Federal

Division Chief Creative Director

Office of the Director of National Intelligence ยท Other Agencies and Independent Organizations
๐Ÿ“ McLean, Virginia GS-15 $169,276 - $197,200/yr
Posted: Jun 2, 2026 Deadline: Jun 17, 2026 (Closes in 15 days)

About This Position

The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) leads the nation's effort to protect the United States from terrorism by integrating, analyzing and sharing information to drive whole-of-government action and achieve our national CT objectives.

Qualifications

FREE RESPONSE ESSAY QUESTIONS All applicants must answer the following four short, free response essay questions. The responses cannot exceed 200 words per question. By submitting your responses to the following questions, you certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or AI (such as a large language model [LLM]).

How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience. In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness?

Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes. How would you help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you and explain how you would help implement them if hired.

How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position. Required Qualifications Superior leadership, management, and organizational skills, and superior ability to skillfully apply corporate, customer, and publications/media knowledge, skills, and abilities to direct plans and management for production, personnel, and resources.

Superior ability to resolve sensitive, controversial, or difficult media and production issues, both through independent action and as a member of a broader management team. Superior interpersonal, organizational, negotiating, and problem-solving skills, including superior ability to lead others, work independently, and cooperate with other personnel in formal teams or ad hoc partnerships. Superior understanding of customer organizations and their needs for visual design and analysis, sufficient to ensure that a team of visual designers can provide exceptional media products and customer service that consistently meet or exceed mission requirements.

Expert knowledge of requirements and standards for media products and services in the intelligence community to anticipate and lead a visual design team's response to urgent taskings, crises, task force support, and surge requirements. Superior ability to listen to, clarify, and convey understanding of others' ideas, comments, and questions as well as superior ability to integrate and build upon opinions in a manner that encourages the formation of integrated solutions and positions. Superior ability to communicate complex information clearly, concisely, and in a manner that conveys meaning clearly to audiences with different perspectives and objectives.

Expert knowledge of corporate policy and guidelines for publications, visual design, and multimedia production; knowledge of formats, standards, and resources for print and electronic publishing. Expert ability to direct taskings, assess and manage performance, collaborate on goal setting, and support personal and professional development of personnel at all levels of experience. Eight or more years of related work experience in a national security or intelligence agency.

Desired Qualifications Previous experience in visual design. Previous experience in production management. Experience managing a contract workforce; COTR training.

Major Duties

The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) leads the nation's effort to protect the United States from terrorism by integrating, analyzing, and sharing information to drive whole-of-Government action and achieve our national CT objectives. (U) NCTC's Counterterrorism Executive (CTX) is seeking a hard-working supervisor to lead design and publication of visual products for the Center. The officer in this position will oversee a team of visual designers who partner with all-source intelligence analysts to create media that present finished assessments for the IC and senior policymakers, as well as perform a wide range of other visual design work for NCTC and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The team consists of graphic designers, cartographers, and multimedia specialists who develop creative visual products for publications and briefings, including charts, graphics, maps, illustrations, videos, and interactive media.

A production manager at this level is expected to: Develop and lead a team of professional staff, assessing their performance, collaborating on and overseeing goal setting, and providing feedback on their personal and professional development. Oversee and manage complex, high-impact publications/media team projects and direct the development of new and systematic processes for production management and quality control. Set the team's strategic direction, develop plans for staffing, resources, and programs, and provide leadership and management oversight to ensure the continuity of daily operations.

Plan and foster coordination and collaboration with key customers, stakeholders, publications/media management, and other senior personnel to ensure that the team consistently delivers media products and services of the highest quality that meet or exceed customer requirements. Ensure that the team is equipped with the tools and expertise needed to meet current and future mission and customer needs. Monitor trends in private industry publications and media businesses, as well as changes to customer requirements for media deliverables; anticipate the impact of these changes on the team's ability to support mission needs; and, proactively leverage change to better fulfill the team's and NCTC's missions.

Other duties, as assigned.

Education

Do NOT submit transcripts.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement. We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you are among the best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview.

