Senior Executive Service

The SES is a corps of men and women who administer public programs at the top levels of the Federal Government. Positions are primarily managerial and supervisory. The SES is a gradeless system in which salary is linked to individual performance, not position. Basic annual salaries range from $99,200 to $118,400. Employees in most geographic locations also receive locality pay, with total pay ranging from $104,577 to $125,900. Some positions include additional recruitment incentives, described below.

How SES Jobs Are Filled

Each Federal agency determines the qualifications required for its SES positions, and whether to consider only current Federal employees or all qualified candidates.

There are two methods of entry into the SES:

• Direct application to a Federal agency for a specified position.
• Direct application to a Federal agency for inclusion in its SES Candidate Development Program.

How to Apply

Check the specific job entry for a full-text vacancy announcement. If not available through the system, call the agency contact for a copy of the vacancy announcement and/or for additional information about specific application procedures and detailed qualifications requirements.

Send your application directly to the address shown on the vacancy announcement.

Be alert to announcement closing dates and apply promptly to meet them. (Agencies may issue announcements for as little as two weeks.)

Candidate Development Programs

Some, but not all, Federal agencies have Candidate Development Programs to identify potential executive talent. Graduates of U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)-approved programs are eligible for a career appointment to the SES without further competition. However, graduates are not guaranteed an SES position. Announcements for these programs appear at the end of the list.

Qualifications Requirements

An applicant must meet two types of qualifications for any SES position:

• executive qualifications common to all SES positions; and
• specific, professional/technical qualifications for the position being advertised.

OPM has identified five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) common to all SES positions:

• Leading Change;
• Leading People;
• Results Driven;
• Business Acumen; and
• Building Coalitions/Communication.

Agencies identify the specific, professional/technical qualifications for the position being filled. Agencies list the qualifications requirements for the position in their vacancy announcements. Applicants need to obtain a copy of the agency's vacancy announcement to respond to these requirements.

Recruitment Area

Agencies determine how to fill a vacant SES position. If they choose to advertise the position (as opposed to reassigning an SES member), they also determine the recruitment area. There are two choices: qualified Federal employees only; or all qualified persons.

Recruitment Incentives

Exceptional difficulty in recruiting highly qualified applicants for SES positions may result in:

• payment of recruitment or relocation bonuses up to 25 percent of base pay;
• waiver of the dual compensation restrictions applicable to civil service and military retirees;

-OR-

• designation of the position for critical pay authority whereby total annual salary may be established up to the Executive Schedule Level I rate (currently $151,800 per annum). Recruitment incentives are noted in the "Application Information" column.

Examination Process

Federal agencies:

• review, rate, and rank applicants based on the executive and professional/technical qualifications listed in the vacancy announcement;
• make a selection, certifying the candidate's executive and professional/technical qualifications; and
• forward the candidates's application to OPM for further evaluation.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management:

convenes a Qualifications Review Board (QRB) to evaluate the candidate's executive qualifications; and notifies the submitting agency of the QRB's decision.

SES Mobility Opportunities

A separate section lists specific SES mobility opportunities as they become available. OPM coordinates these opportunities, which are open only to current career SES members. SES members may apply directly to agencies for any of the other SES vacancies listed.

Other Opportunities

From time to time other vacancies will be listed that are not in the Senior Executive Service but are in an equivalent pay range. Contact the organization listed to determine the specific qualifications requirements and application procedures.

Electronic Information

Vacancy announcement information is available through the Federal automated employment information system, including:

Federal Job Opportunities Board (computer bulletin board):	(912) 757-3100
USAJOBS by Phone (telephone system)	(912) 757-3000
Federal Job Information (located at OPM offices Touch Screen Kiosks and Federal Buildings nationwide)

 

Present SES Pay Levels (Effective January 1998):

ES-1	$ 99,200	ES-2	$ 103,900
ES-3	108,600	ES-4	104,500
ES-5	118,400	ES-6	118,400

AS OF: 03-04-1998