Wargaming Fellow

Summary

National Defense University (NDU) supports the joint warfighter by providing rigorous Joint Professional Military Education to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and select others in order to develop leaders who have the ability to operate and creatively think in an unpredictable and complex world.

THIS JOB IS OPEN TO

• The public U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens.

Duties

• Supports and manages the research, design, development, planning, and execution of national security focused experiential learning initiatives (including national-level education exercises and simulations, conferences, symposia, and workshops) conducted by the Center for Applied Strategic Learning.
• Responsible for leading teams in charge of designing, developing, and executing exercises in support of educational, training, and engagement programs for the Office of the Vice President for Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and the colleges of the National Defense University (NDU). When directed the incumbent is also responsible for supervising, designing, developing, and facilitating national security exercises and other experiential education and training programs for academic, non-governmental, interagency policy communities, and/or international partners at the strategic and operational levels. Serves as lead or deputy lead for a particular college's wargaming portfolio.
• Leads research and analysis focused on the development of national security exercises concerning security issues with national or international implications. Develops exercise and simulation concepts and approaches that are focused on best practices for application at the policy-making and operational integration levels. Leads teams which evaluate best practices for NDU curriculum support, such as case studies, simulations, or practical exercises. Carries out multi-discipline research to ensure that information products for experiential learning events reflect the most current information available to decision makers with the appropriate content and in the correct format.
• Manages CASL teams that are developing and implementing national and homeland security exercises and other experiential learning activities, with a particular emphasis on subjects related to stability operations, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, counter-terrorism and emerging national security threats. Provides authoritative advice to the staff, faculty, and students of NDU and other Senior Service Schools and the wargaming centers in order to develop programs, curricula and simulations to support academic goals and requirements.
• Assists in ensuring all required administrative and project programming requirements are met in order to ensure mission success of CASL's efforts in support of the JPME experiential learning events and tasks.

Requirements Conditions of Employment

Must be a U.S. Citizen

If selected, you will be required to provide information regarding your COVID-19 vaccination status for the purposes of determining appropriate workplace safety protocols, such as those related to masking, testing, travel, and quarantine.

Security clearance of Secret required and must be obtained and maintained.

Qualifications Required Qualifications:

• Possesses a master's degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education (or international equivalent) in political science, history, international relations, economics, security policy, public policy or other appropriate discipline.
• A minimum of five years of relevant professional experience in wargaming and has demonstrated success in wargame design, scholarship/research, teaching or engagement. Documented experience in teaching at the graduate level, scholarship/research, and/or design and execution of strategic- and operational-level exercises may also count toward years of experience required.
• Incumbent must also have management and supervisory experience.
• Experience with Microsoft Office suite tools, Adobe Suite tools, video editing tools, GIS tools, modeling/simulation tools.
• Experience interacting with mid- or high-level academic, military government or industry officials.

Desired Qualifications:

• Possesses an earned doctoral degree or equivalent terminal degree in a relevant field (such as political science, history, international relations, economics, security policy, public policy, etc.).
• Seven (7) or more years of experience in national-level policy formulation, planning, implementation, and management of nation security-related programs (e.g., humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, or stability and reconstruction operations).
• Knowledge related to relevant social science work including pedagogy, adult learning, organizational science, group dynamics, psychology, and sociology is preferred

Education

Education Requirement: An earned Master's degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education (or international equivalent) in political science, history, international relations, economics, security policy, public policy or other appropriate discipline.

Official transcripts will be required at time of selection to verify educational requirements are met.

Additional information

NDU has a comprehensive benefits package that includes retirement, social security, and thrift savings; health, life, and long term care insurance; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays. NDU employees enjoy flexible work schedules, transit subsidy, and the opportunity to telecommute.

This is a Title 10 Excepted Service Appointment. Appointment is not to exceed 3 years with the possibility for extension.

Initial Probationary Period: You will be required to serve an initial probationary period of 18 months.

