Clarification from the agency

Open to current and former Federal employees with competitive or excepted status; and all U.S. Citizens. Former members of the Peace Corps may be considered for ODNI employment only if five full years have elapsed since separation from the Peace Corps.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

IARPA is an activity within OESET. IARPA invests in high-risk/high-payoff research programs that have the potential to provide our nation with an overwhelming intelligence advantage over future adversaries. IARPA addresses cross-agency challenges, leverages expertise from across the IC, and transitions advanced capabilities to IC partners.

The Director, IARPA Office of Collections is a key IARPA leadership position that provides an exceptional opportunity for a highly motivated innovator who combines superior leadership characteristics, breadth and depth of technical credibility, strategic vision and strong collaborative skills. The successful candidate will exert enduring influence on the future of the IC with impact that spans to other government agencies, academia, industry, and international partners.

The Office Director (OD) recruits, leads and mentors a team of world-class Program Managers to conceptualize, design, and manage IARPA's high-risk/high-payoff research programs. The OD addresses cross-agency challenges, leverages expertise from across the IC, and works transition strategies and plans with government partners. The OD for the Office of Collections is responsible for research investment strategy, scientific rigor, acquisition integrity and mission relevance.

The goal of research within the Office of Collections is to dramatically improve the value of collected data from all sources by developing new sensor and transmission technologies, new collection techniques that more precisely target desired information, and means for collecting information from previously inaccessible sources.

Technical focus areas for these programs include sensing (novel sensors, novel modalities, distributed sensing, multimodal sensing), sensor platforms (sensor integration, autonomous systems, platform power), communications (transmission of voice and data), and computation (high performance and edge computing).

Information on IARPA's research programs can be found at www.iarpa.gov/research-programs

This position is term limited.

Advance the Office of Collections strategy to illuminate program concepts targeted at the intersection of emerging technological opportunity and IC needs to develop capabilities for future intelligence advantage and avoid technical surprise.

Cultivate and foster an environment for IARPA Program Managers to be successful in the formulation, stand up, execution, and transition of high-risk /high-payoff research programs.

Identify and recruit highly qualified people who have the potential to be outstanding IARPA Program Managers and mentor them through the interview process, which includes making the case for new research programs.

Lead and manage the portfolio of research programs and studies within the office, ensuring alignment and synchronization with IARPA's tactical and strategic goals.

Foster collaboration with transition partners throughout the IC to mutually share knowledge and experience; leverage these relationships to help ensure IC relevance of the office's programs, and to effect transition of results of the programs.

Maintain technical awareness of major technical and scientific developments in areas relevant to the office, both within and outside the IC.

Oversee and lead all activities of the office, including budget planning and financial execution, management of government personnel, oversight of contractor teams, and general office operations.

Represent IARPA in external settings, such as meetings and conferences.

Establish, guide, and oversee ODNI and IC working groups, boards, and committees, as needed, to support accomplishment of corporate and strategic goals.

Perform personnel management responsibilities with a focus on building a high-performance workforce; promote team building and a collaborative work environment; ensure goals and performance objectives are understood; assess performance and provide timely feedback, recognition, and remediation.

Provide leadership, guidance, and oversight to staff to elicit, analyze, and define customer/stakeholder requirements, support development of investment plans, and ensure development of business cases spanning multiple Intelligence Community organizations to meet stakeholder requirements.

Lead a professional staff in successfully defining and managing complex programs and projects that may include ill-defined requirements, ambiguity, parallel tasks, multiple dependencies, high risks, and multiple interfaces; ensure timelines, costs, deliverables, and outcomes are achieved according to approved plans.

Conditions of employment

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

• You must be registered for the Selective Service, if applicable.
• You must be a U.S. citizen and at least 18 years of age.
• You must be willing to move to the Washington Metropolitan Area (WMA).
• You must successfully complete a medical and psychological exam, a polygraph interview, and a comprehensive background investigation.

PROBATIONARY & TRIAL PERIODS

Employees newly appointed to the Senior National Intelligence Service (SNIS) are subject to a twelve (12)-month probationary period to assess their ability to perform assigned duties and responsibilities at a level of excellence expected of a senior executive. For permanent employees newly hired into the ODNI, the probationary period will run concurrently with the first twelve (12) months of a new employee's two (2)-year trial period.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs)

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show that you possess the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and the Intelligence Community Senior Officer Core Qualification (ICSOCQ) in your resume. Please see qualification section.

FREE RESPONSE ESSAY QUESTIONS

All applicants must answer the following four short, free response essay questions. Responses cannot exceed 200 words per question. Submitting your responses to the following questions, you certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or AI.

