Qualifications
The law requires that the executive qualifications of each new career
appointee to the Senior Executive Service (SES) be certified by an
independent Qualifications Review Board based on criteria established by the
Office of Personnel Management. The Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs)
describe the leadership skills needed to succeed in the SES; they also
reinforce the concept of an "SES corporate culture."
This concept holds that the Government needs executives who can provide strategic leadership and whose commitment to public policy and administration transcends their
commitment to a specific agency mission or an individual profession.
Executives with a "corporate" view of Government share values that are
grounded in the fundamental Government ideals of the Constitution: they
embrace the dynamics of American Democracy, an approach to governance that
provides a continuing vehicle for change within the Federal Government.
OPM has identified five fundamental executive qualifications. The
ECQs were designed to assess executive experience and potential—not
technical expertise. They measure whether an individual has the
broad executive skills needed to succeed in a variety of SES
positions—not whether they are the most superior
candidate for a particular position. (This latter determination
is made by the employing agency.)
Executive Core Qualifications
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Download
the SES Qualifications Guide
Download the SES Guide in pdf format! The 32-page Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications (sometimes referred to as the "handbook") is now available as a downloadable pdf file.
Download the Qualifications Guide as a pdf
OR:
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Successful performance in the SES requires competence in each ECQ. The ECQs
are interdependent; successful executives bring all five to bear when
providing service to the Nation.
The basic definition for each ECQ is supplemented by Key Characteristics,
which reflect possession of the executive qualification, and those
Leadership Competencies which are particularly important to it. Candidates
do not need to have experience in each Key Characteristic to demonstrate
possession of the ECQ. Rather, the candidate's overall record (professional
and volunteer experience, education and training, awards, accomplishments,
and potential) should indicate that they have the knowledge, skills, and
abilities needed to succeed in the SES.
Based on extensive research of government and private sector executives, the
Leadership Competencies are the personal and professional attributes which
underpin the ECQs. By demonstrating possession of an ECQ, a candidate also
demonstrates possession of its underlying competencies. Candidates need not
address these competencies in their qualifications write-ups. However,
experience and training that strengthen these competencies will enhance a
candidate's overall qualifications for the SES.
Announcements of individual Senior Executive
Service (SES) vacancies and SES Candidate Development Programs (CDP's)
include the ECQ's. Go to USAJOBS for information on SES and CDP
opportunities. The Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications provides
detailed information about executive qualifications and how to complete an
SES application.
The web pages of the Federal Executive Institute and Management Development
Centers have information on the developmental programs offered to enhance
the leadership skills of Government executives and managers.
You may email questions concerning the ECQ's and the Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications.
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