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Washington Headquarters Services (WHS)Human Resources Directorate

Office of the Secretary of Defense Senior Executive Management

Office (OSD SEMO)

Michael L. WatsonAssistant Director, OSD-SEMO

Presented: March 9, 2015

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The SES was established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA)

Top management positions were placed into a distinct personnel system which provided agency authority and flexibility

Established a corps of executives selected for their leadership qualifications

SES members occupy key positions below top Presidential appointees

Senior Executive Service (SES)

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• Position must be classifiable above the GS-15 level with greaterscope and complexity

• SES members frequently report to or interact with noncareer leadership

• Directs the work of an organizational unit

• Supervises the work of employees (both SES and GS), at least 25% supervisory responsibilities

• Monitors organizational goals and utilizes resources to strivetowards goals

• Makes policy determinations on behalf of organization

• SES members expected to possess executive skills not typically required of GS employees, e.g., vision, strategic thinking,external awareness, entrepreneurship

SES Qualifications

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SES Types &Appointments

CareerOnly

CareerOnly

CareerCareer

Non-CareerNon-

Career

Limited Term

Limited Term

Limited Emergency

Limited Emergency

Career Reserved

General

Can be filled by any type of SES (Career, NC, LT and Limited Emergency

Can only be filled by career employees to ensure continuity

SES Appointment Types

Career: Can be used for both a General and Career Reserved position.

Non-Career: Appointments that require OPM approval on a case-by-case basis. Government-wide, only 10 percent of SES can be non-career appointments.

Limited Term: SES position may be used up to three years – used for special projects.

Limited Emergency: SES position may be used up to a year and a half – used for urgent need.

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• The SES was originally established to encourage the interchange of executives among Federal agencies to best meet agency needs

• Statute provides that – the SES shall be administered in a way to enable the head of an agency to reassign senior executives to best accomplish the agency’s mission (5 USC 3131(6))

• An executive may be reassigned to any SES position for which qualified (within the commuting area) with at least a 15-day notice

• An executive may transfer to an SES position in another agency for which qualified with the approval of the gaining agency

• An executive must receive at least 60-days written notice of any reassignment outside the commuting area, unless waived by the executive (5 USC 3395)

• Involuntary reassignments of career SES cannot be made within 120-days of the appointment of a new agency head or noncareer supervisor

Mobility/Transfer

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• Annual leave accrual of 8 hours per pay period regardless of length of service; ceiling of 720 hours compared to 240 for GS

• Career SES members who become Presidential appointees have the right to elect to retain any or all SES “benefits,” including pay, award eligibility, etc.

• Eligibility for reimbursement for last move home at retirement, if geographically moved to a career SES job within 5 years of retirement eligibility

Other Provisions

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For agencies with a Certified Performance Plan:•SES pay can be set between 120% of basic pay for a GS-15 Step 1 to Executive Level (EX) II. This encompasses a range from $121,956 to $183,300.

For agencies without a Certified Performance Plan: •SES pay can be set between 120% of basic pay for a GS-15 Step 1 to Executive Level (EX) III. This encompasses a range from $121,956 to $168,700.

Note: For SES members with a salary of $158,554.50 (86.5% of EX II) and above, post- employment restrictions will be placed – per 18 USC 207(c ).

For DoD, SES pay is managed through a 3-Tier System, with Tier 3 being the highest paid tier. The tiers are structured according to several factors such as direct reports, scope and impact.

SES Pay

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• All pay adjustments are based on individual performance or contribution to agency performance – no authority for across-the-board adjustments

• Agency pay plans specify varying amounts of pay increases based on performance

• Differentiating pay based on distinctions in performance determined under the appraisal system is a certification criterion

SES Pay Adjustments

9Note: Congress froze pay for political appointees at 2013 rates.

OSD Senior Executive Management Office (SEMO)

Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3

$121,956 - $168,700 $121,956 - $177,000 $121,956 -$183,300

2015 Approved SES Tier Pay Limits

2015 Rates of Basic Pay for Members of the SES

2015 Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule (EX)

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Army

Air Force

SES = 302 (48%) GO = 327 (52%)Total Force - 629

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56

93

OSD and Defense Agencies SES = 521 (98%)

GO = 11* (2%)Total Force - 532

20%

40%

40%

211

209

101

Navy & Marine Corps

62

157

112

18%

48%

34%

SES = 331 (51%)GO = 320(49%)

Total Force - 651

SES = 166 (36%)GO = 292 (64%)

Total Force - 458

Please note that this chart represents total allocations, including vacant and filled positions, given to Components. Reserve Allocations provided to Components have not been included in the chart. Allocations for CoComs are not included in the Component allocation counts and are represented separately on the CoCom chart.

