Ask CPC: Assignments

1. Ask CPC: Assignments NOAA Corps How To: Assignments By LCDR Nathan H. Hancock

2. Ask CPC: AssignmentsThe Assignment Process • References • NCD Chapter 5 • NCD Chapter 10 • Leadership Development Framework • How To: Assignments

3. Ask CPC: AssignmentsThe Assignment Process • Who is involved in this multi-echelon process? • Individual Officer • Chains of Command • Liaisons for each of the Line Offices • Commanding Officers for the Operations Centers • CPC • Director, NOAA Corps (Director) • When are you considered? • Primary look at < 18 months remaining in current assignment • At any time based on service needs

4. Ask CPC: AssignmentsThe Assignment Process • Primary Goals of the Assignment Process • Meet the needs of the service (priority to the fleet) • Develop officers in accordance with Leadership Development Framework • Consider preferences to ensure the right officer in the right billet • Additional Goals • Accurately project personnel needs, training schedules, and resource requirements • Provide the officer with planning horizon for coming PCS

5. Ask CPC: AssignmentsThe Assignment Process • What is the Assignment Coordinator’s Role? • Conduct strategic planning to provide accurate list of candidates for coming assignments • Advise Liaisons of impacts associated with each option • Provide advice to officers and facilitate communications at all levels of the assignment process • Manage the billet list within the constraints of authorized number • Authorized 321 Active Billets • Serve as Secretary of the Officer Assignment Board • Brief the Director, NOAA Corps on recommended assignments

6. Ask CPC: AssignmentsThe Assignment Process • Individual responsibility for a coming assignment? • Be proactive and look for assignments that will develop and challenge you • Update your preferences annually (or as often as you want) be specific • Update your Billet Description annually to help others interested in your current billet • Seek advice from Officer Career Management and Assignments • Talk to the incumbent and the chain of command in the billets you are interested in • As you approach the 18 month mark let the Liaisons and Assignments know what billets you are interested in

7. Ask CPC: AssignmentsThe Assignment Process • What are the steps in the Assignment Process? • For Lieutenants and below • Assignment Coordinator works between the Liaisons and Center Commands to find the best candidates to present to the Director for approval/disapproval • For Lieutenant Commander and Commander • Assignment Coordinator provides the OAB with a list of candidates against each available billet • OAB timing to coincide with personnel boards • Special boards for Command and Executive Officer with a working group leading up to the OAB (CAWG) • Captain assignments are executive decision above the OAB

8. Ask CPC: AssignmentsThe Assignment Process • Officer Assignment Boards • Composed of Center CO’s and Line Office Liaisons as voting members • Assignment Coordinator is a non-voting member • Liaisons/CO’s submit assignment requests to generate a monthly agenda • Assignments determines candidates and presents them along with impacts • The board considers the candidates and conducts a vote • Simple majority is all that is required for a recommendation • The board has discretion to postpone a decision to look for additional options • Once all agenda items have been discussed and the board is concluded, Assignments publishes the minutes of the board and prepares the recommendations for the Director

9. Ask CPC: AssignmentsThe Assignment Process • What happens once the Director Approves the Assignment Recommendation? • Forthcoming letters are sent to each of the officers notifying them of their coming assignment via email • Officers should begin coordinating between current and gaining unit chains of command for detach/report dates and any special instructions associated with the coming move • If the report date changes significantly notify Assignments through your chain of command so the dates can be adjusted • Submit your NOAA Form 56-26 Travel Request form (attached to Forthcoming notice) to Officer Personnel Management Division to initiate the PCS orders process

10. Ask CPC: AssignmentsThe Assignment Process • Billet and Billet Description Review • NOAA Corps is limited to 321 authorized billets between Fixed Shore, Mobile, Sea, and Aviation for all grades • 26-Captain, 45-Commander, 61-Lieutenant Commander, 74-Lieutenant, 58-Lieutenant Junior Grade, 58-Ensign • Billets and billet descriptions need to be reviewed annually to determine priority of backfill and reflect the duties and responsibilities associated with each of the billets • Submit an updated billet description if your billet’s duties and responsibilities are realigned or adjusted beyond the scope currently documented • Transition to the new NOAA Form 56-28a Billet Description to provide more detailed information regarding the billet • CPC is currently in the process of reviewing all billet descriptions and posting them on the CPC website in the new billet description format

11. Ask CPC: AssignmentsChecklist • Update assignment preferences annually • Contact OCMD for career and assignment counseling • 18 months from your scheduled rotation contact the Assignment Coordinator to discuss options • Coordinate with Chain of Command and Liaisons regarding prospective billets you are interested in • Submit your Travel Request 120 days prior to your planned detachment date • Coordinate PCS through OPMD

12. Ask CPC: AssignmentsKey Points of Contact • Officer Career Management Division • Career Counseling and Assignment Advice • CDR Jon Swallow, Chief OCMD • Jon.Swallow@noaa.gov • Assignment recommendation and coordination • LCDR Nathan Hancock, Assignment Coordinator • Assignmentbranch.CPC@nooa.gov • Officer Personnel Management Division • Processing Permanent Change of Station Orders • Tracey M. Peterson, Human Resources Specialist • Tracey.M.Peterson@noaa.gov

13. Ask CPC: Assignments Questions?

14. Ask CPC: AssignmentsSupporting Slides • Role of the Chain of Command • First line of assignment advice and guidance • Serves as the principle source of information dissemination • Communicates special circumstances with the billets under their purview • Role of the Liaisons and Center CO’s • Critical link in the officers’ chain of command within each of the assignments • Manage billets and assignments in accordance with priorities within each of the Line Offices/Commands they represent • Serve as voting members of the OAB and recommend assignments

15. Ask CPC: AssignmentsSupporting Slides • Role of CPC • Reports to the Director on personnel matters concerning the NOAA Corps at all levels of command and in every line office • Coordinates between the lines and commands to implement priorities as established by the Director • Role of the Director • Responsible for all NOAA Corps Officers and every billet to which they are assigned • Reviews and approves/disapproves all NOAA Corps Billets • Is the approval authority on recommended assignments

16. Ask CPC: AssignmentsSupporting Slides • When and how you are considered for an assignment • The standard planning window is 18 months from reassignment • Assignment options are refined at 12 months • If there is a short notice need everyone is looked at regardless of timing; billet preferences play a key role in this process • Options are presented to the Lines and Commands where the list is vetted against impacts; once viable options are identified the Liaisons inform them of their consideration for a certain billet • What is the Command Advisory Working Group (CAWG) • The CAWG is a working group composed of the programs who have a habitual relationship with the vessels and the Center CO’s • The purpose of the CAWG is to present long range planning alternatives to the OAB in order to bridge the Bubble now at the XO and CO levels within the fleet