Associate Director, Trust Decision (Adjudications)

Summary The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) is a separate Agency of the Department of War (DoW) under the direction, authority, and control of the Under Secretary of War for Intelligence and Security (USW (I&S)). This position is located in DCSA's Personnel Vetting, Trust Decision Office and reports to DCSA's Director. This is a Tier 1 position. Responsibilities The Associate Director, Trust Decision (Adjudications) will serve as the head of the Trust Decision organization and be the principal advisor to senior management on how best to assure delivery of timely, consistent, legally sufficient, risk-informed trust determinations and security review services for the Department of War and other federal customers. In this regard, the incumbent will advise on and research ways and means of effecting business transformation consistent with the DCSA strategic and business plans. Responsibilities Include: Lead the Trust Decision organization in support of DCSA's personnel-vetting mission and the Director's strategic intent by translating agency priorities into measurable outcomes and aligning workforce, technology, and funding to mission demand. Directs a high-volume, knowledge-based service-delivery operation responsible for adjudicative determinations, issue resolution, and security reviews by establishing a disciplined operating system that connects demand, inventory, and capacity to mission commitments. Lead outcome-based capacity planning and monitor performance standards specifically targeting defect rate, exit rate, capacity utilization, and backlog. Uses operational indicators to mitigate emerging risks, direct recovery plans, and ensure the resilience of mission-essential services. Establishes an enterprise quality-management system measuring accuracy, consistency, and systemic risk while ensuring all adjudicative and security-review activities fully comply with applicable statutes, federal directives, and security policies. Analyze requests for additional and supplemental information to develop continuous-improvement strategies, improve performance analytics, and partner with investigative leaders to produce adjudicative ready products that minimize avoidable rework and delay. Leads the transformation of Trust Decision processes, services, and operating models by partnering with technical, acquisition, and security leaders to define and prioritize operational requirements. Establish business ownership for technology investments in workflow tools, automation, and artificial intelligence, utilizing pilots and phased implementations to ensure these capabilities address validated mission problems with measurable benefits. Modernizes data systems to improve decision-making quality while ensuring that human judgment remains central to consequential trust decisions and that all automated processes are secure, explainable, and fully compliant with law and policy. Serves as DCSA's senior Trust Decision interface, representing the agency in senior-level governance forums, negotiations, and interagency initiatives with DoW components, federal customers, and intelligence partners. Build strategic coalitions to resolve cross-organizational challenges affecting timeliness, quality, reciprocity, and technology while establishing clear service expectations and transparent reporting on performance and risk. Promotes reciprocity and consistency across the personnel-vetting enterprise, communicating directly and credibly regarding performance trade-offs, resource constraints, and practical solutions Develops, justifies, and executes the Trust Decision budget by connecting resource requests to workload forecasts, productivity, and risk reduction to prioritize hiring, technology, and contract investments. Oversee contractor performance to ensure support is integrated without displacing inherently governmental responsibilities, while maintaining sound internal controls and proactively identifying resource trade-offs for informed senior-leader decision-making. Preserves the integrity and independence of case-level determinations while improving the broader systems, standards, and training that safeguard national security and public trust. Leads, develops, and holds accountable a diverse workforce of subordinate executives, managers, and technical experts by building a high-performance culture grounded in integrity, accountability, and inclusion. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs) and TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (TQs): There is NO requirement to prepare a narrative statement specifically addressing the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) or the Technical Qualifications (TQs). However, to meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show that you possess the ECQS and TQS within your resume - NOT TO EXCEED 2 PAGES. Resumes over the 2-page limit, will be disqualified. EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs): ECQ 1 - Commitment to the Rule of Law and the 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. TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (TQs): 1. Demonstrated experience leading a high-volume, complex services business or knowledge-work. This requires experience integrating workforce planning, multi-million dollar budgets, responsibility for a P&L business, and contracted support to meet mission demand. Experience making high-consequence decisions within legal, policy, and security constraints while building strategic coalitions across internal and external stakeholders. 2. Demonstrated experience leading major business or mission transformations in a highly regulated or high-consequence environment. This requires experience leveraging performance data, rigorous operating reviews, and leader accountability to improve throughput, backlog, and quality metrics. Experience driving technology-enabled change such as process redesign, automated workflows, and data analytics while maintaining human judgment in critical decision-making. Education This position does not have a positive education requirement. Additional Information Other Notes: If selected, Federal employees currently serving in the competitive service must acknowledge that they will voluntarily leave the competitive service by accepting an offer of employment for a DCIPS excepted service positions. If selected, non-DCIPS candidates must acknowledge in writing that the position they have been selected for is in the excepted service and covered by DCIPS. Selection under this appointment authority does not confer civil service competitive status. Veteran's preference is not applicable to the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service (DISES). Joint Duty Credit: All DCSA executive level positions require Joint Duty Credit. Only those candidates who meet the Joint Duty Credit requirement will be eligible to compete/be considered for a senior executive position. Employees will receive joint duty credit for many almost any rotational assignments assignment to another IC component and may also be eligible to receive credit for service outside the IC (military, other government, or private sector) that was at least at the GS/GG-1113 or DCIPS Pay Band 3 level, that and it occurred on or after September 11, 2001. An external candidate, if selected, will be required to immediately apply for Joint Duty credit. Note: Employees without Joint Duty Credit may apply for the position and can be considered. If selected, a waiver would be required prior to final appointment. DCSA seniors without Joint Duty at the same tier level may lateral into the position if selected without requesting a waiver. This position is subject to an initial drug screening, and random testing thereafter. A negative drug test result must be received by HR within 30 calendar days after the EOD (i.e., start date). The selectee's inability successfully pass; or refusal to conduct the test may result in: 1) the tentative or FJO being withdrawn during the recruitment process; or 2) subsequently being removed from Federal service for failure to meet a condition of employment. You may be required to sign a "Drug Test Statement of Understanding" if you are selected for this position.