The John S. McCain Strategic Defense Fellowship Program is a 1-year Department of Defense (DoD) development program for recent advanced degree program graduates from across multiple academic disciplines. This program provides the DoD Components with the ability to recruit and develop future leaders from across the United States. Fellows are provided with challenging developmental opportunities and flourish into problem solvers, strategic thinkers, and future leaders.

Duties

KEY INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS: Participation in the Fellowship Program is open to U.S. Citizens, U.S. Nationals and lawful permanent residents who have completed a graduate degree (or higher) from an accredited institution of higher education in the U.S. no earlier than two (2) years prior to the acceptance into the program; or must earn their graduate degree from an accredited institution of higher education in the U.S. within six (6) months of acceptance into the program. Acceptance into the program is defined as the Fellow's Entry on Duty (EOD) date. The EOD date for Cohort 5 McCain Fellows is projected to be between October and December 2024. The Fellow's EOD date is contingent upon their successful completion of all pre-employment and onboarding requirements. The McCain Fellowship Program is designed to acquire high performing and talented individuals with advanced degrees located throughout the United States who will gain experience and develop their leadership capabilities through challenging opportunities to flourish into problem solvers, strategic thinkers and future leaders. Assignments during the fellows program are to an excepted service position either in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, an Office of the Secretary of a Military Department, or other Defense Components. You will represent high caliber graduates and will be expected to possess a personal commitment to excellence, a strong capacity for leadership, exceptional ability evidenced through achievement, and a demonstrated commitment to a public service career. The positions may be filled at the GS-10 through GS-12 grade level and the occupations to be filled are: Foreign Affairs Specialist - 0130 Human Resources Specialist - 0201 Management Analyst - 0343 Logistics Management Specialist - 0346 Financial Analyst - 0501 Operations Research Analyst - 1515 Information Technology Specialist - 2210

Requirements

• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration)
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment
• Required to participate in the direct deposit program
• This position is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing
• This position requires you to obtain and maintain a Secret or Top Secret/SCI security clearance.
• You may be required to work other than normal duty hours, which may include evenings, weekends, and/or holidays and/or mandatory overtime.
• This position may require occasional travel away from your normal duty station for official business on military or commercial aircraft.
• Relocation incentive may be authorized in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Qualifications

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO DOCUMENT IN YOUR APPLICATION PACKAGE EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTS YOUR ELIGIBILITY AND QUALIFICATION CLAIMS. For qualifications determinations, it is recommended that applicants include their months and hours worked per week for each employment listed on their resume. If a determination is not able to be made about the length of your creditable experience for qualification requirements, you will be removed from consideration. Read more about what should I include in my federal resume at: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include/ You may qualify at the GS-12 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrates your ability in: 1) researching and analyzing a wide variety of issues and formulating solutions; 2) applying law, policy, regulations, and methodology to respond to ensure compliance; and 3) oral and written communication to develop and deliver briefings and correspondence/reports to higher-level managers. You may qualify at the GS-11 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrates your ability in: 1) researching and analyzing a wide variety of issues and formulating solutions; and 2) oral and written communication to develop and deliver briefings and correspondence/reports to higher-level managers. OR Have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related from an accredited college or university in the U.S.. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts for verification). OR I have a combination of specialized experience and education. You may qualify at the GS-10 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrates your ability in: 1) researching and analyzing a wide variety of issues and formulate solutions. OR Have a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree or 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. Education must have been completed in a college or university in the U.S. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts for verification). OR Have some specialized experience but less than one year, and have some graduate education but less than 1 year. All qualifications and time-in-grade requirements must be met for the grade levels you are applying for by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

THIS FELLOWSHIP HAS AN EDUCATION REQUIREMENT. You MUST have a graduate degree (or higher) from an accredited institution of higher education in the United States, in any field of study, that was earned no earlier than two (2) years prior to the acceptance into the program; OR will have earned a graduate degree from an accredited institution of higher education in the United States, in any field of study, within six (6) months of acceptance into the program. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Acceptance into the program is defined as the Fellow's Entry on Duty (EOD) date. The EOD date for Cohort 5 McCain Fellows is projected to be between October and December 2024. The Fellow's EOD date is contingent upon their successful completion of all pre-employment and onboarding requirements.

Contacts

• Address WHS Misc Activity Fellows 4800 Mark Center Drive Alexandria, VA 22350 US
• Name: Megan Freel
• Phone: 000-000-0000
• Email: [email protected]