March 2025 Hot Topics

Opportunities

OPENING SOON – APPLY TO THE NPS-MSSPM AND NPS-MSSE EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES

Two education opportunities for Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW) Civilians are scheduled to open for applications March 11 through May 13, 2025.

Applications will be accepted until May 13 for the following two (2) Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) master’s degree program opportunities:

The NPS Systems and Program Management master’s degree program is offered to AAW civilians in any of the six acquisition functional areas at the GS-11 through GS-15 (or payband equivalent) levels who have satisfied their current position’s DAWIA certification requirements (or are within the grace period). This master’s degree program combines systems engineering with program management knowledge and skills. The program is intended to broaden the technical capabilities of acquisition workforce professionals who may have non-technical backgrounds. Students in this program learn the systems engineering process from establishing system requirements through test and evaluation.

The NPS Systems Engineering master’s degree program is offered to AAW civilians who are in the Engineering and Technical Management (ETM) functional area or the Test and Evaluation (T&E) functional area at the GS-11 through GS-15 (or payband equivalent) levels who have satisfied their current position’s DAWIA certification requirements (or are within the grace period). This program educates and trains engineers with tools and technologies relevant to their work, resulting in greater knowledge and expertise to better meet the systems engineering and integration requirements and challenges of customers.

Both NPS master’s degree programs are two years in length and held in a distance learning-based format and you can earn your degree during duty hours. The academic cohort dates of both programs are Sept. 30, 2024 – Sept. 25, 2026.

For program details and application information for the Systems and Program Management program, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/naval-postgraduate-school-master-of-science-in-systems-and-program-management/.

For program details and application information for the Systems Engineering program, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/naval-postgrad-ms-sys-eng/.

ENTERPRISE CIVILIAN TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS (ECTDP)

The ECTDP are Army talent management programs created to produce senior civilian leaders with an enterprise perspective who could serve in increasing levels of responsibility. Senior level and entry- to mid-level programs consist of multiple modules and leadership development courses. Applicants may apply for one or more modules and/or courses for which they are qualified. ECTDP are administered by the Civilian Human Resources Agency (CHRA) Army Civilian Career Management Activity (ACCMA). Eligible applicants are Army civilians GS-07 through GS-15 (and equivalent paybands) employees and eligibility varies by module. The application window is open now and closes April 30. For more information go here: https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/ectdp/.

FY27 PRODUCT DIRECTOR CENTRALIZED SELECTION BOARD (CSB)

Applications are now being accepted for the FY27 Product Director Centralized Selection Board (CSB). The AAW is charged with a critical mission to cultivate innovation, design the impossible, deliver decisive-edge capabilities, and provide Soldiers with what they need to be successful. Applications are being accepted through April 18.

Eligible applicants must be permanent, Army acquisition civilians in a career/career conditional appointment in the grades of GS-13 and GS-14 (or broadband equivalent). Applicants must be DAWIA Practitioner certified in functional area Program Management at the time of application, which must be reflected on the Acquisition Career Record Brief (ACRB).

Complete announcement details, eligibility criteria, and how to apply can be found on the CSB webpage at https://asc.army.mil/web/prod-dir/. You can apply in the Army Acquisition Professional Development System (AAPDS) which is accessible through CAPPMIS, here: https://apps.asc.army.mil/camp/. If you have any questions, please contact the CSB Program Manager, Ms. Christina Lindh at christina.n.lindh.civ@army.mil or via MS Teams.

