Operational Planning & Posture Subject Matter Expert

Job Title:

Operational Planning & Posture Subject Matter Expert

Job Category:
Project and Program Management

Time Type:
Full time

Minimum Clearance Required to Start: TS/SCI

Employee Type:
Regular

Percentage of

Travel Required:

Up to 10%

Type of Travel:
Local

Make a difference, join our Team! The Operational Planning & Posture SME is the branch’s technical/functional authority for deliberate planning support and posture-related planning integration. The role defines and sustains planning-support rigor—standards, quality gates, and expert advisory—so high-visibility products remain coherent, defensible, and aligned with guidance across the Joint Planning and Execution Community (JPEC). Unlike the Senior role, the SME does not own daily suspense tracking/battle rhythm execution;

the SME intervenes where complexity, risk, or ambiguity threatens outcomes.

This position is located at Camp Smith, Hawaii.

• Define planning-support standards (templates, quality gates, staffing checklists, traceability expectations, version-control conventions) for branch-wide use
• Advise government leads on complex planning-support approaches (staffing strategy, integration paths, decision points, adjudication methods)
• Perform senior technical review of high-visibility briefs, information papers, and final planning documents to ensure clarity, consistency, and decision-readiness
• Resolve the hardest integration problems (conflicting guidance, misaligned assumptions, incomplete inputs) and recommend defensible tradeoffs and mitigation paths
• Translate policy/guidance into actionable planning inputs and posture initiative implications (as directed by government leads)
• Coach senior and junior staff on advanced staff writing, editorial judgment, and staffing discipline through targeted reviews and exemplars
• Strengthen Operational Planning Team (OPT)/working group outcomes by shaping narratives, analytical framing, and decision-quality criteria (not meeting administration)
• Assess systemic bottlenecks and recommend repeatable improvements to reduce rework and improve first-pass acceptance (without taking over daily execution)

• Master's degree (or equivalent practical experience) in a relevant field
• Career level and intermediate level military education (Expeditionary Warfare School, Marine Corps Command and Staff College (other service equivalents))
• 10+ years deep experience supporting joint/service planning and senior‑leader decision support, including production and critical review of staff products
• Demonstrated mastery of JPEC planning forums and staffing dynamics (e.g., OPTs, joint planning groups (JPGs))
• Knowledge and application experience in the Marine Corps Planning Process (MCPP) and Joint Planning Process (JPP)
• Expert capability drafting/editing planning products and enforcing consistency, traceability, and formatting discipline
• Ability to comply with government workplace requirements and obtain/maintain any required access/eligibility

• Intermediate or top‑level operational planning education (e.g., JAWS/SAMS/MAWS/SAASS/Service and Joint War Colleges or Fellowships)
• Senior PME (e.g., CGSC/ILE, USMC CSC, Naval/War College equivalents)
• Prior experience with USINDOPACOM, MARFORPAC, HQMC, a combatant command, Service component, or MEF HQ
• Doctoral degree in a relevant field

• Deep functional expertise in deliberate planning support and posture planning integration
• Advanced analytic framing and problem‑solving under ambiguity
• Expert‑level writing/editing and product coherence management
• Influence without authority; credible advisory presence with senior stakeholder
• Standards‑setting, coaching, and quality assurance mindset
• Autonomy, Decision Authority & Accountability
• Owns technical/functional standards and review thresholds for planning‑support quality (government leads retain final approval authority)
• Decides when to elevate quality risks and require additional review cycles for high‑visibility products

There are a host of factors that can influence final salary including, but not limited to, geographic location, Federal Government contract labor categories…