Employment Systems Used by CDC/ATSDR




COMPETITIVE CIVIL SERVICE

PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE (PHS) COMMISSIONED CORPS (CC) OFFICERS

SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE (SES)

SENIOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH SERVICE (SBRS)

SERVICE FELLOWSHIPS

REGULAR FELLOWSHIPS





COMPETITIVE CIVIL SERVICE

Most CDC/ATSDR employees are appointed in the competitive civil service. The competitive civil service is usually limited to U.S. citizens. To be employed through this system, individuals must be current or former Federal employees; or must be eligible for a non-competitive appointment; or, must apply and be selected through a process called delegated examining. Appointment through delegated examining is the most common method of obtaining permanent employment with CDC. Delegated examining at CDC is used to employ individuals in the competitive service in a wide variety of professional, technical, administrative, clerical, and trades and crafts positions. Persons interested in competitive service appointments must apply in response to delegated examining vacancy announcements. For ease of identification, All CDC delegated examining vacancy announcements (also known as external announcements) begin with the prefix “DE.”

The competitive civil service is a “rank in position” system. The vast majority of competitive civil service positions at CDC are covered by the General Schedule (GS), which are graded from GS-01 to GS-15. A position is assigned a grade based on the level of the duties and responsibilities assigned and the qualifications required to perform the work. All 15 grades have a 10-step salary range. See attached year 2001 General Schedule salary charts for positions in the various CDC locations. GS salaries vary slightly based on geographic locality. In most cases, employees may only be paid at the first step of the grade to which they are appointed. Under certain circumstances, appointments may be made above the minimum step, based on superior qualifications of the appointee.

Special salary incentives are provided for certain hard to fill positions. This includes either Physicians Special Pay (PSP) or Physicians Comparability Allowance (PCA) for positions that require a medical degree(MD) or a Recruitment or Relocation Bonus for very well qualified candidates in a variety of professional and administrative occupations.

Additional references:

HRMO website at http://www.cdc.gov/hrmo/hrmo.htm




PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE (PHS) COMMISSIONED CORPS (CC) OFFICERS

Many of the top officials at CDC, especially many high ranking medical professionals, are officers of the PHS Commissioned Corps. U.S. citizenship is required. Currently, CDC employs about 900 CC Officers, about 500 of whom are Medical Doctors. The mission of the PHS Commissioned Corps is to provide highly-trained and mobile health professionals who carry out programs to promote the health of the Nation, understand and prevent disease and injury, assure safe and effective drugs and medical devices, and deliver health service to Federal beneficiaries, and furnish health expertise in time of war or other national or international emergencies.

As one of the seven Uniformed Services of the United States, the commissioned corps is a specialized rank in person, career system designed to attract, retain, and develop health professionals who may be assigned to Federal, State, or local Agencies or international organizations to accomplish its mission. The Commissioned Corps provides a variety of employment opportunities for health professionals at CDC, where officers are employed in ranks O-1 through O-8. Officers are generally appointed at ranks O-2 or O-3.

Commissioned Officer salaries are based on a variety of factors including rank, years of service, and professional speciality. Salaries generally compare very favorably with comparable civil service positions.Additional information about the Corps, including how to make application, may be found at the website http://www.hhs.gov/phs/corps.



SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE (SES)

The SES is a small group of senior level civil service employees.CDC is limited to 30 SES positions. Like other competitive service appointees, the SES requires U.S. citizenship. The SES is a combined "rank in position" and "rank in person" system. Therefore, SES positions require a very high level of duties and responsibilities, and members of the SES must have extensive experience in management and/or policy setting. Grades for SES employees range from ES-1 to ES-6, and salaries in Atlanta range from $114,335 to $130, 200. Some SES employees are eligible for additional methods of compensation, including Recruitment or Performance bonuses or Presidential Executive Rank Awards. Vacant SES positions are filled through competitive announcements and competition is keen.SES vacancy announcements may be accessed through the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/hrmo/hrmo.htm



SENIOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH SERVICE (SBRS)

The SBRS was established to attract and retain outstanding scientific researchers to the Federal Service. CDC/ATSDR has been allocated 73 SBRS slots. SBRS appointments are excepted from normal competitive civil service procedures, but CDC searches extensively to identify the best candidates. Only U.S. citizens may be appointed permanently, but non-citizens from allied countries may receive term appointments in the SBRS. Applicants for SBRS positions must possess a Doctoral degree and be identified as outstanding in his/her field by the CDC/ATSDR SBRS Credentials Committee. SBRS is a "rank in person" system with salary based largely on the appointees professional credentials. Salaries of SBRS members may range from $83,559 to $157,000. SBRS vacancy announcements may be accessed through the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/hrmo/hrmo.htm



SERVICE FELLOWSHIPS

Title 42 of the U.S. Code provides special, excepted appointing authorities that permit the CDC and other Divisions of the Public Health Service to establish Fellowship programs to employ persons in basic or applied research in medical, physical, mathematical, social, biometric, epidemiological, behavioral, computer science or other fields where scientific research is directly related to our mission. Employment of Fellows under Title 42 authority is excepted from normal civil service competitive requirements. CDC Service Fellows are considered Federal employees with most of the rights and benefits enjoyed by competitive civil servants. Fellows receive temporary appointments not to exceed 5 years, and these appointments may be extended beyond five years. Most CDC Fellowships are open to citizens and non-citizens. Pay-setting for Fellows is fairly flexible and is based on both the level of work performed and the qualifications of the individual. Some specific Service Fellowship are as follows:

  1. Distinguished Service Fellows: These appointments are rare. Appointees are"eminent" international authorities. They must possess at least a Doctoral degree and 6 years of professional experience. Pay is set by the CDC Executive Resources Board and is likely to exceed the GS-15 Step 10 level.
  2. Senior Service Fellows: Appointees must have a Doctoral degree and related experience. Pay is set by the employing Center, Institute, or Office (CIO), with HRMO concurrence, and is in the range from GS-13 step 1 to GS-15 step 10.
  3. Associate Service Fellow: Appointees must have at least a Masters Degree and related experience. Pay is set by the employing CIO, with HRMO concurrence, and is in the range from GS-9 step 1 to GS-12 step 10.
  4. Public Health Prevention Service (PHPS) Fellowship: Each year CDC employs about 25 individuals as PHPS Fellows. This is a 3-year program for the further development of masters level health professionals. Program participants receive rotational work assignments at CDC and one or more state or local health departments.The program is limited to U.S. citizens.Most PHPS Fellows are appointed at a salary equivalent to GS-9 step 1.




REGULAR FELLOWSHIPS

These are training fellowships, which are open to citizens and non-citizens. Appointments are made not to exceed 1 year, but may be extended. Regular Fellows are not considered Federal employees. They receive a basic stipend and limited benefits. The qualifications required and the basic stipends provided regular fellows are as follows:

  1. Bachelor Degree - range of GS-5 step 1 to step 10.
  2. Masters Degree - range of GS-7 step 1 to step 10.
  3. Doctoral Degree - range of GS-9 step 1 to 10.
Additional information about service and regular fellowships is available by contacting the Fellowship Program office at (770) 488-1785.