Development, evaluation, promotion, and certification

(a) Individual Development Plans Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Program begins in a fiscal year, the head of each agency shall approve an Individual Development Plan (referred to in this section as an IDP) for each Fellow serving under an appointment within the agency, which shall— (1) set forth the specific developmental activities that are mutually agreed upon by the Fellow and the supervisor of the Fellow; and (2) be developed in consultation with— (A) the supervisor of the Fellow; and (B) (i) the agency PMF Coordinator; or (ii) the mentor assigned to the Fellow, who shall not be required to be assigned by the agency. (b) Required developmental activities (1) General resources (A) OPM responsibilities The Director shall provide, for each class or cohort of Fellows— (i) leadership development activities and general Program resources; and (ii) information on available training opportunities known to the Director. (B) Agency responsibilities Each agency shall provide to each class or cohort of Fellows appropriate agency-specific onboarding and employee orientation activities. (2) Agency training (A) In general Each agency shall provide each Fellow serving under an appointment within the agency not fewer than 80 hours of formal interactive training per year that addresses the competencies outlined in the applicable IDP. (B) Certain training not included Mandatory annual training, such as information security and ethics training, shall not count toward the satisfaction of the requirement under subparagraph (A). (3) Mentors Not later than 90 days after the start of an appointment of a Fellow, the applicable agency shall assign the Fellow a mentor, who shall be a managerial employee of the agency outside the chain of command of the Fellow. (4) Assignments An agency shall provide each Fellow serving under an appointment within the agency with not less than 1 rotational or developmental assignment with full-time management or technical responsibilities that is consistent with the IDP of the Fellow and the following: (A) Each Fellow shall receive not less than 1 developmental assignment that is not shorter than 120 days and not longer than 180 days, which shall have management or technical responsibilities consistent with the IDP of the Fellow. (B) (i) The developmental assignment described in subparagraph (A) may be within the organization of the Fellow, in another component of the employing agency, or in another agency, as permitted by the employing agency. (ii) Each assignment described in this subparagraph shall be in a different work unit led by a supervisor other than the usual supervisor of the Fellow. (C) (i) Each developmental assignment described in subparagraph (A) shall provide a challenging work experience of a caliber appropriate for a participant in the flagship leadership development program of the Federal Government. (ii) For the purposes of clause (i), an appropriate developmental assignment may include a project implementing a new executive order or major piece of legislation, agency reorganization, or cross-agency collaboration on a major initiative. (5) Short-term assignments In addition to the assignments described in paragraph (4), a Fellow may receive another short-term rotational assignment, which— (A) shall be not shorter than 30 days and not longer than 180 days, at the discretion of the employing agency; and (B) may take place within the organization of the Fellow, in another component of the employing agency, or in another agency, as permitted by the employing agency. (6) Assessment of subsequent classes (A) In general Upon the request of the Director, the employing agency shall make a Fellow available to assist in the assessment process for subsequent Program classes. (B) Satisfaction of training requirements Any interactive training provided to a Fellow in connection with assisting the Director under subparagraph (A) may be counted toward the training requirement under paragraph (2). (c) Promotion (1) In general An employing agency may promote any Fellow who meets the qualification requirements for the applicable position. (2) Rule of construction Nothing in paragraph (1) may be construed to confer any entitlement to a promotion. (d) Certificate of completion (1) In general (A) ERB evaluation Not later than 45 days before the date on which the Program ends in a fiscal year, each Executive Resources Board shall evaluate each Fellow serving under an appointment within the applicable agency and determine whether the Executive Resources Board can certify in writing that the Fellow met all of the requirements of the Program, including the performance and developmental expectations set forth in the performance plan and IDP of the Fellow. (B) Consultation permitted In carrying out subparagraph (A), an Executive Resources Board may consult with the mentor of a Fellow. (2) Successful completion (A) Notification Not later than 30 days before the date on which a Fellow completes the Program, an Executive Resources Board shall notify each Fellow serving under an appointment within the applicable agency regarding the decision of the Board with respect to certification of successful completion of the Program by the Fellow. (B) Conversion eligibility A Fellow who the applicable Executive Resources Board certifies as having met all of the requirements of the Program shall be eligible for conversion in accordance with section 10. (C) Forwarding to OPM Each Executive Resources Board shall forward to the Director all certifications of the Board under this paragraph. (3) Failure to certify (A) In general If an Executive Resources Board decides not to certify a Fellow under this subsection, the Fellow may request reconsideration of that determination by the Director, if the Fellow, not later than 15 days after the date on which the Board makes that decision, submits the request in writing with appropriate documentation and justification. (B) Continuation in Program With respect to a Fellow who has submitted a request for reconsideration under subparagraph (A)— (i) the Fellow may continue in the Program pending the outcome of that request; and (ii) the applicable agency shall continue to provide appropriate developmental activities to the Fellow during the period in which that request is pending. (C) Ineligibility A Fellow who is not approved for certification under this subsection and who has not submitted a timely request for reconsideration under subparagraph (A), or whose request for reconsideration under that subparagraph (A) has been denied, shall not be eligible for conversion under section 10.