AF announces quicker process for filling acquisition jobs

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Gina M. Vaccaro
  • Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs
In an effort to speed up hiring in the critically manned acquisition career fields, the Air Force Personnel Center here announced a streamlined process to fill key civilian jobs in half the time.

The growing shortage in acquisition positions resulted in the Department of Defense authorizing components to forego the typical hiring process in order to fill the vacancies more quickly.

The updated policy makes the civilian application process easier and more efficient for specified undermanned jobs. Interested parties will be able to submit their applications directly to the organization they would like to work for. In turn, the organizations will be able to appoint qualified personnel directly to an open position without going through the typical application process.

"This accelerated hiring process will save a considerable amount of time for employers and applicants," said Michelle Siples, Human Resource Specialist at AFPC. "The policy will assist the Air Force in filling these critical positions and make it easier for a qualified individual to be hired on the spot, cutting down the recruitment process significantly."

There are approximately 16,000 acquisition positions in the Air Force in various career fields including: Auditing, Business, Financial Management, Contracting, Information Technology, Logistics, Engineering, and Science and Technology Management. The accelerated hiring policy pertains to mid and senior level positions and will be in effect through September 2012.

"Across the DOD, the acquisition workforce was short and needed to be rebuilt," said Michelle Siples, Human Resource Specialist at the Air Force Personnel Center, here. "The Air Force has seen a loss of experienced civilian employees due to retirements and other reasons and has been faced with critical skills gaps in filling mid-level and higher positions in the acquisition fields."

One of the challenges in filling these shortage positions is they require both experience in the field and specific educational backgrounds targeted to the job.

"Speeding up the hiring process does not negate the qualifications an individual has to meet to be hired," Ms. Siples added. "It is a priority for the Air Force to fill these vital positions quickly to fill the needed space and reduce the workload for the current employees. All job-specific requirements, certifications, and qualifications still apply."

While applicants will submit their resumes and supporting documents to the specific installations, all vacancy announcements will be posted on the Office of Personnel Management's USAJOBS Web site.

Individuals may contact their local Air Force employment office, called the civilian personnel flight, at their nearest installation for more information. Applicants are also encouraged to visit the civilian employment Web page on AFPC's "Ask" Web site to view the public notice. The site has information about how to apply, a list of vacancies and locations, a link to the qualification standards, and a link to the USAJOBS vacancy announcement.