CAREER MANAGEMENT
UPHOLDING ACQUISITION POSITION STANDARDS
As the fiscal year’s end approaches, this is a good time to check in on your acquisition career. Upholding acquisition position standards is key to steering your career in the right direction. Part of being a member of the Army Acquisition Workforce (AAW) is meeting certain standards such as:
- Earning a minimum of 80 continuous learning points (CLPs) within every two-year cycle.
- Meeting your current position’s DAWIA certification training requirements.
- Completing a Senior Rater Potential Evaluation (for most AAW members).
- Completing mandatory annual acquisition ethics training.
Continuous Learning Points (CLPs)
The current two-year cycle dates are Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2024. Time is running out to meet the 80 CLP requirement.
Developing leadership, technical acumen and functional acquisition skills is key to the work you do every day. Such learning activities are often eligible as CLP-earning opportunities. CLPs can be awarded for completion of acquisition/business academic courses, training courses, continuous learning courses, DOD credential courses or attending professional events that are relevant to your position. One of the many ways to earn CLPs is by attending web-based events such as those offered by Defense Acquisition University (DAU). These one-to-two-hour DAU web events cover a wide variety of acquisition topics. For example, on Sept. 11, 2024, DAU is hosting “Let’s Talk Agile: The Future of Space Force Software Acquisition.” For more information and to apply, go to https://www.dau.edu/events.
For DAU courses, continuous learning modules and certain digital literacy courses, your CLPs will be automatically entered into Section VI and X of your Acquisition Career Record Brief (ACRB) and your Individual Development Plan (IDP) history.
All other training, education, or acquisition professional activities or experience must be annotated as completed in the “Planning” section of your acquisition IDP in CAPPMIS. After adding, select the block next to the occurrence that you intend to send to your supervisor. Then select the “Submit for Supervisor Approval Button.” The supervisor then awards the points based on the chart of recommended CLPs found in the Department of the Army Continuous Learning Point Policy at https://asc.army.mil/web/alt-workforce-policy-procedure. Once the points are awarded, they will be displayed in your IDP History and in Section X of your ACRB.
DAWIA CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Are you certified?
Your expertise and innovation are a valuable asset, which is one reason those who hold acquisition-coded positions in the AAW must meet their Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certification requirements. If your certification due date is nearing or has passed by, get back on track with these tips.
Check your position’s DAWIA requirement in your Acquisition Record Career Brief (ACRB), or for military, your Soldier Talent Profile (STP), formerly known as Officer Record Brief (ORB).
Once you’ve determined your certification requirement, the next step is knowing which courses to take. Find your functional area level’s certification training course requirements at https://icatalog.dau.edu/onlinecatalog/CareerLvl.aspx. Required courses are located at the top, in the red-colored Training section, listed as “Core Certification Standards.”
This example shows a person’s DAU course requirements when meeting the training portion of their acquisition position’s training standards to achieve DAWIA Certification.
Not sure how to find your ACRB?
Log into CAMP at https://apps.asc.army.mil/camp, navigate to the CAPPMIS tab, select the ACRB option. In SECTION I, your functional area and certification level are listed. In the sample below, this person’s functional area is Program Management. In the box labeled AA FUNC CERT LVL REQD, the level of DAWIA certification you are expected to achieve is listed; this person’s certification level is Practitioner.
The civilian ACRB displays your position’s functional area and its required level of DAWIA certification.
Applying for Certification?
Once you’re ready to apply for DAWIA certification, prepare your submission package beforehand. First things first: log into CAMP and check that your ACRB is up to date; the ACRB is critical to your application package. You’ll need to include your college transcript, if applicable, and a copy of your resume. The resume should be organized in chronological order. List the most recent employment first, in month-year format, in each of your acquisition work experience sections. Focus on your acquisition-related work experience; your resume’s acquisition-related work experience should align with and reflect the experience section of your ACRB.
Ready to apply?
To apply, log into the CAMP portal at https://apps.asc.army.mil/camp. Under the CAPPMIS tab, select the CMS drop-down option, and press the underlined “Apply for Certifications” link and fill out the subsequent application forms.
SENIOR RATER POTENTIAL EVALUATION (SRPE)
The SRPE is a valuable talent management tool that, as a member of the AAW, you must complete. SRPEs are used to evaluate the potential of every civilian acquisition professional, at the GS-12 through GS-15 or broadband equivalent level. This tool is vital in assessing future potential for positions of greater responsibility and centrally selected professional development opportunities. Exceptions to the SRPE requirement do not preclude that applicants must submit a current SRPE in order to be eligible for Army DACM Office centrally selected leader development programs.
