Summary
This position is assigned to Fitness, Sports, Deployed Forces Support (N921); Fleet Readiness; CNIC, Navy Region Southwest, San Diego, CA. Incumbent serves as a Performance Specialist providing training to active-duty military members to develop and use the cognitive skills necessary to perform optimally in training and operations, with the primary objective of improving overall readiness. This position manages and provides education based on cognitive performance and tailored training programs.
Duties
In order to qualify for this position, resumes must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of the position. Applicant resumes are the key means for evaluating skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position therefore, applicants are encouraged to be clear and specific when describing experience.
Duties include but are not limited to:
- Trains and educates active-duty military personnel, in individual and group settings, in specific cognitive, mental, behavioral, psychosocial, perceptual, learning, adaptive thinking, human engagements, and emotional control skills and strategies, including understanding, acquisition, and retention.
- Develops and facilitates a comprehensive course and educational curriculum, along with supporting materials, to educate personnel on cognitive performance.
- Assists and advises the Human Performance (HP) Director in matters relating to mental performance, exercise, and sports psychology.
- Provides information about cognitive performance, exercise, and sports psychology factors in sports, exercise and physical activity.
- Trains and educates active-duty military personnel on goal setting, performance profiling, visualization, performance development, and planning.
- Participates in periodic meetings to review human performance training provided to members and identifies opportunities for improvement.
- Provides input to and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams on Sailor readiness.
- Attends and participates in meetings with stakeholders. Collaborates with Health and Human Performance Optimization (HHPO) program staff to enhance the quality and effectiveness of mental and human performance development and expertise delivered.
- Conducts periodic literature reviews to ensure HHPO stays current with provision of care.
- Supports research conducted in coordination with the HP Director.
- Assists in developing and maintaining practice guidelines to ensure consistency of service across the HHPO program.
- Develops and implements training materials to support non-physical performance optimization.
- Evaluates training effectiveness and adjusts as necessary. Reviews feedback from military members and reports findings to HP Director
- Collects and reports data in support of cognitive performance optimization.
- Operationalizes resilience core competencies.
- Identifies and cultivates existing mental skill sets to assist the member in performing optimally during physical, technical, and tactical training in preparation for combat operations, command, and life stressors.
- Recognizes and addresses mental barriers to physical performance by focusing on stress and emotional regulation; normalizes physiological responses to stress, to include combat situations; conducts tactical breathing and arousal regulation, team cohesion, imagery, and provides cognitive/learning strategies.
- Participates in periodic in-service training.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Must pass all applicable records and background check.
- Must successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. Any discrepancies must be resolved as a condition of employment.
Qualifications
Resumes must include information which demonstrates experience and knowledge, skills, and ability (KSAs) as they relate to this position. Applicants are encouraged to be clear and specific when describing their experience level and KSAs.
A qualified candidate must possess all of the following:
- A bachelor's degree or higher with a major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position (e.g., Exercise Science, Kinesiology, Physical or Occupational Therapy, Health Education, Physician Assistant, Dietitian, etc.)?
- At least 3 years of specialized experience in applying a wide range of concepts, principles, and methodologies of the therapeutic and cognitive fields to assess the condition of individuals and advise on optimal functioning?
- A current certification in basic Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) to include Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training.
A qualified candidate also possesses the following:
- Professional knowledge of, and skill in applying, a wide range of concepts, principles, and methodologies of the therapeutic and cognitive fields sufficient to perform difficult but well-precedented assignments assessing the condition of individuals and advising on optimal functioning.
- Professional knowledge of, and skill in applying, a wide range of concepts, principles, and practices of cognitive performance sufficient to serve as a contributing member of an interdisciplinary treatment team.
- Knowledge of cognitive processes, including memory, attention, perception, learning, and decision making as they relate to human performance in military contexts.
- Knowledge of and skill in the application of psychological and behavioral principles affecting emotional regulation, stress management, and mental resilience during military operations and physical training.
- Knowledge of cognitive performance, mental resilience, and behavioral sciences and their applicability to military personnel training and operational readiness.
- Knowledge of concepts from exercise psychology, sports psychology, and physical activity's impact on mental performance including goal setting, visualization performance profiling and strategic mental training.
- Knowledge of and skill in applying concepts, principles, and methodologies of a human performance discipline sufficient to perform/monitor a full-range of specialized tests and conventional procedures for which there are standard methods and techniques.
- Knowledge of, and skill in applying, a wide range of concepts, principles, and practices of mental health coaching sufficient to apply advanced techniques, approaches, and procedures to facilitate individual goal setting, performance profiling, visualization, performance development, and planning.
- Skill in implementing strategies to improve mental toughness and endurance in high-stress environments.
- Skill in creating tailored education material and curricula that integrate cognitive performance and human engagement principles to improve overall readiness.
- Skill in the use of Microsoft Office Programs (e.g., Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook).
- Ability to design, develop, and facilitate comprehensive training programs focused on cognitive performance, stress management and adaptive thinking for active duty.
- Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
Education
As a minimum education requirement for this series, a qualified candidate must possess the following:
- A bachelor's degree or higher with a major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position (e.g., Exercise Science, Kinesiology, Physical or Occupational Therapy, Health Education, Physician Assistant, Dietitian, etc.)? This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
All resumes will be reviewed to determine if they meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this announcement, and will be rated based on the information provided in the resume to determine the level of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) related to the job requirements. Using the qualifications of the position, a predetermined rating criterion of KSAs will be used for each resume. Best qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager. The selecting official may choose to conduct interviews.
How to Apply
To be considered for this vacancy you must apply and complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 09/22/2025 to receive consideration.
To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12801414
It is your responsibility to ensure your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date.
Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Applicant
To verify or check the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account. Once logged in, the Welcome screen lists your applications, your application status and the date it was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status
DON is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, genetic information, reprisal, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or any other non-merit factor. The DON provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. Applicants with disabilities who believe they may require reasonable accommodation(s) should email their request to usn.ncr.cnicwashingtondc.mbx.naf-usastaffing@us.navy.mil to ensure proper consideration is given.
Next steps
Using the required qualifications of the position, a standardized rating and ranking criteria of knowledge, skills, and abilities will be used to screen and assess each application.
If you provided an email address, you will receive an email message acknowledging receipt of your application. Times may vary during the hiring process, as your application status updates/changes you will be notified with a notification letter via email.
Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., Spam Blocker, etc.), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.