Twenty sample position descriptions for the position of agency deputy secretaries. Descriptions include agency overview, compensation level, responsibilities, requirements and competencies adapted from work produced by the Romney Readiness Project and public websites, and refined through interviews. Includes a list of recent incumbents and their backgrounds.

Fourteen sample job descriptions including agency overview, compensation level, responsibilities, requirements and competencies adapted from interviews with the Partnership for Public Service’s CFO SAGE (Strategic Advisor to Government Executives) community and public websites.

The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) transition guide for the White House and their appointees outlines the ethics and reporting process for new appointees. Includes a comprehensive listing of laws and regulations on ethics, investment funds, and financial disclosure.

Making smart and timely decisions will enable the next administration to more effectively implement key priorities and address emerging challenges. But it won’t be easy. Incoming leaders will be flooded with information and advice and will face a never-ending barrage of decisions. To succeed, new appointees need an organized approach that uses data and draws on proven processes and frameworks.

In this report, “Enhancing the Government’s Decision-Making: Helping Leaders Make Smart and Timely Decisions,” author Ed DeSeve presents insights and offers recommendations for transition teams and the next administration on establishing effective decision-making approaches, taking an enterprise view and using data-driven analytics.

This is the third report in our Management Roadmap series, published jointly by the Partnership for Public Service and the IBM Center for The Business of Government. The reports share lessons learned from roundtable dialogues with key stakeholders, identifies promising initiatives and offers ideas on successful implementation.

Learn more about the Ready to Govern initiative.

From the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a copy of the list of 63 questions asked to potential appointees during the Obama administration.

The completion of these forms is required by various agencies in order to receive a security clearance.

This template resume or curriculum vitae from the Romney Readiness Project can be used to evaluate potential political appointees for federal positions. The template includes space for the potential appointee’s career history, education, affiliations, involvements, relevant commentary and recommendations.

This checklist, developed by the law firms of Steptoe & Johnson and Allen & Overy, can be used to screen potential executive branch appointees for issues that commonly arise in the confirmation process. Questions are divided into the following eight sections: Tax Returns and Tax Return Preparation, Salary and Bonuses, Executive Compensation Arrangements, Household Employees and Other Service Providers, Speeches and Publications, Investment Information and Liabilities and Litigation.

This online service from the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) allows federal employees to submit forms and interact with the Office using a secure, flexible platform.

On March 31, 2014, Partnership President and CEO Max Stier testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs about the management challenges facing our federal government. 

In his testimony, Stier applauded the work that OMB is doing to improve government management and offered several ways in which Congress could augment these efforts. Specifically, Stier urged Congress to reduce the number of vacancies in critical management positions, focus on oversight of policy and programs before there is a problem, hold agency leaders accountable for managing people well and reform the civil service system. Stier also talked about the importance of treating government as a single enterprise and developing and managing career executives who serve as enterprise-wide assets.