The USPTO is a fully user fee-funded organization with an annual budget in excess of $3 billion and approximately 13,000 employees comprised largely of engineers, scientists, and attorneys. The USPTO, a progressive organization at the forefront of intellectual property issues around the world, is seeking a high performing professional to join its Senior Executive Team as a Technology Center Group Director.

Duties

The Technology Center Group Director will serve under the administrative direction of an Assistant Commissioner for Patents and will exercise administrative and technical authority over a patent examining group. The Technology Center Group Director is responsible for the following:

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or a National.
• Background and/or Security Investigation, if selected for position.
• You must serve a one-year probationary period unless you previously completed one year in the Senior Executive Service.
• Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-278) will be required upon appointment.
• All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

Experience must have been at a sufficiently high level of difficulty to clearly show that the candidate possesses the required professional/technical qualifications and executive core qualifications set forth below. 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. Applicants are required to input narrative responses to the PTQs and ECQs in the text boxes as prompted by USAJobs. Each PTQ and each ECQ have a 10,000-character limit (to include spaces) and must be adhered to. When responding, you must clearly show that you possess the experience and competencies to perform the duties of this position. Do not write "see resume" or "see attached." Uploaded documents addressing the PTQs and ECQs will not be accepted. The candidate must possess the following Professional Technical Qualifications: Please describe your experiences and the principles you applied while managing a professional staff who worked in the patent prosecution process. Be sure to include specific examples of the challenges you faced, the results of your actions, how you prioritized your responsibilities and how you led your staff. Clearly articulate your rationale in devising a solution and some of the lessons you learned. Please clearly describe your experiences in developing, leading, and implementing organizational policies and programs in Intellectual Property. Be sure to explain fully your contributions to a team or to a project that furthered the organizational mission and your rationale behind your actions. Please clearly describe your experiences, as a manager or a leader addressing one or more conflicts. Be sure to include specific examples, your role and your thought process in addressing the conflicts, the results of your actions and any lessons you learned. Please clearly describe your knowledge and experience in leading scientific, technical and legal matters associated with the patent process, which includes the preparation and/or prosecution of patent applications, the classification of patents, or comparable experience in the patent field. Be sure to include specific instances that evidence any advanced proficiencies. Competency in these areas must be sufficient to manage and lead others in the patent process. Please Note: Current career SES members, former career SES members with reinstatement eligibility, and SES Candidate Development Program graduates who have been certified by OPM, only need to submit a resume and narrative statement covering each of the PTQs requirements and do NOT need to address the ECQs. For the following five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs), you are required to submit a narrative response addressing your specific knowledge, skills, and abilities that demonstrate your possession of these qualifications. Be sure to provide specific examples of what you've done that demonstrates your possession of each ECQ. For more information about the Executive Core Qualifications please visit this site: : https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference- materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf Executive Core Qualifications: Leading Change - This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment. Leading People - This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts. Results Driven - This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems and calculating risks. Business Acumen - This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial and information resources strategically. Building Coalitions - This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals. Applicants are encouraged to follow the Challenge, Context, Action and Result (C-C-A-R) model outlined in the Guide To SES Qualifications. Challenge - Describe a specific problem or goal. Context - Describe the individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to address a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale). Action - Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge. Result - Give specific examples of measures/outcomes that had some impact on the organization. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills. Note: Submit only the documents requested. Additional documents will not be reviewed by the rating panel. Uploaded documents addressing the PTQ's and ECQs will not be accepted.

Education

The minimum educational requirement for this position is a technical degree or the equivalent.

Contacts

• Address EXRD - Patents Branch Office of Human Resources Mail Stop 171 P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, VA 22313-1450 US
• Name: Samantha Middleton
• Phone: 571-272-1746
• Email: [email protected]