Additional Information

JOB INTERVIEW TRAVEL Candidates from outside the Washington Metropolitan Area (WMA) may be selected for a telephone, teleconference, or in-person interview. SALARY DETERMINATION The ODNI uses a rank-in-person system in which rank is attached to GS employees on the basis of individual qualifications, experience, and performance. Individuals whose current GS grade is equivalent to the grade of the advertised position will retain their current grade and step.

Individuals who transfer to the ODNI from a non-GS pay scale will have base pay converted to the appropriate GS grade and step as determined by the Chief of Human Resource Management. In some cases when a current federal civilian employee applies for an ODNI position that is a lower grade than his or her personal grade, the candidate's personal grade will be downgraded to the grade of the advertised ODNI position and pay will be set at the step that is closest to, and not less than, the employee's current annual base rate of pay, not to exceed the maximum step rate of the GS grade to which assigned. RELOCATION EXPENSES For new ODNI employees, reimbursement for relocation is discretionary based on availability of funds.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS The ODNI provides reasonable accommodations to otherwise qualified applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the Reasonable Accommodations Office Representative by email at [email protected], by telephone at (703)275-3900 or by FAX at (703)275-1277.

Your request for reasonable accommodations will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION TO THE REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION EMAIL ADDRESS. THIS EMAIL IS FOR REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS ONLY. The ODNI is an equal opportunity employer and abides by applicable employment laws and regulations.

How to Apply

We encourage you to read the entire announcement prior to submitting your application. In order to be considered, you must apply via USAJOBS. The ODNI will not accept emailed applications.

Your application must be received by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of this announcement. Applications received after the closing date will NOT be eligible for consideration. All attachments should be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format. Do not include the following types of information in your profile or resume: Classified or government sensitive information Social Security Number (SSN) Photos of yourself Personal information such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc. Encrypted and digitally signed documents

Required Documents

A complete application package must include: a. RESUME: Resumes must be no longer than two (2) pages in length. Resumes longer than two (2) pages will be removed from consideration. Applicants are encouraged to carefully review the vacancy announcement, particularly the MDRs, and construct their resume to highlight their most significant experience and qualifications relevant to this job opportunity.

You must ensure the resume contains all of the required information and you organize it so we can associate the following information for each experience/position: job title; name of employer; beginning and ending dates of employment (month/day/year format), and hours worked per week. We will assume full-time unless otherwise stated. Additionally, include a detailed description of job duties, accomplishments, related skills and responsibilities, to include any supervisory/managerial responsibilities and number of staff supervised (if applicable), and series and grade or equivalent (if a federal position). b.

ESSAY QUESTION RESPONSES: The responses cannot exceed 200 words per question (please see questions in the Requirements section above). By submitting your responses to these questions, you certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or AI (such as a large language model [LLM]). c. COVER LETTER: Applicants must submit a professional narrative as a supplement to the resume to elaborate on their qualifications and previous work performed. d.

CURRENT SF-50: Federal Government employees must provide your official most recent SF-50 (i.e., dated within the last 52 weeks from the closing date of this vacancy announcement). An SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, is used to verify current federal status, position, title, grade, and organization of record. If your SF-50(s) does not provide the information needed to make a final determination for qualification, you will be found ineligible for the position. e.

POSITION NUMBER: Reference the announcement number in the subject line on each document submitted. Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary for the Division Chief Creative Director position at Office of the Director of National Intelligence?
The salary range for this position is $169,276 - $197,200/yr. This is a GS-15 position on the General Schedule pay scale. Actual pay may vary based on locality adjustments.
Where is the Division Chief Creative Director job located?
This position is located in McLean, Virginia. This is an on-site position.
What qualifications do I need?
Do NOT submit transcripts.
How do I apply for this position?
Apply through USAJobs.gov by clicking the 'Apply on USAJobs' button. You'll need a USAJobs account, a federal-style resume, and supporting documents. The deadline is Jun 17, 2026.
Is a security clearance required?
Yes, a Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance is required.
What benefits do federal employees receive?
Federal employees receive comprehensive benefits including health insurance (FEHB), retirement through FERS, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) with government matching, paid annual and sick leave, paid parental leave, life insurance, and student loan repayment programs.