National Information Exchange Model (NIEM)

NIEM Newsletter

NIEM Fellowship Program Announced

Under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) Program Management Office (PMO) has announced a fellowship program to select staff members to serve the three primary operational committees that comprise the core governance of NIEM. A fellowship will be offered to selected individuals to provide senior management support for the NIEM Business Architecture Committee (NBAC), the NIEM Technical Architecture Committee (NTAC), and the NIEM Communications and Outreach Committee (NC&OC). Each fellow will be the lead responsible for providing staff services to the committee, managing and tracking committee action plans, providing issue resolution, and overseeing operational decision-making activities. The responsibilities will include staging and reporting on committee meetings, following up on committee decisions, and preparing materials in support of the committee charter for decisions and actions.

The fellows selected for this program will be senior individuals from industry or government who will be granted sabbaticals from their current places of employment for a period of 12 months. The fellows will become employees of the IJIS Institute and receive full salary and benefits consistent with IJIS Institute policies and grant conditions. Up to limits imposed by the grant funding, the IJIS Institute will pay the salary currently being earned by each fellow as part of current employment plus a 5 percent increase. The IJIS Institute will provide office space at its headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia. However, telecommuting arrangements can be made with selected individuals if necessary and appropriate. The IJIS Institute will reimburse fellows for all work-related travel and per diem expenses in accordance with IJIS Institute travel policies and applicable federal travel policies under the grant that provides funding for the fellowship program. Fellows must agree to undertake travel consistent with the needs of the committee and attend such other conferences and meetings as are determined to be of value for conducting the work of the committee.

The NIEM PMO seeks senior individuals who are engaged in and have experience relevant to one or more of the communities of interest represented by the NIEM domains, including justice and public safety, emergency management, disaster management, intelligence, person and cargo screening, critical infrastructure protection, and international trade. The selected individuals will work closely with DOJ and DHS senior leadership and will gain personal knowledge of all relevant information sharing initiatives of DOJ and DHS as well as the initiatives of the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment.

Companies that wish to take advantage of the opportunity for senior employees to become more acquainted with NIEM in general, and to work with the NIEM leadership team and other key government officials, are encouraged to submit applications from candidates for these positions. In addition, state and local governments are encouraged to submit applications from qualified candidates. Applications will also be accepted directly from individuals qualified to provide the required services. The position descriptions on the following pages define the qualifications and skills required.

In private industry, he was a program manager and director for teams specializing in systems integration to meet the needs of the federal law enforcement community. One of his major information sharing projects was the Department of Justice’s Joint Automated Booking System (JABS).

Applications for the NIEM fellowship program are due on October 22, 2007. The anticipated start date for the 12-month period of service is December 1, 2007. Each application should include a résumé of the candidate and a cover letter indicating the willingness of the candidate’s employer to agree to the sabbatical and temporary employment of the individual by the IJIS Institute. Applications including résumés and salary requirements should be submitted electronically to David.Fredenburgh@ijis.org. The fellowships will be awarded by November 10, 2007, and all applicants will be notified of the awards within five days following this date.

POSITION DESCRIPTION FOR COMMITTEE SUPPORT MANAGER

The Environment

This position supports one of the primary operational committees governing and executing the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) functions of the NIEM program management office. NIEM is a data model designed to facilitate information exchanges across multiple communities of interest using data standards and a structure for creating exchanges. It consists of core data components serving multiple communities of interest and domain-specific data components. NIEM is currently supporting missions related to emergency and disaster management intelligence, person/cargo screening, justice, and international trade.

The Committee Support Manager (CSM) will be assigned to one of the following committees: the NIEM Business Architecture Committee (NBAC), NIEM Technical Architecture Committee (NTAC), or NIEM Communications and Outreach Committee (NC&OC). Committee members are volunteers appointed from local, state, tribal, and federal government agencies and industry who work together to provide policy execution based on input from practitioners at all levels of government. The CSM will operate under the general guidance of the NIEM Program Management Office as supported by the NIEM Policy Panel and the National Priority Exchange Panel, and at the direction of the committee chairpersons.

The work encompasses the assessment, in-depth analysis, and management of standards and approaches for the NIEM program. Assignments are characterized by breadth and intensity of effort requiring development of alternative approaches, consideration of the needs and perspectives of other agencies, and the persuasion of deciding officials to accept proposals, technical design, and implementation. Recommendations may involve controversial and highly complex issues in a rapidly evolving technology environment.

