FRESH VIDEO: BACK-TO-BASICS CAMP DEMO FOR EMPLOYEES
We’ve posted a fresh video on our Back-to-Basics (BtB) milSuite page demonstrating recent changes as a result of the BtB initiative. Highlights include new certification grace period displays, printing out of new and historical DAWIA certifications, updated functional area nomenclature (Functional Areas and levels of certification), DAU course requirements connected to your acquisition position requirements and more! Check out the video on our CAC-enabled BtB milSuite page.
STAYING CURRENT WITH BACK-TO-BASICS
Back-to-Basics is here and is a new practice for the entire DOD acquisition community. With all of this new material and routine updates, how is an acquisition professional to stay informed? The best way for those in the Army Acquisition Workforce to stay informed is to monitor your inbox for updates—such as this DACM newsletter. Other valuable resources exist on the DACM website. Staying current, however, is not just about the information; it involves creating an actionable plan that allows people to continue their professional education. There are three efficient ways to accomplish this task. The first is to seek education or training opportunities that will meet your continuous learning points (CLP) requirements. This could include attending “lunch-and-learns,” reading articles in professional journals or taking required or desired leadership training. Another way is to work on meeting training certification requirements for your position, if you haven’t already. A third way is to pursue a Defense Acquisition credential. Credentials provide the knowledge and associated skills to perform job-centric, niche and/or emerging functions in the DOD acquisition environment. They are intended to enhance specific skills and improve performance in your workplace, and they are also a perfect way to remain relevant in your functional area. You can learn more about credentials, including how to sign up, on the DAU website (https://www.dau.edu/training/pages/credentials.aspx). Look out for our next feature about how to work with your supervisor and your subordinates to incorporate credentials in your individual development plans.
ACQUISITION EDUCATION, TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
FY23 PRODUCT DIRECTOR CENTRALIZED SELECTION BOARD OPPORTUNITIES
The Army Director, Acquisition Career Management (DACM) Office is pleased to announce the fiscal year 2023 Product Director, GS-14, Centralized Selection Board (CSB) opportunity. This is an opportunity to compete for centrally selected product director positions within the Army’s program executive offices. The Product Director CSB is a DACM Office program that supports the talent management of our civilian Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW). Product directors are civilian-only positions similar to the Centralized Select List (CSL) Product Managers (PM). They are alike in level of cost, schedule and performance responsibilities, differing by position in the acquisition lifecycle. All AAW professionals, GS-14 or broadband equivalent, who are Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certified at the Program Management Practitioner level are eligible to apply. Applications must be received by April 22. All details on the positions, eligibility, application instructions and more may be found on our web page: https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/prod-dir/.
FY23 DEFENSE CIVILIAN EMERGING LEADER PROGRAM – OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS
The fiscal year 2023 Defense Civilian Emerging Leader Program (DCELP), Cohort 16, is open for applications through May 24. DCELP develops emerging leaders at GS-07 through GS-12 and equivalent broadband levels. The program combines community-based learning, guest speakers, group projects, coaching and other activities. Cohort 16 is the fiscal year 2023 cohort for members of the DOD Acquisition Workforce and will provide excellent opportunities for Army acquisition participants to network with other emerging acquisition leaders from across DOD. Learn more about DCELP at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/dcelp/.
OPEN NOW: THE SENIOR ENTERPRISE TALENT MANAGEMENT (SETM) AND ENTERPRISE TALENT MANAGEMENT (ETM) PROGRAMS
The SETM and ETM programs are open for applications through May 15—do not wait, apply now!
These Army talent management programs are designed to produce senior civilian leaders with an enterprise perspective and the potential to serve in positions of increasing levels of responsibility. A variety of exceptional professional development, senior-leader education and experiential learning opportunities are available for eligible candidates at GS-12 through GS-15 and equivalent pay band levels. More details can be found at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/setm-etm/.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE INCOMING CLASS OF 2022-2023 DAU-SSCF SELECTEES
Please join the DACM Office in congratulating the selectees who applied to the 2022-2023 Defense Acquisition University – Senior Service College Fellowship (DAU-SSCF) program.
The DAU-SSCF program is a 10-month educational and leadership development opportunity sponsored by the Army DACM Office. DAU-SSCF is conducted under the auspices of the DAU through the Huntsville, Alabama; Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey and Virtual Seminars. The purpose of DAU-SSCF is to provide leadership and acquisition training to prepare senior level civilians for leadership roles such as product and project manager, program executive officer and other key acquisition leadership positions to include contracting.
