The Senior Executive Service (SES) comprises men and women charged with leading the continuing transformation of government. Members of the SES serve in key positions just below the top presidential appointees. They are the major link between these appointees and the rest of the federal workforce. They operate and oversee nearly every government activity in about 75 federal agencies.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) manages the overall federal executive personnel program.
Candidates apply for SES jobs just as they would for other federal jobs open for competition -- submit a resume, answer essay questions about their qualifications, and, if invited, interview for the job.
OPM has identified five fundamental executive core qualifications (ECQs):
The ECQs were designed to assess executive experience and potential, not technical expertise. They measure whether an individual has the broad executive skills needed to succeed in a variety of SES positions, not whether they are the most superior candidate for a particular position. That is determined by the employing agency.
Once selected for an SES position, the candidate then applies for SES certification. All senior executives must have their executive qualifications certified by an independent Qualifications Review Board (QRB) before being appointed as career members of the SES.
To obtain SES certification, the resume and essays addressing the five ECQs must be approved by the QRB. The QRB review and certification is the last critical step in the SES selection process. Once certified, the person may start his or her new SES job.
A person may also obtain SES certification by participating in a federal SES preparatory program known as a Candidate Development Program (CDP). These programs are designed to give participants experience in the executive core qualification areas, and usually culminate with SES certification.
Once certified, the candidate could be appointed straight into any SES job without competition. (But successful completion of a CDP does not obligate the agency to appoint the person into an SES position.)
Most federal SES prep programs last anywhere from 14 months to two years and provide classroom training, mentoring, rotations, seminars, and group projects. Usually these programs accept applications only during limited periods, not via rolling admissions. Check the program’s Web site for application dates and plan accordingly. The eligibility requirements vary from program to program. Some, for example, accept GS-14s and GS-15 and equivalents, while others only accept GS-15s.
Please keep in mind that candidate development programs and SES jobs are very competitive. The application process requires writing lengthy essays about qualifications, so the candidate must plan accordingly.
More information, including details about the application process, can be found on OPM’s Web site at http://www.opm.gov/ses/.