Associate Director for Capacity Building

About this job

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is hiring an Associate Director for Capacity Building to lead the delivery of CISA's cybersecurity services, tools, and training to secure federal, local, and critical infrastructure partners.

Duties

As CISA's Associate Director for Capacity Building in the Cybersecurity Division (CSD) you will lead the delivery of CISA's cybersecurity services, tools, and training programs to Federal agencies, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial governments, and critical infrastructure partners, ensuring effective identification, isolation, and resolution of a myriad of Information Technology (IT) security issues. As a Senior Cybersecurity Executive in the DHS Cybersecurity Service, you will lead and oversee multifaceted aspects of CSD's mission, programs, and personnel. Oversee the management of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program, a premier cyber program with an average annual budget of $300m+ that offers cyber tools, dashboards, and integration services across the Federal enterprise. Own the portfolio as a suite of products, with clear product strategies, roadmaps, value propositions, lifecycle plans, and accountable product owners. Manage the Cybersecurity Shared Services Office, improving current service delivery, developing new service opportunities, and ensuring excellent customer experience. Set the office's vision, operating model, service portfolio, governance, and multi-year strategy in alignment with mission and funding priorities. Champion product management, human-centered design, Agile delivery, DevSecOps, and responsible Super Intelligence (SI) integration by leveraging customer discovery, market research, adoption metrics, and feedback loops to prioritize investments, improve service experiences, and accelerate delivery of secure, reliable capabilities. Ensure shared services are secure by design, resilient, compliant, and integrated effectively into enterprise technology workflows. Establish meaningful performance measures, including customer satisfaction, adoption, reliability, time to value, unit cost, risk reduction, and service outcomes. Serve as a program spokesperson for public and private events, including roundtables and other speaking engagements to the DHS Acquisition Review Board, Congressional entities, the CDM Customer Advisory Forum, official briefings, amongst others. Recruit, develop, and retain a high-performing multidisciplinary organization spanning product management, customer experience, engineering, operations, architecture, and service delivery. Create a culture of ownership, transparency, experimentation, agility, and continuous learning where teams are empowered to solve complex problems and deliver exceptional outcomes.

Qualifications

DHS Cybersecurity Service employees start at career levels and salaries matching their experience and expertise. This position is in the Executive Track, Senior Cybersecurity Executive career level and calls for the following qualifications: Generally 15+ years of cybersecurity experience; typically no less than 10 years 5+ years in executive leadership. Proven ability to lead expansive, high-impact cybersecurity programs at enterprise-scale. Seasoned executive ready to oversee national cybersecurity initiatives and multi-level organizations, reporting directly to presidential appointees. NOTE: Your resume must explicitly outline your cybersecurity experience. DHS Cybersecurity Service employees start at career levels and salaries matching their experience and expertise. To learn more about DHS Cybersecurity Service career tracks and levels, visit our application portal.

Education

Degrees are not required for jobs in the DHS Cybersecurity Service, but DHS is interested in your level of education and the topics you studied. As you submit initial application information, you will be asked questions about your education.

Evaluations

All applicants for the DHS Cybersecurity Service participate in a multi-phase assessment process tailored to their career track. Individuals applying to the Executive Track will undergo a structured interview, as detailed below. DHS will guide you through each step of the process via email. Please monitor your inbox regularly to ensure you receive all communications. The Structured Interview This is a one-hour, in-person panel interview with Component leadership. The discussion will focus on: Your Career: A review of your professional background and experience in cybersecurity. Technical Expertise: An exploration of your deepest skills in specific cybersecurity specializations, which the DHS Cybersecurity Service refers to as "technical capabilities." You can learn more about these capabilities here. Leadership Scenarios: You may be asked to respond to work-related scenarios to assess your ability to lead technical talent and manage cybersecurity-focused organizations.

How to apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online questionnaire, required assessments, and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 11/23/2026 to receive consideration. The application process will follow the bullets outlined below. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA HIRE platform. This message will be delivered via email notification. If you are asked to take the online assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning online assessments. Note: set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account. Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing online assessments on the USA HIRE platform, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the online assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the online assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the online assessments. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for online assessments here: http://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire.

Applications are handled only on the official announcement. This page is a readable copy of the public announcement data — the official version controls if anything differs.

Required documents

Your resume. To help you prepare your resume before applying to the DHS Cybersecurity Service, visit our application portal and read the "Resume Tips" guide. If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the online assessments, submit documentation to support your request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found here. If you are a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee please submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:- Position title- Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee)- Agency- Beginning and ending dates of appointment

What to expect next

The DHS Cybersecurity Service application process is designed to both prioritize fairness to all applicants and identify qualified candidates to join the DHS Cybersecurity Service. Successful applicants proceed through the following steps and will receive notifications as each step is completed: Submit Initial Information Upload resume Answer questions about your expertise and experience Interview Interview with the team you might join Tentative Job Offer + Background Investigation Receive a tentative job offer, including your compensation and benefits package Receive an invitation to start the background investigation process Final Job Offer + Start Date Receive a final job offer Determine your start date We will notify you by email after each of these steps has been completed. Your status will also be updated on USAJOBS throughout the process. To check your status, log on to your USAJOBS account, click on "Application Status," and then click "More Information." Note: If you successfully complete the application process and receive a tentative DHS Cybersecurity Service job offer, applicable employment eligibility requirements, including those you must comply with throughout your appointment at DHS, will be communicated to you in writing. Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U. S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U. S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change. DHS uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.(http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify). To learn more about DHS Cybersecurity Service employment eligibility, visit our application portal.

Other information

Salary: The typical starting salary range for Senior Cybersecurity Executive is $190,000 - $239,500. In some geographic areas, average starting salaries will be higher because of a local cybersecurity labor market supplement (e.g., metro Washington, D.C. +10%). Actual salaries of individual employees may be higher or lower than provided figures. For an overview of the salaries available in the DHS Cybersecurity Service, visit Resources. Benefits: DHS Cybersecurity Service employees receive a range of federal employment benefits designed to support their professional and personal lives. To learn more about benefits, visit our application portal. More information about the specific benefits available to you will be provided as you progress through the application process. Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of its mission, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires each and every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation for a security clearance as a condition of placement in this position. This review includes financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. Pursuant to Executive Order 12564 and DHS policy, DHS is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and, therefore, conducts random and other drug testing of its employees in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. Headquarters personnel in safety- or security-sensitive positions are subject to random drug testing and all applicants tentatively selected for employment at DHS Headquarters are subject to drug testing resulting in a negative test result.

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