7%

27%

66%

200

82

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T1

T2

T3

$121,956(Min Exec Level Pay)

$183,300(Max – Tier 3 level pay

Exec Level II pay)

$168,700(Max – Tier 1 level pay

(Exec Level III)

$177,000(Max - Tier 2 level pay)

10%

34%

56%

Current DoD SES Tier Structure

*OSD Proper

As of February 2014

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Current DoD Tier Structure (cont.)

1

12

35

25%

73%

SES = 48 (24%)GO = 149 (76%)

Total Force = 197

T1

T2

T3

Combatant Commands

2%

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Presidential Appointees withSenate Confirmation (PAS)

• PAS members are those who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate and serve as the heads of agencies

• PAS member salaries are set by the Executive Schedule (EX), which are set in five separate rates

• There is no time limit on the appointment, but the individual serves at the will and pleasure of the appointing authority

• The appointing authority determines the qualifications of PAS members

• PAS members do not earn or take leave

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Pay Freeze for CertainSenior Political Officials

• Pay received by some political appointees limited to rates in effect on December 31, 2013

• Freeze applies to appointees paid on, or with reference to, the Executive Schedule

• Freeze applies to noncareer SES paid at or above EX-IV (2014 pay rate for EX-IV used to determine applicability)

• Freeze currently set to expire at the end of the last pay period that starts in 2015 (January 9, 2016)

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Schedule C Appointing Authority

• Schedule C positions are General Schedule (GS) positions that are policy determining, and involve close and confidential working relationships with a head of an agency or other key appointed officials. Schedule C positions are not SES positions.

• OPM must approve a Schedule C appointment, and must coordinate with the agency White House Liaison Office (WHLO), and Presidential Personnel Office (PPO).

• Schedule C appointees serve at the will of the appointing authority, and are in the excepted service.

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To encourage excellence in performance by career appointees, agencies are required to pay performance awards to career SES in accordance with a number of provisions, including the following:

– Performance must be fully successful or better

– Individual awards must be no less than 5% and no greater than 20% of salary

– Total amount of awards paid by agency is limited for fiscal years 2011-2014 to not more than 5% of aggregate salaries for agency career SES and must be further reduced proportionately in accordance with any reductions in discretionary spending mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (1% for DoD in 2013)

Performance Awards

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• The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 established the Presidential Rank Awards program to recognize a select group of career members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) for exceptional performance over an extended period of time.

• Two categories of awards:- Distinguished Executive - no more than 1% of the career SES;

cash award of 35% of base salary - Meritorious Executive - no more than 5% of the career SES; cash

award of 20% of base salary

• Nominations are submitted to OPM by the Agency head

• Nominees must have served at least 3 years as a career SES

• DoD has similar program for DISES/DISL

Presidential Rank Awards Program

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Critical Elements

•Five critical elements based upon each of the five ECQs – standard Government-wide definitions with flexibility to add agency-specific performance objectives

•Five rating levels with standard numeric identifiers to provide consistency and numerical scoring for summary rating, ranging from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) and default labels

•Agencies may develop additional validated critical elements with OPM approval

•Each critical element must have a minimum weight

•Results Driven critical element must meet certification requirements (e.g., measurable outcomes); broad flexibility and deference accorded to agencies in other critical elements

Basic SES Performance Appraisal System Key Design Feature

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• Higher Level Review – An executive has the right to request a higher level review of the initial summary rating

• Performance Review Boards (PRBs) – Each agency must establish one or more PRBs to make recommendations to the appointing authority on the performance of executives (career, noncareer, and limited appointees), including recommendations on performance ratings and performance awards

• PRBs make recommendations to the appointing authority on performance-based pay increases as well

• Authorizing Official’s determination is final

Performance Management

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Talent Management:• Annual corporate assessment of the leadership and

utilization potential of DoD SES members• Only Career SES members are assessed• Will be addressed in DoDI 1403.03

Succession Planning (Slating):• Ensures continuity while executing the mission to limit

interruptions created by unfilled vacancies• Defines multi-year leadership pipeline while identifying

significant gaps in leadership bench strength• Will be addressed in 1403.03

Talent Management and Succession Planning

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Ready for Increased Challenge: Member is ready now to move into position of equivalent or greater scope, impact, complexity, responsibility or institutional importance

Ready for Career Broadening: Member is ready now to move laterally into a position of roughly equivalent scope, impact, complexity, responsibility and authority that offers different challenges, growth and/or broadening opportunities

Build Tenure/Experience: Member is on track or recently assigned– Requires additional time to affect change while in their current position; or– Should continue to develop and/or accrue tenure before being considered for

movement

Contribute in Place: Member should remain in place – May occupy a highly specialized, unique or niche position creating a need for

continuity; or– Further action is required to build succession strategy for critical gaps; or– In best interest of Department and member that they continue to serve in that role; or– Imminent retirement (less than 2 years) or impending departure from executive corps

DoD Readiness Ratings

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DoD SES Framework