Director of Standards of Conduct Office
Office of the Secretary of Defense See More Job Openings by This Employer
This position is located in the Office of General Counsel of the Department of Defense (DoD). The General Counsel, who is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the chief legal officer of the DoD and performs such functions as the Secretary of Defense may prescribe (10 U.S.C. §140). The Incumbent is the principal legal authority within DoD and has responsibility for legal policy and determinations and the delivery of legal services within DoD and its components.
Duties The Director, Standards of Conduct Office (SOCO) position is located in the Defense Legal Services Agency (DLSA). The General Counsel of the Department of Defense is the Chief Legal Officer of the Department, with responsibility for all of the Department's legal services. The General Counsel is dual-hatted as the Director, DLSA. DLSA provides legal advice and services to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Activities, Defense Agencies, and DoD Field Activities, and performs other such related functions as are within the authority of the General Counsel of the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense SOCO is part of DLSA.
The Director, SOCO is responsible, on behalf of the General Counsel, for administration of the Standards of Conduct Program on three distinct planes in the Department. As such, the incumbent is a principal assistant to the General Counsel, the Principal Deputy General Counsel, and the Deputy General Counsel (Personnel and Health Policy), with functional responsibility to provide legal advice and assistance for all matters concerning or relating to the DoD Standards of Conduct Program and other ethics-related matters.
Major duties include:
- Assists the General Counsel in promulgating and updating the Standards of Conduct and related ethics regulations and policies for the Department, overseeing their uniform application, resolving disparate application among DoD Components, and serving as a single point of contact between the Department and other Federal agencies, Congress, and the White House.
- Assists the General Counsel in the oversight of 24 Deputy Designated Agency Ethics Officials.
- Provides legal advice and assistance on matters that include conflicts of interest, endorsements, financial disclosure, misuse of position, and gifts of travel. The incumbent also advises on political activities of civilian employees and serves as the Executive Secretary of the DoD OGC/DLSA Professional Conduct Board.
- $184,363 - $225,700/year
- 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 03/03/2025
- 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).
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.
2. Familiarity with the organization and mission of the Department of Defense and demonstrated ability to serve as a member of the Agency's executive leadership team and work effectively with a diverse, senior client base to ensure continued mission success.
3. Demonstrated ability to identify and resolve novel and complex issues of law.
4. Demonstrated ability to provide legal advice to senior officials in a Federal department or agency, and the ability to administer a Federal Department of private sector ethics program.
5. Demostrated ability to manage a team of senior attorneys and support staff, ensuring effective administration of responsible programs.
Veterans preference is not applicable to the Senior Executive Service.
Applications MUST be submitted through USAJobs.
Submit resume and all other required documents online by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on 03/03/2025
1. Resume - In addition to your written statements addressing the Executive Core Qualifications, the Mandatory Technical Qualification(s), and other qualifications as applicable, submit a resume or any other written format you choose to describe your qualifications, not to exceed five pages. Applicants typically provide the following information:
- Vacancy Announcement number SES-12680173-25-AS
- Full name, email and mailing address, and day and evening telephone numbers
- Educational information including the name, city, and state of colleges or universities you attended, as well as the type of any degree received. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For more information, you may refer to the following U.S. Department of Education website: http://http://www.edu.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html
- Information about your paid and nonpaid work experience related to this position including: job title, duties and accomplishments, employer's name and address, duration of employment, and salary
- Information about honors, awards, and special accomplishments
- Submit resume and all other required documents online by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on 03/03/2025~
3. Mandatory ECQ Statement: A narrative statement specifically addressing each individual ECQ. In lieu of the narrative statement, current career SES members, reinstatement eligibles, and SES Candidate Development Program graduates must provide the documentation in item #4.
4. Copy of the Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50): If you are a current or former Federal civilian employee, you must submit your last or most recent SF-50 showing grade and tenure. Current and former career SES members must provide an SF-50 showing their status or reinstatement eligibility. Candidates who have successfully completed an Office of Personnel Management approved SES Candidate Development Program must submit a copy of their ECQ certification.
5. Law School Transcript: A copy of a law school transcript must be submitted by each applicant for this position. Please refer to the Education section of this announcement. Failure to provide a copy of your transcript will result in a rating of 'ineligible.'Law School Transcript: A copy of a law school transcript must be submitted by each applicant for this position. Please refer to the Education section of this announcement. Failure to provide a copy of your transcript will result in a rating of 'ineligible.'
6. Demographics Information of Applicants: Click on the link to access the Demographics Information of Applicants
DO NOT SUBMIT ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Extraneous materials such as award certificates will not be considered.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION THROUGH USAJOBS: In order to expedite the review of your application, you must submit a complete online application package to include the Resume, the Mandatory Technical Qualifications, and the Executive Core Qualifications. To apply online, please select the 'Apply Online' button at the bottom of this announcement. Please note: your online resume may not be a complete application. Be sure to carefully read this announcement to see if additional information is required and how it should be submitted.
If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php? title=Alternate_Application_Information
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Learn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