Background or Security Investigation: This is a Non-Critical Sensitive position which requires a background investigation. The individual selected for this position is required to obtain and maintain a Secret security determination to occupy a Non-Critical Sensitive position within the agency as a condition of employment.

Reemployed Annuitants: Department of Defense has the authority to hire annuitants without reduction in pay. For more information, go to: http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/1400.25-V300.pdf

If you are unable to apply online, view the following link for information regarding Alternate Application.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

To qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described above. A NDU screening panel will review your resume and narrative answers to the hiring criteria to evaluate your qualifications for the position. NDU uses a multi-tier selection process for academic positions. In the following section, you will be asked to provide examples of your experience that demonstrate how you meet the qualifications for this position.

You MUST upload a cover letter separate from your resume addressing the following hiring criteria:

Factor 1: Describe your experience conducting research, academic writing, and performing teaching tasks, particularly in the fields of foreign affairs and national/homeland security.

Factor 2: Describe any experience, education, or training you have in the fields of modeling and simulation, gaming and exercises.

Factor 3: Describe your experience relevant to planning academic-oriented programs and events. Describe your experience in working with program stakeholders/clients to ensure your project will meet their desired outcomes.

Factor 4: Describe your experience in developing experiential education products (e.g., simulations and/or complex exercises) for college-level audiences.

Factor 5: Describe your experience in designing and implementing assessments of adult learning using a variety of tools.

Required Documents

You must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

1. Résumé: The latest resume submitted will be used to determine qualifications. All conferred degrees and certifications should be included in your resume for full consideration
2. Complete Assessment Questionnaire
3. Cover letter with narrative responses answering hiring criteria questions listed in the "How you will be evaluated" section of this announcement. Failure to submit will result in an ineligible rating.
4. Other Supporting Documents - Refer to the eligibilities section for documents to submit.

NOTE: Transcripts are not required at time of application submission. Your resume and narrative answers to the hiring criteria will be reviewed by the NDU screening panel to evaluate your qualifications for the position. If selected for an interview, official transcripts will be requested at that time to verify educational requirements are met.

Eligibilities Information: The following supporting documents are REQUIRED to verify your individual eligibility status. Not all will apply for each applicant. They MUST be received by the closing date of the announcement.

1. SF-50 - (If applicable) Notification of Personnel Action for current or former federal employees- with the exception of current permanent NDU employees, please provide your most recent SF50 or the SF50 reflecting Career/Career-Conditional tenure and the highest grade held on a permanent basis.
2. If you claim Veteran's Preference:
   - You must submit a copy of your DD Form-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty", showing the dates of active duty service, type of discharge and the character of service. Alternatively, If you are a current military member in active duty service and do not have a copy of your DD Form-214, you must submit a written documentation (certification) from your branch of service certifying that you are expected to be discharged or released from active duty under honorable conditions no later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted with your application for this position. The certification should also include your rank, dates of active duty service and what they condition of discharge is thought to be.
   - If claiming 10-point preference and/or are a 30% or more Disabled Veteran, you must submit both a DD Form-214 or expected discharge documentation as described above AND a copy of a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or your branch of service certifying the presence of service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of disability
   - If you are claiming eligibility based on 10-point derived veterans' preference (i.e. a spouse, widow/widower, or parent of a veteran claiming veterans' preference when the veteran is unable to use it), you must also submit a Standard Form 15 (SF-15) "Application for 10-Point Veteran's Preference" and any required documents indicated on the SF-15 to substantiate the claimed preference.
3. Other documents identified in the announcement.

WARNING: Failure to submit a complete application package including any required documentation by the closing date of the announcement at 11:59 EST, or at the time of application for announcements with an extended closing date, may result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration. To verify that your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, select Application Status and More Information. The Details page will display the status of your application.

It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered or uploaded is received, legible and accurate. HR will not modify answers submitted by an applicant.