Coming Soon

FY25 ACQUISITION LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE PROGRAM (ALCP)

Starting April 1, Army acquisition civilian professionals can begin applying to the FY25 fourth quarter ALCP. ALCP is a series of four separate leader development offerings tailored to fit GS-07 through GS-15 (or equivalent payband) participants. ALCP harnesses self-awareness as the tool for enhancing leadership, innovation and professional development by demonstrating how individual preferences and behaviors affect the ways we interact with co-workers and are viewed by others. Program offerings help participants understand how accepting individual differences can produce a stronger group and a capable, collaborative, and creative leadership corps. Nominations should be submitted through your lead Organizational Acquisition Point of Contact (OAP). All ALCP program details, including application and nomination processes and policies, can be found on the ALCP webpage: https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/acquisition-leadership-challenge-program/

ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

AI TECH TALK

This month, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (DASA) Data, Engineering, and Software (DES) hosted another thought-provoking and exciting Lunch and Learn in their Tech Talks series! The topic for this session was “The Impact of AI in the Next Five Years,” briefed by the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, Software Engineering Center’s (CECOM SEC’s) Frank Frisby and Maluki Montgomery. You can listen to the Tech Talk on MilTube here.

SAVE THE DATE

The entire DAU FY26 course schedule will be made available for student registration on May 20. To browse all of DAU’s training opportunities and more in DAU’s iCatalog, go here: https://icatalog.dau.edu.

DIGITAL ENGINEERS – ATTEND THE 2025 FEDERAL DIGITAL ENGINEERING FORUM

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) is hosting the 2025 Federal Digital Engineering Forum (FED DEF) in person at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) in Alexandria, Virginia March 11-13. This event is for digital engineering practitioners and decision makers to share best practices, success stories, and failures to advance digital engineering practices. For more information, visit https://fed-def.org/.

VIRTUAL EVENT – THE 2025 ANNUAL LEADERS BUILDING LEADERS SYMPOSIUM

The 4th Estate DACM Office is hosting the virtual-based 2025 annual Leaders Building Leaders Symposium May 6-8. This year’s theme is Power Up! People, Performance, Programs and will bring emerging leaders together to upskill the acquisition workforce on relevant defense topics. Functional area panels will take place May 7. Check out the website for more information, here: https://4edacm.dau.edu/lbl.html.

DID YOU KNOW

#DidYouKnow

The Director, Acquisition Career Management (DACM) is the Army’s senior level advocate for all Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW) matters within the Department of Defense. The current DACM is Mr. Rob Richardson.

The AAW consists of approximately 33,000 Army acquisition civilian and military leaders and professionals residing in Army staff offices, Army commands, Army service component commands, program executive offices, and direct reporting units.

More information: https://asc.army.mil/web/dacm-office/

REMINDER

NEW HIRES – GET YOUR BEARINGS BY WITH THE AAW ONBOARDING COURSE

If you were recently hired into the Army Acquisition Workforce, you’ll want to sign up for the “Welcome to the Army Acquisition Workforce” course. This course should be completed within the first few months of joining the acquisition workforce as it offers a dynamic overview of:

  • The Army Acquisition Workforce.
  • Training and certification standards.
  • Tools and resources.
  • Career models.
  • Development and leadership opportunities.
  • Staying connected.

To access and begin taking the course, navigate to the Army Training Information System (ATIS) Learning home page at https://learn.atis.army.mil/moodle. (Chrome or Edge browsers are recommended.)

Login to EAMS-A-Single Sign-On (CAC login).

Click the CATALOG tab.

Locate the Welcome to the Army Acquisition Workforce course in the list of Published courses, or enter the course name in the Search field, and click the search icon.

Select the Register & Launch button, which will take you directly where you can launch the Learning Assignment(s) required for the course.

There is a downloadable resources guide included with the course. You are highly encouraged to download and save a copy of this resources guide for your records. Once you have closed the course topic, your completion will show up on your ATIS LEARNING MY CERTIFICATES page. Click the certificate File icon to view and download the course certificate of completion.

   

“DACM Hot Topics” is an online newsletter from the Director, Acquisition Career Management Office highlighting acquisition news, career development opportunities, training and education information, policy updates and more. To read all DACM Hot Topics please visit https://asc.army.mil/web/category/dacm-topics/.
Subscribe to Army AL&T – the premier source of Army acquisition news and information.
For question, concerns, or more information, contact us here.