-tive, and judiciary branches are also eligible, through an agreement with the chief of naval operations. All appli-cants must possess a bachelor’s degree. For more information on course locations and application procedures, visit the FSP website.
AMCOM Launches Course for New Federal EmployeesU.S. ARMY AVIATION AND MISSILE COMMAND (APRIL 2, 2019)Lisa HunterThe U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command will offer a new course geared toward teaching new federal employ-ees needed skills for career and professional development.
The course, Emerging New Leaders Program (ENL), is an updated version of the Upward Leader Investment for Tomorrow (UpLIFT), according to Jared Tarver, a Human Resources specialist assigned to AMCOM G1.
“This course is open to all new Department of Defense, Department of the Army, and other federal employees as-signed to Redstone Arsenal. It’s sort of a ‘greening course’ to teach the employees core competencies, such as basics
Career Development
DEFENSEACQUISITION | May-June 2019 | 13
of leadership, communication, the Army Values, and ef-fective presentation skills,” Tarver said.
AMCOM created and hosts several professional devel-opment courses that meet the needs of the Army, the Army Materiel Command, and AMCOM. For AMCOM specifically, the courses meet the AMCOM Line of Effort 3, Human Dimension, to build and sustain a team of pro-fessionally trained, resilient, and ready workforce of flex-ible and adaptive leaders, and multi-skilled soldiers and civilians.
The first ENL class is scheduled for June 11-27. The stu-dents attend class three days each week for three weeks.
During the course, the students will complete a “selfless service” project at a local non-profit or-ganization, listen to talks from various guest speak-ers, complete and present a group presentation on what they learned in the course, and how they plan to incorporate the Army Values into their daily life.
“The students gain insight and knowledge about value-based leadership, networking, and a host of other beneficial skills they need to grow in their ca-reers,” Tarver said.
Most of the classes will be held at Toftoy Hall on Redstone Arsenal, but the students will also take a one-day staff ride to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to “immerse participants in
the daily life of the warfighter, our client,” Tarver said. “This trip helps them to connect the dots between such tasks as ordering aircraft parts to the actual use of the helicopter on the battlefield.”
Registration is open until May 24. The employee’s supervi-sor must approve the application for the employee to be considered for the course. Interested employees may reg-ister at https://amcom.aep.army.mil/G3/CMD/suptool/LMS/default.aspx. For those who do not have access to AMCOM’s SharePoint site, contact Jared Tarver by email at [email protected] or 256-842-9040.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joseph Mitchell shows a participant of the Upward Leader Investment for Tomorrow (UpLIFT) class around the cockpit during the class’ staff ride to Fort Campbell, Kentucky last year. Courtesy photo