Selectees for the academic year 2022-2023 DAU-SSCF program are as follows:
HUNTSVILLE COHORT
Ross Armstrong, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Aviation and Missile Center
James Bamburg, Program Executive Office (PEO) for Aviation
Inganita Clark, PEO for Missiles and Space
Jimmy Downs, PEO for Aviation
Juan Santiago, PEO for Missiles and Space
Vicky Spivey, U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC) – Redstone Arsenal
Bradley Welch, DEVCOM Aviation and Missile Center
PICATINNY COHORT
Joshua Charm, DEVCOM Armaments Center
Johnny Figueroa, Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition (JPEO A&A)
Melissa Markos, JPEO A&A
Matthew Nestor, JPEO A&A
VIRTUAL COHORT
Mindy Gabbert, PEO for Command, Control and Communications – Tactical
Leslie Hosein, PEO for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors (PEO IEW&S)
Kimberly Kolb, ACC – New Jersey
Anthony Orejel, PEO for Combat Support and Combat Service Support
Dana Trzeciak, PEO IEW&S
To learn more about the DAU-SSCF program, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/defense-acquisition-university-senior-service-college/.
WHAT’S NEW
Several policies, signed by the Army DACM, recently went into effect:
- The Defense Acquisition University-Senior Service College Fellowship (DAU-SSCF) Program policy provides procedures and guidance for application, selection and assignment to the DAU-SSCF program.
- The Functional Area 51 Officer Intermediate Level Education and Joint Professional Military Education while attending Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) policy provides course credit eligibility guidance to officers who complete the Naval Command and Staff Education Course while attending NPS.
- The Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW) Centralized Selection List (CSL) Program policy establishes procedures for applicants and selectees with respect to AAW CSL positions and the selection board process.
The entire collection of AAW policies can be accessed in our Policy Library at https://asc.army.mil/web/alt-workforce-policy-procedure/.
HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION
INSPIRING AND DEVELOPING EXCELLENCE IN ACQUISITION LEADERS (IDEAL) PLAYS A ROLE IN SUPPORTING THE HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGIC PLAN
The Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW) Human Capital Strategic Plan (HCSP) both feeds the Army People Strategy as well as supports it. One of the DACM Office priorities as outlined in the AAW HCSP is “AAW Strategic Workforce Development,” and to support that priority, data analytics is one of the tools we use to gather feedback and make observations on how effective DACM programs are to the AAW. As an example, the DACM office recently conducted an evaluation of the DACM-sponsored IDEAL program by acquiring data through online surveys and a series of one-on-one interviews among IDEAL cohort attendees, their supervisors, the IDEAL program manager and Army Acquisition Center of Excellence (AACoE) instructors. This quantitative and qualitative data was used to measure IDEAL’s training effectiveness across three factors:
- Level of positive impact in employee’s career.
- Application of IDEAL knowledge and skills to job duties.
- Application of various leadership competencies to impact organization and professional growth and development.
The feedback revealed that the attendees have applied what they’ve learned in IDEAL in their daily duties. One supervisor commented that “my employee has applied all she has learned in the course making a concerted effort to share certain aspects of her training as it pertains to the culture in her branch. I am more confident in my employee’s ability to foster accountability among team members to ensure all members succeed!”
IDEAL is targeted to new and aspiring AAW supervisors in the grades of GS-12/13 (or broadband equivalent) who are seeking to refine their leadership skills or develop them in preparation for a supervisory or leadership position. The course is instructed over three sessions focusing on self-development, interpersonal relationships and strategic management and uses a leadership competency-based approach focused on Army leadership competencies identified in the Army Regulation 600-100, “Army Profession and Leadership Policy.” Fiscal year 2022 will have two IDEAL cohorts, both in Huntsville, Alabama.
Each cohort consists of three, one-week resident sessions held over a period of approximately five months. Over the course of three separate, non-sequential weeks, IDEAL utilizes the “train-do” method. In other words, participants attend the first one-week session, learning critical material and leadership skills. Next, they return to their worksite where they apply and implement those newly-gained knowledge and skills for 1-2 months in their daily real-world jobs. Students come back to IDEAL for another one-week session where the cycle of learning and applying begins again until three “train-do” cycles are complete.
On a strategic level, we’ve used data analytics as tools to gather feedback specifically on how attendees have implemented what they’ve learned from IDEAL and how they have implemented these competencies in their daily jobs as supervisors. The AAW HCSP leverages the four strategic outcomes identified in the Army People Strategy, tailored to the mission needs of the AAW. The HCSP goals are the specific, actionable areas of work that will organize, coordinate, integrate and enable efforts across the AAW and DACM Office. The AAW Strategic Workforce Development data analytics initiative is a DACM Office priority. If you would like to learn more about IDEAL, visit our webpage at https://asc.army.mil/web/career-development/programs/inspiring-and-developing-excellence-in-acquisition-leaders-ideal/.
For more information about the AAW HCSP, visit https://asc.army.mil/web/hcsp/.
