Chief Network Division

What You Will Be Doing

This position serves as a Chief in the Networks Division within the Communications Systems Directorate Network Services Group, reporting directly to the Director, Network Services Group (D/NSG). The Chief serves as the NSG Networks Program Manager and leads strategic planning, acquisition, design, development, operations, maintenance, and sustainment engineering of the NRO's globally deployed Layer 2 and Layer 3 network requirements and associated devices for deploying connectivity between space intelligence collection downlink locations and processing/dissemination locations. The Chief is accountable for execution of all delegated engineering and program management activities required to provide secure, reliable, and resilient commodity-based NRO enterprise network services for all classifications and security domains in accordance with approved cost, schedule, and performance baselines. Services support network requirements for the NRO and other IC and DoW mission partners.

This leadership position oversees 100+ civilian and contractor personnel in the delivery of telecommunications, computer system, operations, and Information Technology (IT) maintenance. The position is responsible for ensuring alignment and integration of divisional priorities and initiatives with NRO HQ, the Communications System Directorate, and mission partners. The position serves as a member of the senior leadership team as the COMM Network Division Chief. This supervisory position will lead the workforce through significant cultural and environmental change, IT modernization, and continued mission growth.

The selected candidate will maintain a working knowledge of the current networks and IT technology trends and be able to determine how to best utilize these technologies within the NRO. The selected candidate will be required to effectively work with technical partners across the NRO and the IC, and must display a high level of initiative and corporate thinking. The selected candidate must be enthusiastic for affecting change and willing to explore new ideas for providing quality products and services. The selected candidate may be called upon to mentor developmental level officers in addition to leading focused contractor project teams. The selected candidate should be a motivated self-starter who is willing to take the lead on a variety of activities.

Duties Include, But Are Not Limited To The Following

• Serves as the NSG Networks Program Manager with oversight of acquisition programs and projects in accordance with documented cost, schedule, and performance baselines.
• Oversees the performance of a government team of more than 10 which are a mix of CIA, USAF, USN and NRO CADRE along with the performance of a contractor team of more than 550 FTE that provide network engineering and service delivery for enterprise and mission network solutions, including data centers.
• Responsible for the Program Management and Engineering to provide network connectivity between space intelligence collection, and processing/dissemination locations, spanning multiple launch bases and ground stations for the NRO, DoW and IC.
• Serves as the primary Approving Official for Level II Network Program Requests and Contract Actions.
• Executes NSG-wide systems engineering activities on behalf of the Chief Engineer including Requirements Management (Requests for Change (RFC), Requested Item (RITM)), Schedule, Configuration, Readiness, and Risk Management processes.
• Facilitates NSG Engineering Review Board (ERB) and Technical Review Board (NTRB) to review and approve network requirements and solutions.
• Responsible for effective communications with internal and external partners and stakeholders to include other directorates and offices across the NRO, IC mission partners, foreign mission partners, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, DoW and Congress.
• Extensively coordinates with mission partners both internal and external to the NRO and represents NSG at high-level meetings with MOD, GEOINT, SIGINT, SAO and mission partners across the IC and DoW daily to complete service requests, solve incidents, issues and problems and coordinate network connectivity requirements.
• Appoints a primary government Information System Owner (ISO) responsible for ensuring completion of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Risk Management Framework (RMF) steps 1-6 to implement cybersecurity controls and maintain compliance with cybersecurity requirements for all assigned Network Program information systems and assets from inception through disposal.
• Acquires network Communication Security (COMSEC) devices used for bulk encryption for the NRO network infrastructure within NSG's Area of Responsibility. The types and quantity required are determined by the COMSEC requirements of the network infrastructure.
• Ensures that Network Program asset lifecycles are carefully monitored, funded, acquired, planned, executed and retired in order to prevent critical assets from exceeding their End of Service Life (EoSL) to maintain service reliability and minimize the risk of security vulnerabilities or disruptions to mission operations.
• Ensures that all project related changes or Maintenance Activities (MA) are thoroughly tested, coordinated, approved, closed and documented. All changes shall be assessed by operations personnel to identify and deconflict any potentially adverse impacts on mission operations or network services.
• Supports resolution of service operation issues, to include Event, Incident and Problem management; monitors negative trends and supports complex troubleshooting and root cause analysis.
• Monitors negative program performance trends and establishes Service Improvement Plans (SIPs) with specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure continual improvement against service performance and service targets across the organization.
• Responsible for the budget execution of the engineering and service delivery portfolio.
• Leads, enables and develops assigned personnel consistent with NRO policies and their career service requirements.

Required Qualifications

• PM/COTR Level II certification (or ability to obtain within 6 months of assignment)
• Demonstrated skill in applying program management and systems engineering principles and practices to successfully achieve program goals, including Requirements Management, Configuration Management, and Readiness Management processes
• Working knowledge of NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF) and ability to oversee completion of RMF steps 1-6 to implement cybersecurity controls and maintain compliance with cybersecurity requirements for information systems across their lifecycle
• Understanding of NSG governance forums and decision-making processes (Engineering Review Board, Technical Review Board, Network Management Panel)
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical and programmatic information effectively across organizational boundaries to diverse audiences, including senior leadership, mission partners, and Congress; ability to construct clear, concise recommendations for organizational change and articulate facts and rational arguments to persuade and enlist support of stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to lead, enable, and develop assigned personnel consistent with NRO policies and career service requirements, including experience managing multi-sector workforces (government and contractor personnel), establishing individual development plans, and providing constructive feedback to maximize team effectiveness

Desired Qualifications

• Relevant experience in Business Management, Public Administration, Organizational Leadership, or a closely related discipline
• Experience with strategic planning, business case development, and return on investment analysis for technology programs
• Experience managing large, multi-sector workforces including government personnel and contractor teams (>100 FTE)
• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement Service Improvement Plans (SIPs) with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure continual improvement against service performance targets
• Experience with NSG or similar IC/DoW network operations and engineering, including Service Level Agreement (SLA) and Service Level Objective (SLO) development and monitoring
• Professional certifications in program/project management (PMP, PgMP) or service management (ITIL Expert, ITIL Managing Professional)