We are seeking qualified Latino candidates to seek/become a part of the Biden-Harris Administration.
SHPE is now working in conjunction with a newly formed organization, the Alliance for Latinx Leadership and Policy (ALLP). This organization is comprised of a national cadre of Latinx thought leaders who are committed to ensuring and expanding the inclusion and participation of the Latinx community in public service.
This document provides you with some general information on political appointments and outlines the process you will need to complete if you want to be part of SHPE/ALLP nomination for political appointments in the Biden-Harris Administration.
The federal government is comprised of 2.1 million employees who enter the government by either competing for jobs that are announced through a vacancy announcement (they are called career positions) or by being appointed, as a political appointee, into a job by an incoming Administration.
Political appointees help to manage and lead the government and execute the priorities of an Administration. In this case you would be serving to support the policies and objectives of the Biden Administration. To learn more about the vision of the Biden-Harris Administration please visit: https://joebiden.com/joes-vision/.
Being a political appointee is a highly sought-after prestigious opportunity to serve the American people. During the establishment of any new administration approximately 100,000 – 250,000 individuals seek political appointments.
Before you seek a political appointment, you should consider:
- Your understanding of the agency you will support and the position you seek – do you understand the role of the agency you will support and the requirements of the position that you are seeking?
- Your industry and government experience– Are you prepared to serve? Do you have industry and/or government experience that has prepared you to serve and provide “immediate impact” in a position that you are seeking?
- Your vision – can you articulate a vision for the position you are seeking and demonstrates how it aligns with the Biden-Harris Administration?
- Your management and leadership style – are you prepared to lead and manage a bureaucracy? What will you bring as a leader to the agency you support and the position you are appointed into?
- Potential requirement to relocate to Washington, D.C. – would you be willing to relocate? The vast majority of political appointees are required to live within the Washington D.C. commuting area, which may require you to relocate/identify temporary housing.
NOTE: We encourage you to review information that we have provided in the appendix of this document – the information will help you better understand the roles and responsibilities of political appointees and important human resource considerations (pay, benefits, etc.).
There are four types of political appointments in the Federal government[1]:
· Presidential Appointment with Senate Confirmation (PAS) – approximately 1200 positions
o Requires a congressional confirmation hearing and a confirmation vote of the full Senate.
· Presidential Appointment without Senate Confirmation (PA) – approximately 353 positions
o No requirement for a either a senate confirmation hearing or a senate vote
· Non-Career Senior Executive Service (NA) – approximately 680 positions
o Significant leadership role, just below the PAS and PA positions, provides strategic leadership direction and oversight – no senate hearing or vote. Appointments are made through an agency with the approval of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
· Schedule C Appointments (SC) – approximately 1400 positions
o Serve in confidential advisory or policy roles – no senate hearing or vote. Appointments are made through each agency with the approval/vetting of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.
We are committed to supporting the diversity vision and practice of the Biden-Harris Administration. Specifically, after review and analysis of a submission, we will determine and then forward to the Biden-Harris Transition Team, (on a weekly basis), personnel recommendation/nominations for individuals to be considered for political appointments in the Biden-Harris Administration.
For you to be nominated by SHPE/ALLP for a political appointment you must complete the following actions/following steps:
You are asked to identify the specific political appointment that you are interested in and you believe you are qualified for. The Plumb Book (latest copy is 2016) is the tool you will use to identify political positions. The Plumb Book identifies political appointee positions/pay categories and is produced every four years.
To access a digital copy of the plumb book, click here.
When you review positions in the Plumb Book you should identify the agencies, boards or commissions you are interested in serving in and then identify the specific political appointment(s) that you believe you are qualified for. You can identify up to three (3) positions that you want to be nominated for by SHPE/ALLP.
In your Plumb Book review be sure to identify/capture the following:
· Name of Agency, Board or Commission
· Office
· Specific Position/Title
· Type of Political Appointment (PAS, PA, NA or SC)
NOTE: An ALLP representative may discuss with you the political appointments you are interested and may forward you additional information about a position. For further assistance on position identification, you can contact info@latinxpolicy.org
Completing and Submitting Your SHPE/ALLP Nomination –
The following link will take you to the SHPE/APLP nomination form – you must complete the entire form to be considered for a nomination – SHPE/ALLP Nomination Form
Become a Member of ALLP
In addition to submitting your nomination through ALLP we invite you to become a member of ALLP and identify how you want to be involved in, and support the work of, ALLP. To join ALLP click here.
ALLP is committed to working with other national Latinx organization to ensure that qualified diverse candidates have every opportunity to be consider for political appointments. Hence ALLP requests that in addition to completing the ALLP Nomination Spreadsheet, you should also complete nomination forms from the following sister entities:
Hispanic Talent Bank/Congressional Hispanic Caucus Nomination Form:
Questionnaire for Latino Resume Bank for Political Appointments (jotform.com)
Biden-Harris Transition Team - “Join Us” Form:
https://buildbackbetter.gov/join-us/
Once you have completed and submitted your nomination form(s) a vetting process will ensue. Post the vetting process and subsequent acceptance, ALLP will forward your completed nomination to the Biden-Harris Administration for further vetting and consideration.
Nomination(s) submitted with sister entities will also go through a review process and be sent to the Biden-Harris Administration for vetting and consideration by our sister organizations.
NOTE: Typically, candidates are directly contacted by the Administration when the Administration deems there is a match between a candidate’s background and the political position that they are interested in. What normally proceeds after the initial contact is what is considered a traditional interview and selection process.
ALLP will not be able to provide candidates with updates on the status of their nomination(s) and there is no specific timeframe for consideration. Candidates will be vetted/considered on a rolling basis.
We are committed to providing you additional information and guidance if/when the nomination process has any updates or is expanded.
If you have any additional questions, feel free to contact us at info@latinxpolicy.org
ALLP Website -
Alliance for Latinx Leadership and Policy
https://latinxpolicy.org/about-us
PDF -
Plumb Book
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-PLUMBOOK-2016/pdf/GPO-PLUMBOOK-2016.pdf
Presidential Transition Guide to Federal Human Resource Matters
Partnership for Public Service
Center for Presidential Transition
https://presidentialtransition.org/readytoserve/
National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) Study – Presidential Transition, Department of Homeland Security 2009
https://www.napawash.org/uploads/Academy_Studies/08-05.pdf
Seeking a Political Appointment – Seven Tips from a Former Special Assistant to President for Presidential Personnel https://presidentialtransition.org/blog/seeking-a-political-appointment/
Do you have what it takes to be a Political Appointee?
https://www.govexec.com/management/2016/05/do-you-have-what-it-takes-be-political-appointee/127961/
An inside look at the Presidential Appointment Process
https://ourpublicservice.org/blog/an-inside-look-at-the-presidential-appointment-process/
Recruiting Executive Branch Leaders: The Office of Presidential Personnel
Advice to Political Appointees – National Academy of Public Administration
https://www.napawash.org/standing-panel-blog/advice-to-political-appointees
[1]Political Appointments in the United States. In Wikipedia. (2020, November 27) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_appointments_in_the_United_States
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