Summary

The Office Director for the Language Services Office in the Under Secretary for Management's Executive Office (M/EX/LS) leads foreign language services supporting the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, White House, and other senior U.S. Government officials. The position leads approximately 60 employees and more than 1,000 contract linguists, providing critical interpreting and translation services for U.S. foreign policy, national security, and diplomatic engagements.

Duties

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The Office Director for M/EX/LS serves as the Department's senior executive authority for foreign language services, providing strategic leadership and operational oversight for interpreting, translation, and language support for the President, Secretary of State, White House, and other senior U.S. Government officials. Key duties include:

• Leads the strategic direction, policy development, and operations of the Language Services Office, establishing standards and priorities for the Department's interpreting and translation programs and serving as the final Departmental authority for the comparison and certification of bilingual and multilingual treaties, agreements, and official documents.

• Directs a global workforce of approximately 60 employees and coordinates language support for major international conferences, negotiations, and other high-level diplomatic engagements, ensuring effective management of interpreters, translators, and support personnel operating across multiple teams, locations, and shifts.

• Provides executive oversight of interagency language service partnerships with the White House, national security community, foreign affairs agencies, and other Federal stakeholders, negotiating support agreements and aligning resources, budgets, timelines, and operations with U.S. foreign policy and national security priorities.

• Directs an extensive contractor program of more than 1,000 independent linguists and other language personnel, overseeing recruitment, testing, training, contracting, rate-setting, and program administration, as well as the acquisition of interpreting and translation services in accordance with applicable Department of State and Federal requirements.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• Verification of Employment Eligibility in the United States is required.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI security clearance.
• Requires a financial disclosure statement, OGE-278.
• One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.

Qualifications

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

As a basic requirement for entry into the SES, applicants must provide evidence of progressively responsible executive leadership and supervisory experience that is indicative of senior executive level management capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) listed below. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-14/15 grade level in the federal service or its equivalent in the private sector.

The application process to recruit for this position is the RESUME BASED method. You must show that you possess the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Mandatory Technical Qualifications ( MTQs) related to this position withinyour resume - NOT TO EXCEED 2 PAGES. Resumes over the 2-page limit will not be reviewed and will be disqualified. If your resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of these qualifications, you may not receive consideration for the position. Please submit your 2-page resume as an additional attachment. It is strongly recommended that you submit your 2-page resume in PDF format.

There is NO requirement to prepare a narrative statement specifically addressing ECQs or MTQs. Separate narratives will not be accepted or reviewed.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs):

YOUR RESUME (NOT TO EXCEED TWO PAGES) MUST CLEARLY DOCUMENT AND DEMONSTRATE THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE OF YOUR ECQs :

ECQ 1 - Commitment to 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.

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 should attach proof (e.g., SF-50, Certification by OPM's SES Qualifications Review Board (QRB)) of your eligibility for noncompetitive appointment to the SES.

MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION (MTQ)s:

IN ADDITION, YOU WILL BE EVALUATED ON ALL OF THE FOLLOWING MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION (MTQ):

Your responses to the MTQ should be embedded/addressed within your resume not to exceed two pages.

MTQ 1

Demonstrated experience leading or directing language translation and interpretation services for high-level, high-stakes, or time-critical engagements involving senior government, diplomatic, political, business, or other organizational leaders. Experience must include planning and coordinating the language-services requirements of complex engagements; anticipating and resolving linguistic, cultural, protocol, logistical, and operational issues; coordinating professional linguists and other support personnel across multiple teams, functions, or shifts; and working directly with senior officials, political appointees, executives, or their representatives to ensure accurate, timely, and appropriately tailored language support.

MTQ 2

Demonstrated experience managing a complex language-services program or comparable business operation involving multiple specialized professionals, service providers, or contractors. Experience must include establishing and implementing technical and quality standards; evaluating professional performance and service quality; allocating resources among competing requirements; and developing or implementing processes, agreements, or other mechanisms to ensure reliable service delivery. Experience must demonstrate the ability to make authoritative technical and operational decisions across a broad portfolio of services and to sustain service delivery in environments characterized by changing requirements, competing priorities, and significant operational consequences.

NOTE: Your demonstrated leadership ability and the evidence of the ECQs and MTQs must be clearly shown in your resume. A separate narrative statement will not be accepted.

A sample 2-page resume that incorporates ECQs and MTQs can be viewed on this link (indexed at page 16 - 17), "Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications" and "Senior Executive Service Qualifications & Fundamental-Competencies".

YOU WILL BE ELIMINATED FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION IF YOU FAIL TO FULLY DEMONSTRATE EACH ECQ AND MTQ AND IF YOUR RESUME EXCEEDS TWO (2) PAGES.

Current or Former (within last 5 years) Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize any employment offers made to current or former (within the last 5 years) political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Noncareer SES employees in the Executive Branch. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Noncareer SES employee, please indicate this in your resume. Serving in a Schedule A, Schedule C, or Noncareer SES appointment WILL NOT eliminate you from consideration.

Additional information

For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at [redacted] or [redacted].

Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of its mission, the Department of State requires each and every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation for Top Secret/Sensitive Compartment Information clearance as a condition of placement in this Special Sensitive position. This review includes financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.