The annual SRPE season is upon us and in the month of October, fiscal year 2024 SRPEs will be released to the acquisition workforce and ready for your action. For an overview and details about policy, guidance, FAQs, manuals and best practices, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/senior-rater-potential-evaluation.
ANNUAL ETHICS TRAINING
All AAW members must complete annual acquisition ethics training by September 30 of each year. This DACM memorandum provides more detailed information about fiscal year 2024 ethics training courses that meet the annual requirement.
Several options satisfying this mandatory ethics training requirement are completion of one of the following:
- DAU online training course ACQ 0030 Overview of Acquisition Ethics, approximately one hour to complete. In this training, professionals will make ethical choices when confronted with an ethical dilemma. To access training, go to https://www.dau.edu/courses/acq-0030.
- Or you can watch DAU’s 16.5-minute video titled “Ethics and Leadership,” presented by Dr. Joanne Ciulla, former president of the Society for Business Ethics and The International Society for Business, Economics and Ethics. The ethics video can be found at https://media.dau.edu/media/Ethics+and+Leadership/0_1kc6s9ge/62925211.
- “Army Office of General Counsel (OGC) Annual Ethics Training” is offered in-person for Army Secretariat personnel or online through ATIS, the Army Training Information System. Click on the “Army OGC Annual Ethics Training” tab at https://www.fdm.army.milfor instructions on how to access this training through ALMS. Go to https://learn.atis.army.mil/moodle, log in with your credentials, navigate to the CATALOG tab, and in the search box, type in: ethics and press the magnifying glass. Select the search result titled “Army Office of General Counsel Annual Ethics Training.”
WHAT’S NEW?
UPDATED CSL, CSB AND CSM POSITION POLICY
On July 8, 2024, the Army DACM signed the updated policy titled “Requirements for Individuals Selected for Centralized Selection List Acquisition Key Billets, Centralized Selection Board Positions, and Command Sergeant Major Positions.” This policy outlines the pre-command required and authorized training for individuals who have been selected for Centralized Selection List Acquisition Key Billet Project and Product Manager, Acquisition Director, Contracting Commander, Contracting Brigade Command Sergeant Major and Centralized Selection Board Product Director positions. Reference the DACM Policy Library, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/alt-workforce-policy-procedure.
UPDATED DAU TRAINING POLICY AND PROCEDURES
On July 24, 2024, the Army DACM signed an updated policy titled “Defense Acquisition University Training Policy and Procedures.” This document establishes policy and procedures for the application, selection, funding and cancellation of DAU training. Other topics include roles and responsibilities, credentials, funding, travel, prerequisites, certification, cancellation, no-shows, priority levels, academic policies, applications, course quotas and quota management. To reference the DACM Policy Library, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/alt-workforce-policy-procedure.
For those in the Program Management (PM) acquisition functional area, please take note that this policy includes an important change to taking the PM exam. The PM functional area requires successful completion of an exam before being able to apply for DAWIA certification. An exam prep course is available for those applying for either the Practitioner or Advanced level. It is strongly encouraged that you participate in the relevant exam prep course prior to attempting the exam. As outlined in this policy, AAW professionals who fail the required PM certification exam and have not already taken the PM exam prep course will be required to successfully complete the appropriate PM exam prep course before being able to apply to take the PM exam again.
UPDATED COURSE FULFILLMENT POLICY
On July 18, 2024, the Army DACM signed an updated policy titled “Army Acquisition Workforce Course Fulfillment Program Policy and Procedures.” The policy outlines procedures for Army DACM Office implementation of the DOD Fulfillment Program and is applicable to AAW professionals. To reference the DACM Policy Library, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/alt-workforce-policy-procedure.
OPPORTUNITIES
FISCAL YEAR 2025 DATA DRIVEN LEADERSHIP AT CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY NOW OPEN FOR REGISTRATION
In fiscal year 2023, we answered the Congressional mandate that all services focus on developing greater awareness of artificial intelligence (AI) among the acquisition workforce through a number of initiatives including the in-person, weeklong Carnegie Mellon University Data Driven Leadership (DDL) course for leaders of leaders. Targeted toward senior leaders, the DDL course recognizes that the success of a modern enterprise is increasingly dependent on its ability to manage large, diverse and rapidly changing data. Unstructured internal and external data, growing at over 70% a year, is a particular challenge to traditional data governance. Data quality is a universal problem, especially when data is the foundation of ambitious modern analytic projects.
