Department: Department of the Air Force
Location(s): Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia
Salary Range: $121785 - $158322 Per Year
Job Summary: Click on "Learn more about this agency" button below to view Eligibilities being considered and other IMPORTANT information. The primary purpose of this position is: To serve as a Lead Planner for the SecAF/CSAF StrategicExecution Group (HAF/DSX), Air Force Director of Staff, Headquarters United States Air Force.
Major Duties:
Qualifications: Conditions of Employment Cont... This position has been designated by the Air Force as a Testing Designated Position (TDP) under the Air Force Civilian Drug Demand Reduction Program. Employee must pass initial and periodic short notice drug testing. Illegal drug use by employees in sensitive positions presents a clear threat to the mission of the Air Force, national security, and public safety. In order to qualify, you must meet the specialized experience requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, Administration and Management Positions, Miscellaneous Administration and Program Series 0301. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower grade GS-12, or equivalent in other pay systems. Examples of specialized experience includes mastery of a wide range of Agency concepts, practices, laws, regulations, policies, and precedents sufficient to provide comprehensive strategic advisory services. Comprehensive knowledge of the specialized areas of law, instructions, and policy related to the Agency as a force construct. Broad knowledge of the military and civilian mission and organizational structure, military and civilian work processes, Agency program goals and objectives, the sequence and timing of key operational events and milestones, and methods of evaluating the effectiveness of planning actions as related to actual events; expert knowledge of analytical and evaluative methods as well as knowledge of the Agency organizational structure, typically gained through extensive training and experience; Expert knowledge of agency missions, programs, goals and objectives. Knowledge is applied to the design and conduct of comprehensive management of senior leader conferences and engagements where the boundaries are broad and difficult to determine in advance, i.e., the actual limits of the project are developed as the planning proceeds. Conference preparation involves identifying and proposing solutions to problems that are characterized by their breadth, importance, and severity, and for which previous conferences and established management techniques are frequently inadequate, Expert knowledge of strategic planning principles and practices and of the interfaces between strategic planning and effective business practices. FEDERAL TIME-IN-GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT FOR GENERAL SCHEDULE (GS) POSITIONS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-12 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-13 level. TIG applies if you are in a current GS position or held a GS position within the previous 52 weeks. NOTE: Applicants applying as VEOA candidates who are current GS civil service employees or are prior GS civil service employees within the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: Expert knowledge of requirements, staff functions (including program management, staffing procedures, collaboration and coordination, Air Force Corporate Process, Strategic Planning and Programming System, etc.), the sequence and timing of key events and milestones, implementing policy and other actions, programming, and force structure as they apply to the organizational environment of the Department of Defense and the Department of the Air Force. Thorough understanding of military organization and commander issues sufficient to initiate, develop and drive strategic conference plans to support Air Force active duty, Air Reserve Component, Civilians, and Contractors. Mastery of interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence to engage with senior leaders and a diverse planning team on a regular basis. Includes the ability to adapt and change course of action quickly, understand and interpret intent, and provide advice in a very concise and effective manner. Be able to engage and build trust with Senior Leaders at the highest level, thrive in a team environment as both a leader and a follower, display attention to detail, and possess strong organizational skills. Quickly assimilate and distill diverse information, and be comfortable working in complex, uncertain environments with minimal oversight. Mastery of leadership skills, to lead individuals and simultaneously manage multiple projects in a leadership capacity, and ability to perform any civilian responsibilities. Be able to engage in creative, actionable problem solving directly alongside SecAF, CSAF, DS and other principals to devise engagements that advance strategic objectives. Extensive planning skills and ability to independently manage short- and long-term projects and to cultivate and sustain positive working relationships to project completion. Ability to evaluate and assess conference and engagement effectiveness in all echelons of command, prepare reports on accomplishment of objectives, support a detailed integration effort, and developing recommendations while representing a wide variety of viewpoints and synthesizing complex, and often competing, information and viewpoints, to resolve issues, and to develop options and recommendations for senior Air Force leaders. Ability to develop and prepare decision papers on accomplishment of objectives and development of recommendations while representing a wide variety of viewpoints and synthesizing complex, and often competing, information and viewpoints, to resolve issues, and to develop options andrecommendations for senior Air Force leaders. PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week. VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
How to Apply: The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/20/2026 To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12912103 To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the application questionnaire. Please ensure you click the Submit My Application button at the end of the process. To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: 1. Your Resume. If you submit more than one resume, only the most recent will be reviewed. The "most recent" is considered the resume with the latest timestamp. Resumes may not exceed two pages. The two-page resume ensures the most relevant experience is reviewed and considered, which is a common practice in both the public and private sectors. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. Additional information on how to complete or update your resume may be located here. For qualification determination your resume must contain hours worked per week and dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as insufficient, and you will not receive consideration for this position. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, provide your pay plan, series and grade, i.e. GS-0301-09. Current Federal Civilian Employees may list any relevant performance related rating (given within the last three years) and/or incentive awards in your resume. Do NOT include photographs, inappropriate material, inappropriate content, nor personal information such as age, gender, religion, social security number, etc., on your resume. If the resume you submit contains such information you will not be considered for this vacancy. Your name, first and last, MUST be included on your resume. 2. A complete Application Questionnaire 3. Additional Required Documents (see Required Documents section). Ensure all submitted documents contain your full name. 4. Help recruiters find you. Make your resume and profile searchable, which means recruiters may contact you about possible jobs. Additional information may be located here. PLEASE NOTE: It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and/or uploaded, (i.e., resume) is received, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. You may verify your documents have been processed with your application package successfully. You can access your USAJOBS account to do so by clicking here. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Human Resources WILL NOT modify or change any answers submitted by an applicant.
Application Deadline: 2026-03-20