Senior Executive Service Competitive Staffing Policy and Operating Procedures

1.  Purpose

Each agency is responsible for establishing written procedures to implement the statutory provisions of 5 CFR 317, Employment in the Senior Executive Service. This Instructional Letter (IL) provides clear, transparent recruitment guidance and addresses the General Services Administration’s (GSA’s) Commissions and Boards Services (CABS) competitive staffing and recruitment processes for the staffing of SES positions within CABS agencies. Each commission, board, or small agency serviced by GSA CABS is established by the President of the United States or Congress under the executive or legislative branch and are independent of GSA. These unique organizations have specific missions and goals that are outlined in their individual enabling legislations or orders. This document provides overarching policy guidance to implement procedures to ensure consistency and compliance with law and regulations, while allowing CABS agencies the flexibility to tailor the SES competitive recruitment process to best meet their individual needs and circumstances.

2.  Background

The SES was established by the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) of 1978 and became effective in July 1979. CSRA envisioned a senior executive corps with solid executive expertise, public service values, and a broad perspective of Government. The CSRA established the SES as a distinct personnel system that applies the same executive qualification requirements to all of its members. This personnel system was designed to provide greater authority to agencies to manage their executive resources, including the flexibility for selecting and further developing Federal executives within a framework that preserves the designated mission of each Federal agency. GSA provides Human Resources (HR) operational and other strategic HR services to CABS organizations and this document provides broad guidance to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in competitive recruitment procedures for filing CABS, SES positions.

3.  Scope and Applicability

This IL applies to all career (i.e. non-political) SES competitive recruitment actions filled within the CABS agencies that are serviced by the GSA CABS Service Center. Specifically, guidance provided in this document governs CABS managerial, supervisory, and policy. This IL does not apply to CABS SES positions that are paid at SES rates but are not covered by the regulatory provisions of 5 CFR 317, Employment in the Senior Executive Service. 

This IL does not apply to GSA, SES recruitment functions as GSA performs SES recruitment actions separate and apart from the GSA, CABS Service Center. The GSA CABS Service Center provides recruitment for CABS, SES hiring in collaboration with a Shared Service Provider, Human Resources Representative.