PROGRAM ANALYST

PROGRAM ANALYST

Department: Department of the Air Force

Location(s): Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia

Salary Range: $142488 - $185234 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 ??provide developmental experience designed to broaden the skills and/or enhance the leadership perspective of an identified high-potential, mid-level manager/executive; it is not a continuing position and assignment duration is limited to 36 months.

Major Duties:

• DUTY 1: Performs career broadening duties as the Air Force expert for strategy, planning and programming process (SP3) to develop strategy, policy, and planning and programming guidance. Conducts a broad range of highly complex qualitative and quantitative analyses on programs, policies, and issues that have major impact on Air Force and national defense policy. Interprets policies, synthesizes analytic perspectives, and applies directives to develop strategic planning and programming guidance; develops strategic planning procedures and establishes alternative ways to achieve the best mix of capabilities and forces within fiscal constraints. Develops and supports the full range of strategic planning products and activities including Air Force Policy Directive 90-11, Strategic Planning Guidance, Plan to Program Guidance, Resource Allocation Plans, Core Function Master Plans. DUTY 2: Prepares and presents briefings suitable for the CSAF and SECAF; briefings may be controversial, highly subjective and not readily susceptible to verification until actual operational situations are encountered. Prepares reports, responses to queries, justifications and background papers on the technical aspects of areas of expertise and assignment. Represents the organization on working groups, steering groups, or other meetings, conferences, seminars, etc. with the Joint Staff, OSD and MAJCOMs. May chair such groups or meetings when the meeting is in the incumbent's area of assignment. Hosts meetings with MAJCOM representatives to discuss/resolve long range strategic planning concepts and other issues of common interest. DUTY 3: Maintains a continuous liaison with other Air Staff, other service headquarters counterparts, and DOD offices to integrate Air Force strategy, planning and programming actions. Provides results of studies, analyses, and evaluations to counterpart agencies to share experiences and thereby improve overall defense level planning in areas of assignment. Promotes interchange of information on requirements, capabilities, deficiencies, and technology applications in the area of specialization. Generates recommendations for new programs, policies, doctrine, strategies, studies and approaches, and advises high level managers of advantages and disadvantages of different approaches. Evaluates impact of new technologies on current systems, policies, and operational doctrine. Conducts feasibility studies to assess Air Force and MAJCOM capabilities to support plans. Plans for the involvement of other DOD activities, coordinating with them to resolve different viewpoints regarding key matters and to ensure continuity of joint planning efforts. Leverages access to applicable planning data to develop/recommend modifications to system or programs around doctrine, tactics, and concepts of operation. Provides guidance and assistance to MAJCOMs, and establishes policies for Air Force strategy, planning and programming. Serves as an authority and consultant to other organizations, to MAJCOMs, and agencies in assigned areas of responsibility. Analyzes problems discovered in prior studies or actual operations and negotiates with and/or advises higher levels of management on the feasibility of different approaches which provide a basis for better planning of operations. DUTY 4: Develops new methods for analysis and development of future force structure projections and alternatives using the Enhanced Tradespace Tool (ETT). Evaluates data on resource allocation plans and proposals to inform decisions on acquisition priorities, projected operations and sustainment costs, and end strength levels. Conducts independent enterprise affordability assessments (EAAs) of lifecycle costs for acquisition programs at milestone decisions. Analyzes the effect of high level decisions (e.g., Defense Planning Guidance) on the overall strategic planning processes. Defends recommendations to higher levels of management. Establishes on-going mechanisms for evaluating the effectiveness of the strategy, planning and programming process as it relates to major mission and operational plans support. Utilizes the ETT Campaign Assessment Model (ECAM) to evaluate planned or proposed force structures against selected warfighting scenarios. Performs risk/benefit, dollar cost/economic analysis in support of decision making on significant issues.

Qualifications: In order to qualify, you must meet the specialized experience requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule, Administrative and Management Positions. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization and must include: 1) Mastery of advanced management and organizational principles and practices and a comprehensive knowledge of planning, programming, and budgeting regulations, guidelines, and processes; 2) A thorough knowledge of Department of War and Air Force planning, acquisition, and management processes to provide PPBS guidelines and advisory services in support to long-range Air Force war, mobilization, exercise, deployment, and similar long range strategic planning efforts; 3) Mastery of the Federal, DoW, and Air Force planning, programming, and budgeting process (PPBE); 4) Thorough knowledge of Air Force 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; 5) High degree of skill in analyzing and comparing cost benefits, cost projections, budgetary tradeoffs, fiscal strategies, and programmatic factors to produce fully justified options that can be presented to higher levels of management for use in defending fiscal decisions; and 6) Ability to plan, organize, develop studies or projects and to negotiate effectively with management to accept and implement recommendations, where the proposals involve substantial Air Force resources, require extensive changes in established concepts and procedures, or may be in conflict with previous programming actions. FEDERAL TIME-IN-GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT FOR GENERAL SCHEDULE (GS) POSITIONS: Applicants must have served at least 52 weeks at the GS-13 or higher grade (or equivalent in an alternate pay system) within the Federal Civil Service to be considered for referral. TIG applies if you are in a current GS position or held a GS position within the previous 52 weeks. 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: Knowledge of the Department of Defense Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution System (PPBE), and Department of Air Force policy, procedures, and schedules for developing the Strategic Planning Guidance, Plan to Program Guidance, Program Objective Memorandum (POM), and Financial Plans. Knowledge of Air Force 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. Knowledge of the relationship of the various Air Force entities involved in overall planning and execution of military operations and evaluations, and the way the PPBS process supports them. Knowledge of and skill in the use of Air Force strategy, planning and programming tools (e.g. the Enhanced Tradespace Tool (ETT), Automated Budget Interactive Environment System (ABIDES), Resource Allocation Programming Information Decisions System (RAPIDS), Defense Resource Data Warehouse (DRDW), Logistics Installations Mission Support Enterprise View (LIMS-EV), Air Force Cost and Performance (AFCAP) tool, Defense Acquisition Management Information Retrieval (DAMIR)). Ability to gather, assemble, and analyze facts, draw conclusions, conduct analysis, devise recommended solutions, and package the entire process in briefings, papers, or reports suitable for senior leadership use and decision-making. Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, negotiate complex issues and maintain good working relations.

How to Apply: The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 12/25/2025. To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12847418 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: 2025-12-25