The DDL course offers a certificate in Data Driven Leadership which covers key areas: data management, data science, decision making, emerging technology, change management, data privacy and security to assist U.S. Army leadership in the development of a robust enterprise data management and data science capability to improve decision-making to better support the mission of the U.S. Army.
Feedback from attendees was resoundingly positive and ASA(ALT) leadership directed the program be made enduring. The tuition for this course has been paid; however, commands must fund the TDY for those who attend this training.
The fiscal year 2025 DDL schedule is:
Class 001: Nov. 12-15, 2024 (only 4 days due to Veteran’s Day holiday)
Class 002: Dec. 9-13, 2024
Class 003: Jan. 27-31, 2025
Class 004: Feb. 24-28, 2025
Class 005: March 24-28, 2025
Class 006: April 14-18, 2025
Class 007: April 28 – May 2, 2025
Class 008: June 9-13, 2025
Class 009: Aug. 18-22, 2025
Class 010: Sept. 8-12, 2025
Class 011: Sept. 22-26, 2025
DDL Executive Course Schedule (GO/SES ONLY):
Class 001: Feb. 3-4, 2025
Class 002: Aug. 14-15, 2025
Attendees must be at the grade or broadband equivalent of Lt. Col or GS-14 (or higher). Acquisition personnel must register for this training using the Army Internet Training Application System (AITAS) at https://www.atrrs.army.mil/Aitas. Acquisition personnel, contact Susan Clark, Army DACM Office, at susan.e.clark.civ@army.mil for questions about the registration process. For questions about registration for non-acquisition personnel, contact Jacqui Coffman, AI2C, at jacqueline.m.coffman@army.mil.
For more information about the Army’s Digital Transformation efforts, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/digital-transformation.
DOD-SPONSORED MAINTENANCE SYMPOSIUM
Attention acquisition Life Cycle Logistics professionals: The DOD-sponsored Maintenance Symposium is December 10-13, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This event is focused entirely on the maintenance and sustainment of weapon systems and equipment with the 3rd Annual DOD Weapon Systems Software Summit taking place on the first day. For details and how to register, go to https://web.cvent.com/event/223ff3f4-84fc-442e-a91c-b861d1b4ce56/summary.
LATEST CREDENTIALS ARE AVAILABLE
As of July 23, 2024, the latest offering of credentials is available; there are now a total of 69 credential programs to which you can enroll. For details, visit https://asc.army.mil/web/dacm-office/functional-areas/#credentials.
NEW HIRES – REGISTER FOR ONBOARDING TRAINING
If you were recently hired into the AAW, 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.
NOW HIRING INSTRUCTORS AT THE NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL IN MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA
DAU WEBINAR WITH SENIOR CONTRACTING LEADERS
On Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024 from 11:30am – 12:30pm (Eastern), Defense Acquisition University is hosting a live webinar with senior contracting leaders from the Army, Navy and Air Force including Maj. Gen. Alice Trevino, deputy assistant secretary for contracting, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, Megan Dake, deputy assistant secretary of the army for procurement, and Steven Nickle, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for procurement. There will be a brief Q&A with the CONNECT Live audience. Registration is not required. To access the event’s link, go to https://www.dau.edu/events/connect-live-135.
REMINDER
CLOSING SOON – THE 2024 HARRY GREENE AWARDS FOR ACQUISITION WRITING COMPETITION
The 11th annual Major General Harold J. “Harry” Greene Awards for Acquisition Writing competition is underway. The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology) is sponsoring the 2024 competition to encourage critical writing focused on Army acquisition challenges and successful efforts to overcome them. Maximum participation is encouraged, especially among members of the DOD acquisition workforce, although the competition is open to everyone. Authors are required to select and write about U.S. Army acquisition from the following categories:
- Acquisition Reform.
- Future Operations.
- Innovation.
- Lessons Learned.
Submissions—in one of the four categories—must address lessons learned, solutions for navigating the current environment, creativity in acquisition or discuss the way ahead, from an acquisition perspective, for maintaining readiness while building the Army of 2030 and beyond. All submissions should connect the acquisition process to the Soldier. For details and how to submit your package, visit this page. Submissions are due no later than Sept. 30, 2024.
