Have you heard of SES… Do you know of any other leadership positions in government?

While many of us are aware of Senior Executive Services (SES), there are actually many different types of senior management positions in the federal government.

Here are some of the more common ones:

• SES careers proprietary; this is what we think about when we think about SES. These positions can only be filled by career appointees.

• General SES: These SES level positions may be filled by any type of SES appointee – career, non-career, limited PERIOD or limited contingency.

• Senior level (SL): These positions are above the GS-15 level and generally involve limited supervisory responsibilities. Duties and responsibilities may include research and development functions.

• Scientific and professional positions (ST).: Positions are involved in research and development in the physical, biological, medical or engineering sciences or a related field. Again, these positions are above GS-15 and often have limited supervisory responsibilities.

• Senior Science and Technology Service (SSTS): These positions are also above GS-15 and are considered senior science positions. We focus on research in agriculture or forestry, and individuals must have a PhD or higher degree and meet all GS-15 and higher qualifications. Generally, SSTS positions have no or minimal supervisory responsibilities (less than 25%).

• Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service (DISES): DISES positions, which are part of the Defense Civil Intelligence Personnel Systems, are established by the Secretary of Defense. The total number of positions in DISES is limited to 594. These positions correspond to SES positions and the salary is based on the SES salary tables. DISES positions perform very similar work to that of SES members.

• Defense Intelligence Senior Leader (DISL):DISES positions, also part of the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel Systems, are also established by the Secretary of Defense. As with SL positions, work performed exceeds GS/GS-15 but does not meet program management criteria for DISES. To serve as independent technical leaders and advisors, DISL positions require a specific area of ​​technical knowledge. No more than 25% of their time may be spent on supervision.

• Other DOD SES positions: The 2019 NDAA allowed the Secretary of Defense to appoint qualified individuals to entry-level professional positions in Department of Defense (DoD) senior management positions (SES). No more than 50 such nominations may be made in any one calendar year.

• Other positions similar to SES: These can be found in exempt service agencies such as financial regulatory agencies, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and more. Applications for these positions are regulated by the agency, and appointments to management positions in these agencies are not part of SES (and if you are applying for a career with SES reserved for one of these positions, you will need to go through the entire process).

As you can see, there are many ways to become a federal executive. Read the job ad carefully and make sure you understand exactly what you are being asked to do and what it means!

Nancy H. Segal is a federal job search expert. After her own career in federal HR, she founded Solutions for the Workplace LLC to provide a human resources perspective to astute candidates for U.S. government positions.

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