Broadly defined policy guidance and objectives are furnished by the Program Management Office and the committee chairs, though it is not uncommon for this position to deal directly with other parties on major issues. In accordance with guidelines set by the Program Management Office and the committee chairs, the CSM determines the best approaches and methods necessary to carry out assignments. The CSM must define objectives and use self-initiative to research and define the requirements of each level of work, independently resolving conflicts and determining the requirements for additional evaluations, actions, and coordination. Decisions have an important impact on the NIEM programs. Work is reviewed in terms of compatibility with overall strategic plan, management objectives, attainment of goals established in operating plans, and contribution to the success of the mission on both a short- and long-term basis.

The Position¹

This position will be responsible for planning, organizing, and managing the execution of the work of each committee relative to its charter. The selected candidate will work with the committee chairpersons to achieve program objectives through his or her own work, the work of volunteer committee members, and/or additional staff, consultants, or contractors. The manager will be expected to possess significant stakeholder management experience to manage the various stakeholders’ expectations and project tasks in a manner that achieves the appropriate balance of scope, schedule, cost, and quality. The manager will be responsible for planning and organizing meetings, preparing draft documents related to the committee charter, organizing subcommittees, gaining consensus on committee work products with other engaged stakeholders, and tracking committee work plans and schedules.

The CSM will have personal contact with high-level officials and technical personnel within DOJ, DHS, Global Justice, and other federal agencies. The selected candidate will possess a unique blend of skills in the areas of client relationship management, project management, management consulting, and information technology. The manager will employ a variety of soft skills to successfully facilitate product delivery from diverse, highly accomplished, yet largely volunteer committees. The manager must be comfortable working with technologists and technology in the area of information exchange as well as with operational and policy executives in the fields related to the missions supported by NIEM.

The CSM will be responsible for all project management life-cycle activities and tasks to include development and tracking of a formal project plan. Responsibilities will include project initiation, planning, execution, controlling, and closing. The CSM will be accountable for forming and maintaining a cohesive project team, managing and monitoring project status, generating a variety of report types, and developing strong stakeholder relationships. The CSM will serve as the primary liaison between the NIEM PMO and the committee. This role will be responsible for securing compliance with the strategic plan of the committee and the PMO, meeting deliverables schedules, and communicating progress to a variety of stakeholders in a variety of media.

Education

Bachelor's degree in management or a technical field, including computer science or information technology.

Required Skills and Experience

• Experience using both technical and project management skills.
• Experience in project management with a demonstrated practical knowledge in an information technology environment.
• Experience with local, national, and international standards and industry offerings related to the emergency/disaster management, intelligence, immigration, transportation safety, public safety, and/or justice communities.
• Experience in development of a wide range of analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to review and evaluate proposals, conduct studies, develop recommendations, and analyze new or revised policies and procedures.
• Experience working directly with customers/clients in a management consulting or advisory capacity where strong interpersonal and leadership skills have been exhibited.
• Ability to lead and direct complex technical and business teams with little or no guidance.
• Proficiency in communicating effectively orally and in writing.
• Experience defining, developing, and managing contractor engagements.
• Experience working with public agencies in the emergency/disaster management, intelligence, immigration, transportation safety, public safety, or justice communities.

Committee-Specific Requirements

NIEM Technical Architecture Committee (NTAC)

• Knowledge of XML Schema and related open standards.
• Experience designing data models using XML. Experience documenting business requirements and designing XML Schema for interorganizational data exchanges. Prefer knowledge of the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA), especially the Data Reference Model (DRM). Applied experience managing the design of data exchanges using other open commercial or government data model standards such as the Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM), National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), ebXML, or HL7 is desirable.
• Special preference given to candidates with practical experience using the NIEM data model to manage the design of Information Exchange Package Documentation (IEPDs) in the justice, emergency management, homeland security, or intelligence domains.
• Experience managing highly technical contracts and contractors to produce deliverables such as XML data models and XML Schema-based data exchange standards is desirable.

NIEM Business Architecture Committee (NBAC)

• Consulting or practitioner experience in one or more of the communities of interest is required.
• Proficiency in group facilitation, team building, and conflict resolution is highly desired.

NIEM Communications and Outreach Committee (NC&OC)

• Experience in marketing and communications.
• Experience in delivering products and communication via the Internet.
• Experience in product development, including business case development or return-on-investment analyses is highly desired.

NIEM Familiarity and Usage Survey

Please take a few moments to complete the following survey: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e25jkykpf5mrlies/start. The survey is designed to provide the NIEM leadership team with an estimate of the number of agencies and organizations familiar with NIEM.

Upcoming NIEM Training: Tucson, Arizona,
September 24–28, 2007

Other upcoming NIEM trainings include:

October 16–18: U.S. Department of Justice
October 22–26: New York State
November 26–30: State of Minnesota
December 10–14: State of Connecticut Judicial Branch

For further information or questions about NIEM training, please contact training@ijis.org for further information.