Commissary Management Specialist (CAO)

Summary

This is an advance level Commissary Management Specialist (CAO) position designed to give the incumbent the necessary training and work experience to develop over time to the full-performance target grade level. In a developmental capacity, the incumbent provides assistance to Zone Managers, Store Directors, and CAO teams on day-to-day, straightforward operational issues and/or problems. The incumbent assists CAO store personnel to increase performance in CAO activities.

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Duties

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This is an advance developmental position. Work assignments are progressively complex and intended to broaden your skills and provide you with practical experience to prepare you to perform at the target grade level.

GS-1144-11 Target 12

• Serves as the Computer Assisted Ordering (CAO) advisor.
• Responsible for providing guidance to Zone Managers and individual commissary management teams on CAO operations.
• Provide authoritative Technical CAO expertise.
• Conduct special studies and propose options for difficult problems.
• Provide policy recommendations and best practices.
• Provide leadership and technical support in CAO lifecycle management.

Non-Competitive promotion to the target-grade level is primarily dependent upon these three conditions: (1) the continued assignment of the appropriate higher-level duties and responsibilities; (2) the incumbent meeting the official qualification requirements and satisfying the time-in-grade requirements of the target-grade position; and (3) the incumbent performing satisfactorily in the current developmental position.

At the target grade level, the major duties are:

GS-1144-12 Full Performance

• Applies a thorough knowledge of commissary store operations in order to provide assistance to Zone Managers, Commissary Officers, and CAO teams on day-to-day operational issues and/or problems.
• Performs analysis and provides technical advice and assistance in the area of CAO program operations.
• Provides technical inspection and assistance visits to commissaries and provides on-the-job training to store CAO personnel, as necessary.
• Acts as a liaison between management, employees and CAO teams on CAO issues.
• Monitors key performance indicators; identifies trends, anomalies within the data, as well as root causes: and transforms data into actionable items to bring about necessary change and resolution of problems.
• Provides a variety of reports and other written work products and prepares and delivers briefings in both formal and informal settings. Based on a thorough knowledge of the CAO function, briefs Area Directors, Zone Managers and
  Commissary Officers on the impact of such policies and/or procedures and gathers substantiating data when recommending any changes necessary to ensure efficient and effective implementation.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. citizen or national.
• Males born after 12-31-1959 must be registered with or exempt from Selective Service.
• Appointment is subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as required.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain security clearance eligibility based on an appropriate background investigation.
• May be subject to a probationary/trial period.
• Must complete a Conflict of Interest Questionnaire.
• Must sign a Mobility Agreement upon accepting a job offer from HR.
• Direct deposit of pay is required.

Qualifications

You must meet qualifications and requirements by the announcement closing date. Your resume (and/or transcript if necessary) must clearly show that you meet the qualifications (i.e., specialized experience and/or education requirements) for the grade level(s) for which you are applying.

• At the GS-11 grade level, you can meet the minimum qualifications through specialized experience, education, or a combination of the two. To calculate the combination, divide your total months of specialized experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. If they total 100%, you meet the minimum qualifications through a combination of specialized experience and education.
• At the GS-12 grade level, you can meet minimum qualifications only through having the required specialized experience.

Specialized experience is demonstrated knowledge of retail procurement and distribution methods; principles, procedures, and techniques of retail food merchandising and retail food store management, and developments in commercial retail food store items, equipment, and practices. Examples of creditable qualifying specialized experience include:

• Managing a commissary store, supermarket, or similar type of commercial retail food store.
• Managing a department in a retail food store.
• Planning, standardizing, or controlling operations in an assigned group of retail food stores.
• Developing, interpreting, or applying policies, procedures, and operating standards for use in a retail food store.
• Providing technical advice on merchandising and operational matters pertaining to grocery, meats, and produce supplies, as well as front-end operations.

You will receive credit for all relevant qualifying experience (paid and unpaid), including volunteer work done through National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social).

Education used to qualify for this position, in whole or in part, must have equipped you with the knowledge and ability to perform the work of the position, as evidenced by on-the-job-training in food retail management or an internship or practicum in food retail management. Transcripts are required if relying on education to qualify. See Required Documents for more information.

Qualifications

For GS-11 : (A) one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 grade level, OR (B) Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three full years of progressively higher graduate level education leading to such a degree, or LL.M. (if related) with major study in business administration, public administration, agricultural economics (food industry management), or other fields related to the position, OR (C) a combination of specialized experience and education.

