Summary
The Deputy Director, Logistics & Engineering (J4) at USCENTCOM (MacDill AFB, FL) provides executive leadership for theater logistics and engineering across 21 countries in the AOR. This leader drives military operations and partner collaboration to boost regional security. Key duties include managing supply, maintenance, transport, base development, contract support, and wartime host nation coordination to protect U.S. interests.
Duties
The Deputy Director leads the critical effort to establish and maintain transformational mechanisms that facilitate interagency unity of effort. By collaborating closely with senior leaders across the interagency community, the incumbent identifies unifying regional goals and coordinates actions with other elements of national power to achieve national objectives. This role requires a consummate professional seasoned in national leadership, logistics, and engineering to solve highly complex, unstructured theater challenges. Acting as a principal advisor to both the J4 Director and the USCENTCOM Commander, the Deputy Director holds complete responsibility for broad strategic theater issues, using exceptional independent judgment to articulate and execute command intent. To secure and sustain the necessary resources for the AOR, the Deputy Director coordinates directly with flag officers and senior leadership from the Joint Staff, Service Components, and the Department of War (DoW). The incumbent continuously assesses the overall efficiency, productivity, and organizational effectiveness of the J4 directorate. When logistics or engineering gaps are identified, the Deputy Director collaborates with senior military and defense leaders to develop and present effective courses of action that guarantee overall mission success. Additionally, the Deputy Director exercises full executive managerial and supervisory authority over a multidisciplinary workforce of more than 100 military and civilian logistics, engineering, and administrative professionals, primarily in grades GS-13 to GS-15 or equivalent. The incumbent is responsible for the strategic mentoring, training, and professional development of this top-tier workforce, ensuring personnel initiatives support broader strategic goals. Acting as the final authority for all personnel actions recommended by subordinate chiefs, the Deputy Director actively enforces equal opportunity and merit-based practices to maintain a high-performing team. Operating under the broad policy direction of the USCENTCOM Commander, the Deputy Director coordinates daily with senior U.S., coalition, and command leadership on strategic priorities. The incumbent is fully authorized to speak on behalf of the Commander and commit the command to authoritative, final, and directive actions within their scope. This includes coordinating stateside and forward-deployed contributions from the Joint Staff, OSW, DOS, Service Components, and Combined Joint Task Forces (CJTFs) to facilitate theater logistics and basing efforts. Ultimately, the Deputy Director builds and maintains vital support relationships with U.S. government entities and foreign partners in the region, enhancing collective defense and security against extremist and terrorist threats.
Education
A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution is desired. A master's or advanced degree in management, engineering, or a logistics related field is highly desired.
How you will be evaluated
Upon selection, if not already a member of the SES serving under a career appointment, the selected candidate must have his/her executive qualifications certified by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Review Board (QRB) prior to appointment. The selected candidate's application will be forwarded to OPM for review and certification by the QRB, unless the selectee provides evidence of their noncompetitive status (i.e., a current SES, OPM QRB certified SESCDP graduate, or SES reinstatement eligible).Once QRB certified, the selected candidates will be required to serve a one-year probationary period. For more information regarding the SES, please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/.