OPM.gov / Policy / Senior Executive Service / SES Desk Guide

# OPM Senior Executive Service Desk Guide

The guidance is intended to serve as explanatory material and is not a substitute for the statutes and regulations that form the basis for the SES. References and links to relevant statutory and regulatory citations have been included in the text. The Desk Guide also provides instructions and procedures that agencies must follow to comply with reporting and other informational requirements promulgated by OPM.

This Desk Guide is to be used as a reference for agency executive resources personnel and is not a policy-making guide. The Desk Guide is a document intended to accommodate regulatory updates and policy changes regarding the SES. Should you have any questions about the material in the Desk Guide, please contact Executive Resources and Performance Management (ERPM) at SESPolicy@opm.gov.

## Table of Contents

          - Introduction
          - Table of Statutes, Regulations, and Desk Guide Citations
          - Executive Resources Management              - Executive Resource Boards
            - Executive Resources Planning and Evaluation
            - Allocating Spaces
            - Establishing SES Positions
            - SES Position Designations and Appointment Authorities
            - OPM Review and Oversight 
          - General Staffing and Career Appointments              - Agency Responsibilities
            - OPM Responsibilities
            - Mobility
            - Conditions of Employment
            - Employment Restrictions
            - Types of SES Appointments
            - Qualifications Requirements
            - Career Appointments
            - Recruitment
            - Merit Staffing Selection Methods
            - Merit Staffing Requirements (Rating And Selection)
            - Recommended Merit Staffing Practices
            - Inquiries, Appeals, and Corrective Action
            - Documenting Merit Staffing Actions
            - Qualifications Review Boards
            - Certifications
            - Submitting Cases For QRB Certification
            - Probationary Period 
          - Other Staffing Actions              - Noncareer Appointment Authorities
            - Limited Appointment Authorities
            - Career Reassignments
            - Moratorium On Involuntary Reassignments
            - Career Transfers
            - Details
            - Reinstatement in the SES
            - Retention of SES Benefits Upon Certain Non-SES Appointments 
          - Performance Management              - Using Appraisal and Rating Information
            - Performance Appraisal Systems
            - Planning Performance
            - Monitoring Performance
            - Appraising Performance
            - Rating Process
            - Performance Review Board (PRB)
            - Other Guidance
            - Performance Appraisal Certification for Pay Purposes
            - Certification Processes
            - Certification Criteria
            - Expiration of Certification
            - Suspension 0f Certification 
          - Pay and Other Compensation              - Chapter Notes
            - SES Rate Range
            - Agency Responsibilities
            - Setting Individual Pay Rates
            - Adjusting Individual Pay Rates
            - Restrictions on Reducing Pay
            - Aggregate Limitation on Pay
            - Other Pay Provisions 
          - Awards              - Chapter Note
            - General Information and Comparison of SES Award Programs
            - Performance Awards
            - Presidential Rank Awards
            - Other Awards 
          - Executive Development              - Development of Current Executives
            - Mobility Assignments
            - Development Of Future Executives
            - OPM Approval of SES Candidate Development Programs (SESCDPs)
            - Qualifications Review Board Certification
            - Appointment Of SESCDP Graduates into the SES
            - OPM Executive Development Programs 7-22 
          - Removals and Suspensions              - General Information
            - Removal During the Probationary Period
            - Removal Of Post-Probationers for Performance Reasons
            - Removal and Suspension for Disciplinary Reasons (Adverse Actions)
            - Removal and Suspension of Noncareer and Limited
            - Appointees and Reemployed Annuitants 
          - Reduction in Force (RIF), RIF Placement, and Furlough              - General Information
            - Reduction in Force
            - OPM RIF Placement Program 9-9
            - Furloughs 
          - Guaranteed Placement              - General Information
            - Conditions of Offer
            - Equivalent Tenure
            - Agency Responsibility for Placement
            - Saved Pay
            - Discontinued Service Retirement 
          - Other Provisions Affecting SES Members              - General Information
            - Work Schedules
            - Leave
            - Unemployment Compensation
            - Retirement
            - Travel and Transportation
            - Student Loan Repayments
            - Office of Inspector General Positions 
          - Senior Positions Outside the SES              - Executive Schedule Positions
            - Senior-Level (SL) And Scientific And Professional (ST) Positions
            - Miscellaneous Positions
            - Interchange Agreements And Cooperation 

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  - SES Desk Guide Toggle submenu     - Introduction
    - Statutes, Regulations, and Desk Guide Citations
    - Ch. 1 - Executive Resources Management
    - Ch. 2 - General Staffing and Career Appointments
    - Ch. 3 - Other Staffing Actions
    - Ch. 4 - Performance Management
    - Ch. 5 - Pay and Other Compensation
    - Ch. 6 - Awards
    - Ch. 7 - Executive Development
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    - Ch. 9 - Reduction in Force (RIF), RIF Placement, and Furlough
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    - Ch. 12 - Senior Positions Outside the SES
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