For GS-12 : One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level.

You must also meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements by the announcement close date.

Time-in-grade applies to the promotion of current and former federal employees who hold or have held a permanent GS position in either the competitive or excepted service in the previous 52 weeks. Your application package must contain proof you meet this requirement. See Required Documents for more information.

• For GS-11: You must have 52 weeks of Federal service at or equivalent to GS-9.
• For GS-12: You must have 52 weeks of Federal service at or equivalent to GS-11.

Time after competitive appointment . Current federal civilian employees must have completed at least 90 days of federal civilian service since being selected for a non-temporary appointment from a competitive examination register of eligible candidates (an announcement opened to the public) or under a direct hire authority.

As part of the online application process, you will respond to a series of questions designed to evaluate your possession of these competencies:

• Commissary Operations
• Problem Solving
• Communication

Overtime : Occasional

Bargaining Unit Status : Not covered

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) : Exempt

Obligated Position: If obligated, you occupying the position is subject to the former incumbent returning. If the former incumbent does not return to the position, your occupancy may become permanent. Tentative job offers identify if the position you are offered is obligated.

Those retired under CSRS or FERS considered: No. DoD criteria not met.

Recruitment/Relocation Incentives Offered: None

Education

GS-11: Transcripts . Required when using education to meet qualifications or when education is required.

GS-12: For this grade level, you must meet the qualification requirement through experience alone. You may not use education to qualify.

Foreign education may be qualifying if a private organization specializing in interpreting foreign education programs has deemed the foreign education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program or a U.S. accredited college or university has given full credit for the foreign courses.

Unofficial transcripts from U.S. Department of Education accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions listing your name, the name of the school, the date and degree awarded, and the list of classes and credits earned are acceptable for the application process. If selected, official transcripts are required before a firm job offer is made. A photocopy of your degree/diploma is not acceptable.

When relying on foreign education, submit transcripts and a copy of the equivalency evaluation results letter with a course by course listing. Documents must be in English or include an English translation. The hiring employer for this position does not evaluate degrees from foreign colleges or universities.

Additional information

Executive Order 12564 requires a federal workplace to be free of illegal drugs and prohibits the use of illegal drugs both on and off duty by federal employees. As a reminder, marijuana is still classified as an illegal drug by the Federal government and is prohibited for use by Federal employees even if such use is legal in the state where the Federal employee resides and/or works. The Defense Commissary Agency is a Drug-Free Federal Workplace where the use of illegal drugs will not be tolerated and may result in penalties up to and including removal from Federal service.

• DeCA employees accepting a downgrade (i.e., change to lower grade) into this position may be entitled to pay retention.
• Applicants with financial difficulty are not automatically removed from consideration.
• Selectees are required to complete an online onboarding process.
• PCS is authorized. If you PCS'd at government expense within the past 12 months, additional government funded PCS may not be authorized; however, you may choose to pay your own moving expenses.
• Most civilian PCS entitlements are now taxable. The Relocation Income Tax Allowance (RITA) reimburses eligible employees for additional Federal, State, and local income taxes incurred because of receiving taxable travel income. More information is available at Civilian Relocation/PCS Tax Changes.
• This position is being recruited at both the grade levels GS-11 and GS-12. If selected at the GS-11 grade level, you may be non-competitively promoted to the full performance GS-12 grade level when all statutory and regulatory requirements have been met, performance is satisfactory, and when recommended by the supervisor. Promotion is not guaranteed.
• Additional vacancies may be filled from this announcement up to 90 days after the closing date.

The following may result in a rating of ineligible. Ineligible applicants receive no consideration.

• Not selecting an eligibility.
• Submitting an incomplete application package may result in your not being considered for this position. Your resume must reflect that you are either Part-Time with the number of hours listed, Full Time, or 40 hours per week as your work schedule. If you fail to provide this information in your resume, your resume will be considered as incomplete.
• Submitting encrypted documents or uploading Adobe portfolio documents.
• Submitting any document that contains a photo or image of you.
• Including social media links, inappropriate material/content, classified or government sensitive information, or personal information such as age, gender, race, religion, or social security number on your resume.
• Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or questionnaire responses.
• Deliberately attempting to falsify your application information, such as copying portions of this announcement into your resume.

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.

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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.

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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.