Chief of Operations

Duties

The ChOps position is based at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington DC and will be assigned to one of the three Regions that oversee Peace Corps overseas operations: 1) Africa; 2) Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia; 3) Inter-America and the Pacific.

• The ChOps position performs the following major duties:As directed by the RD, assumes full responsibility for day-to-day Regional operations including direction, supervision, and evaluation of personnel in headquarters and overseas; determination of manpower resource needs; establishment and management of Regional positions; identification of personnel vacancies, evaluation of candidates and initiation of candidate recommendations for Regional positions; and recommendation to the RD of Regional staff promotions, transfers, extensions, and terminations.
• Serves as expert advisor and mentor to Country Directors across a wide array of operational, communication, and representational issues. Guides Country Directors, in consultation with the Office of the General Counsel and senior Agency leadership, on interpreting and enforcing Peace Corps policies and procedures, including those relating to the performance and behavior of Volunteers and staff.
• Develops communications plans and products to enhance the understanding of Regional activities, including key strategic messages, documents and reports. Conducts meetings and briefings with various stakeholders, including senior leadership, to review Regional and posts' activities.
• As delegated by the RD, leads headquarters teams to support emergency and crisis response activities at overseas posts, such as coordinating multiple offices' support during natural disasters, political unrest, post evacuation, serious injury to or the death of a Volunteer, or other emergencies or crises.
• Participates in the formulation and development of Peace Corps program policies and operations, reflecting posts' input and operational realities.
• Advises the RD and other senior leadership to help determine long-range direction for Regional programs, necessary operational priorities, budgetary needs, focus of special projects, staff development and staffing levels. Informs this advice by analyzing Agency policy, capacity, and the political, social, and economic conditions of host countries.
• Serves as Acting Country Director in overseas posts, as delegated by the RD.
• Assumes other responsibilities, as directed by the RD, in carrying out Region initiatives and serves as Acting RD with full responsibility for administration and direction of the Region during RD absence or vacancy.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Please read this announcement in its entirety prior to submitting your application.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen.
• You must be at least 18 years of age.
• All Federal employees are required to have federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so. For additional information, see www.sss.gov.
• You must complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
• You must go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. These documents must be unexpired originalor certified copies.
• You must successfully complete a background security investigation with favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet this requirement will be grounds for employment termination.
• Prior to employment, and in compliance with statutes 5 USC 3322 and 22 USC 2507b, Peace Corps will conduct a check of Peace Corps records for both Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and former Peace Corps employees.
• All new employees are required to certify and submit a state of understanding acknowledging adherence to the Peace Corps condition of employment prior to day 1 of employment with the Peace Corps.
• This position requires you to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret Clearance.
• This job has been identified as a testing designated position under our Drug-Free Workplace Program. Therefore, you must satisfactorily complete a drug test prior to being hired. As an employee, you will be subject to random drug testing.
• This position requires the filing of a Financial Disclosure report.
• This is not a bargaining unit position.
• A one-year probationary period is required.
• A one-year supervisory probationary period is required.
• Travel within and outside the country of assignment is required.
• The initial appointment to this position cannot exceed five years.

Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met by 04/25/2024 (the closing date of the announcement). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. To ensure full credit for your experience, please indicate the start and end dates (month, day, and year) of employment, the number of hours worked per week, and the location of employment in your resume. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.

Specialized Experience:

This vacancy is being announced at one grade level:

Specialized Experience at the FP-01 (GS-15): To be minimally qualified for this position at the FP-01 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression, FP-02 or GS-14 level which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes:

• Experience developing and implementing complex studies and overarching analyses related to the administration of an organization's domestic and international programs; and,
• Experience applying a range of administrative laws, policies, regulations and precedents applicable to the management of an organization's programs; and,
• Experience developing and implementing collaborative partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to build coalitions and achieve common organizational program goals and objectives; and,
• Experience formulating, executing, and providing oversight over an organization's budget, identifying and implementing programming and training initiatives, and managing the provision of program support for domestic and overseas support offices; and,
• Experience developing, implementing and evaluating multi-year work plans and reshaping programs to address changes in organizational needs, budget requirements, legislation and international conditions.

Education cannot be substituted for experience at this level.

~AND~

Selective Placement Factor:

Selective Placement Factors (SPFs) are knowledge, skills, abilities, or special qualifications that are in addition to the minimum requirements in a qualification standard, but are determined to be essential to perform the duties and responsibilities of a particular position. Applicants who do not meet a selective placement factor are ineligible for further consideration.

This position has one selective placement factor defined below:

Three (3) years of: 1) executive leadership experience in transitioning or developing countries involving international development work, or 2) community development experience working with underserved communities in the United States. Experience may be with private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or government organizations (local, state, and/or federal). Executive experience must include either an international focus or a focus on domestic communities that are made up of a majority of culturally diverse members.

Examples of specialized professional experience include: held a senior level position such as Country Director, Executive Director, Regional Director, Chief of Party, CEO, Ambassador, or others in a complex organizational environment; experience leading and managing programs with an international development focus or a focus on work with underserved U.S. communities that are made up of a majority of culturally diverse members; experience providing strategic direction to complex programs; and experience that includes high level representational duties.

Please note:

• Past experience that satisfies the Specialized Experience and Selective Placement Factor MUST be well documented within your resume. Failure to provide this information in your resume with corresponding start and end dates (month, day, and year) of employment, the number of hours worked per week, and location of employment may result in disqualification from further consideration.
• Specialized Experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector, or through volunteer work done with National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) or other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social).
• One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis.
• Additional information on qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site.
• Peace Corps employees are employed using the Foreign Personnel (FP) pay scale. The FP pay plan does not follow the same structure as the GS pay plan. In the FP pay plan, as the grade-level numbers decrease the level/pay for the position increases. The FP-09 is the lowest entry-level grade and the FP-01 is the highest senior-level grade.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.