1. How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience.
2. In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes.
3. How would you help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you and explain how you would help implement them if hired.
4. How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position.

Qualifications

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs)

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show that you possess the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and the Intelligence Community Senior Officer Core Qualification (ICSOCQ) listed below in your resume. RESUMES MUST NOT EXCEED TWO (2) PAGES. Resumes over the two (2)-page limit will not be reviewed and will be disqualified. Your resume should include examples of experience, educations, and accomplishments applicable to the qualifications. If your resume does not demonstrate evidence of these qualifications, you may not receive consideration for the position. For more information regarding ECQs, please visit the Executive Core Qualifications page on the OPM website.

ECQ 1: Commitment to the Rule of Law and Principles of the American Founding
This core qualification requires a demonstrated knowledge of the American system of government, commitment to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and commitment to serve the American people.

ECQ 2: Driving Efficiency
This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to strategically and efficiently manage resources, budget effectively, cut wasteful spending, and pursue efficiency through process and technological upgrades.

ECQ 3: Merit and Competence
This core qualification involves the demonstrated knowledge, ability and technical competence to effectively and reliably produce work that is of exceptional quality.

ECQ 4: Leading People
This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a group toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals, and to drive a high-performance, high-accountability culture. This includes, when necessary, the ability to lead people through change and to hold individuals accountable.

ECQ 5: Achieving Results
This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to achieve both individual and organizational results, and to align results to stated goals from superiors.

ISCOCQ: Leading the Intelligence Enterprise
This core qualification involves the ability to integrate resources, information, interests, and activities effectively in support of the Intelligence Community's mission and to lead and leverage cross-organizational collaborative networks to achieve significant mission results. Inherent to this senior officer qualification is a deep understanding of the intelligence enterprise and a shared commitment to the IC's core values.

Note: If you are a member of the SES or have been certified through successful participation in an OPM-approved SES Candidate Development Program (SESCDP), or have SES reinstatement eligibility, you do not need to respond to the ECQs. Instead, you should attach proof (e.g., SF-50, Certification by OPM's SES Qualification Review Board (QRB)) or your eligibility for noncompetitive appointment to the SES.

Mandatory Requirements:

Superior expertise in research and development in at least one science and technology area(s) relevant to the office mission.

Expert at developing and executing research programs with metrics, milestones, testing, and evaluation leading to new capabilities.

Master's degree in the sciences or engineering, and 10 years of experience

Excellent interpersonal skills include the ability to build and foster networks within and outside the IC as well as earn and maintain credibility and trust from senior leadership and subordinates.

Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to convey new complex technologies and their benefits to scientific and non-scientific audiences.

Experience with contract administration, acquisition lifecycle and documentation, fiscal management, and budget execution for the purpose of program planning and administration.

Superior ability to effectively direct tasking, assess and manage performance, collaborate on goal setting, and support personal and professional development of all levels of personnel.

Desired Requirements:

Doctorate degree in the sciences or engineering.

Expert knowledge of the IC's mission, objectives, organization, and current intelligence analysis issues and functions.

Awareness of the technical capabilities in industry, national labs and academia that could be brought to bear on IC R&D challenges.

Experience as an Approving Official and as a Source Selection Authority.

Demonstrated expertise in contract administration, fiscal management, and budget execution for the purpose of program planning and administration

Current active Top-Secret clearance with a Polygraph or have held one within the past 2 years.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you are among the best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview. After reviewing your resume and supporting documentation, a determination will be made. You must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement.

A complete application package must include the following:

a. RESUME: Resumes must be no longer than two (2) pages in length. Resumes longer than two (2) pages will be removed from consideration. To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, your resume must show that you possess the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and the Intelligence Community Senior Officer Core Qualification (ICSOCQ) listed in the Qualifications section. Your resume should include examples of experience, education, and accomplishments applicable to the qualifications. If your resume does not demonstrate evidence of these qualifications, you may not receive consideration for the position.

b. ESSAY QUESTION RESPONSES: The responses cannot exceed 200 words per question (please see questions in the Requirements section above). By submitting your responses to these questions, you certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or AI (such as a large language model [LLM]).

c. COVER LETTER: Applicants must submit a cover letter as a supplement to the resume to elaborate on their qualifications and previous work performed.

d. CURRENT SF-50: Federal Government employees must provide their official most recent SF-50 (i.e., dated within the last 52 weeks from the closing date of this vacancy announcement). SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" is used to verify to verify current federal status, position, title, grade, and organization of record. If your SF-50(s) does not provide the information needed to make a final determination for qualification, you will be found ineligible for the position.

e. POSITION NUMBER: Reference the position number on each document submitted.

Next steps