Federal Position Descriptions
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Undersecretary

Army Undersecretary, Department of Defense
Responsibility
Management Scope

On behalf of the Secretary of the Army, the Undersecretary oversees the management and oversight of the Army. The Army had a fiscal 2016 budget of $127 billion (total budget outlays – estimate) and 615,814 employees.2 As the chief management officer, the undersecretary will deal with management issues across the Army, not just those in his/her direct office.

Primary Responsibilities

• Serves as the deputy and principal assistant to the Secretary of the Army and acts with full authority of the Secretary (except as by limited by law, regulation, Office of Secretary of Defense, or Secretary of the Army restrictions) in the general management of the Department of the Navy and supervision of offices, organizations, and functions as assigned by the Secretary.
• Serves as Acting Secretary of the Army when the positon of the Secretary is vacant.
• In accordance with Section 904, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, serves as the chief management officer for the Department of the Army, ensuring efficient management of the department’s resources through sound business practices.
• Represents the Army to the Department of Defense (DOD) in those areas relating to the Undersecretary’s principal functions and responsibilities.
• Communicates Army policies, plans, programs, capabilities, accomplishments to external audiences.
• Communicates information pertaining to the business operations of the department to the DOD’s chief management officer and deputy chief management officer.
• Develops and submits to the Secretary a well-defined enterprise-wide business system architecture and transition plan encompassing end-to-end business processes and a comprehensive business transformation plan, with measurable performance goals and objectives that achieve an integrated management system for the business operations of the Army.
• Recommends to the Secretary methodologies and measurement criteria to better synchronize, integrate, and coordinate the business operations of the department to ensure optimal alignment with the DOD and Department of the Army missions.
• Assists headquarters, Department of the Army principal officials in developing performance goals and measures for their areas of responsibility and supervises the development of methods assessing progress against those goals to ensure the department’s policies, plans, and programs are effective, efficient, and in furtherance of the Secretary’s strategy and priorities.

Strategic Goals and Priorities
[Depends on the policy priorities of the administration.]
Requirements

• Extensive leadership and management experience
• Strong substantive expertise in military affairs and civil military relations
• Experience in DOD, Armed Services Committee, and/or other relevant entities
• Background or experience in federal budgeting, acquisition, and workforce management
• Substantive experience in strategy development

Competencies

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to handle sensitive matters
• Ability to integrate diverse missions and organizations
• Ability to work under high pressure

Past Appointments
  • Patrick Murphy (2016) – Litigation partner, outside general counsel for small businesses at a national law firm; Special Assistant for the Southern District of New York; Television Anchor, National Security Policy, NBC Universal; Congressman, State of Pennsylvania
  • Brad Carson (2014 to 2015) – General Counsel of the Army; Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Congressman, State of Oklahoma; Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense
  • Joseph Westphal (2009 to 2014) – Acting Secretary of the Army; Assistant Secretary of the Army; Employee, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Interior, Department of Defense
AGENCY

Department of Defense

Mission: The U.S. Army's mission is to fight and win our nation's wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders.

COMPENSATION

Level III $165,300 (5 U.S.C. § 5314)1

REPORTS TO

Secretary of the Army

SENATE COMMITTEE

Armed Services

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Footnote
  1. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 115-31, May 5, 2017), contains a provision that continues the freeze on the payable pay rates for certain senior political officials at 2013 levels during calendar year 2017.
  2. Leadership Directories: https://lo.bvdep.com/OrgDocument.asp?OrgId=-1&LDIBookId=19&LDIOrgId=152640&LDISecId=180&FromRecent=1&Save=0#O152640
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