Benefits of Working at DAU
Join DAU
Join DAU and be a part of a world-class Department of Defense (DoD) organization committed to training and supporting Defense acquisition professionals. In addition to training courses, DAU offers a variety of learning events and experiences, provides tools and resources to help on the job, conducts direct assistance to organizations, and offers access to an entire community of practitioners, experts and policy makers. DAU promotes a culture of lifelong learning both for faculty and staff and for the members of the Defense Acquisition Workforce they serve. Join our dynamic team and help give the military the competitive advantage they need.
Comparable Benefits
At DAU, our competitive salaries, incentives and benefits package meet a wide range of individual and family needs both inside and outside of work. Our career development and leadership training will help you learn new skills, grow in your career, or move into new challenges. Our benefits are versatile and comprehensive giving you peace of mind about your overall well-being.
Highlights
Salary
DAU utilizes two Federal Government civilian alternate personnel systems that are unique from Federal Government’s widely-known General Schedule (GS) personnel system.
- Title 5 Competitive Service: DoD’s Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project (AcqDemo) (NH, NJ, and NK). AcqDemo was designed by the Department of Defense (DoD) to attract, motivate, and retain high-quality acquisition workforce professionals. For more information on AcqDemo, please visit the HCI.mil ACQDemo page.
- Title 10 Excepted Service: Civilian Faculty (Administratively Determined ((AD)). DAU’s civilian plan was designed to provide the DAU with expert faculty that possess the knowledge, experience, and competencies need to train and support the defense acquisition workforce and its leaders within the DoD. For more information regarding DAU’s Faculty Plan, please read the DAU Faculty Plan Memo.
DAU’s pay and broad banded-structured personnel systems allows DAU salary and pay flexibility to recruit competitive talent and offer salary commensurate with an applicant’s qualifications and skills that may be restricted with the General Schedule (GS) personnel system. DAU’s salary and pay setting rules and other pay administrations authorities are defined by statutory laws such as Title 5, United States Code (USC); regulations such as Part 5, Code of Federal Regulations; Title 10, USC and other guidance issued by DoD and DAU as it pertains to the flexibilities for AcqDemo and Faculty Personnel Systems.
Work Schedules
DAU establishes and administers hours of duty for their employees in accordance with law, regulations and guidance provided by the Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Defense.
- Full-time employees work 80 hours a pay period which covers 14 days.
- Intermittent employees work on a part-time basis
As a workplace flexibility to meet the needs of the agency and the employee, DAU uses maxi-flex work schedules, allowing flex of 80 hours within a two-week pay period to balance mission and work/life needs. Generally, 80 hours are distributed over a 9 or 10 day period and coordinated with the chain of command. DAU also allows regular/recurring telework schedules and situational telework, requiring at least two-days per pay period to be performed at the assigned work site.
For more information on flexible work schedules, please utilize the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) site.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
DAU EAP brings together a variety of services both work-related and personal under one roof. DAU’s EAP is a confidential counseling and referral service available to all employees and their immediate family members. DAU’s EAP provides telephone consultations, problem assessments, short-term counseling, referral if necessary and twenty-four hour coverage at no cost to the employee. More information can be found on the Magellan Ascend website.
Training and Professional Growth and Development Opportunities
DAU offers a variety of opportunities to advance in a career field, or develop new skills to enhance performance. Several programs are also available for individuals who become new supervisors, as well as developmental opportunities for future leaders. The Talent Development Branch of the Human Resources Directorate coordinates all aspects of learning and development opportunities with various Industry and non-DAU development programs.
Some of those programs include but, are not limited to:
- Dwight D. Eisenhower School (ES) for National Security & Resource Strategy
- OPM Federal Executive Institute (FEI) Leadership for a Democratic Society
- Association for Talent Development (ATD) resources (various conferences, forums, webinars and courses)
- Studies with Industry for Boeing Program Managers Workshop, Lockheed Martin Program Management Institute, and Raytheon Principles of Program Leadership
- Executive Chief Data, Learning, and Risks Officer programs with George Mason University
- Various 4th Estate (DoD agencies) Defense Acquisition Career Management (DACM) programs
Some DAU civilian positions require acquisition workforce certification, such as but not limited to, Program Management, Life Cycle Logistics, Engineering, and Test and Evaluation. DAU offers our employees the resources and time to achieve these certifications, and the convenience to be accomplished at an employee’s own pace.
Other types of training are also offered to continuously improve an employee’s performance such as courses provided by the Association for Talent Development organization resources (various conferences, forums, webinars and courses) with whom DAU has a membership and strong relationship.
Employees and their supervisors, mutually agree to create an Individual Development Plan which records employee training and development.