Welcome everyone to the Pathways program segment of the CMS top 10 webinar series.
We are so, so happy to have you all here today with us.
And we're going to go ahead and jump right into it, without further ado,
I just want to go ahead and make some administrative remarks at first and just mentioned that this
session is being recorded and it will be uploaded to our YouTube channel.
Also, you will be getting a copy of the slides presented to you today.
Following right after this meeting.
And that you can also type in any questions that you have in the chat box, we will have
some of our colleagues either answer your questions while we do the presentation or
we will address them at the end of the presentation.
Joining me today I have my esteemed colleague Shaheen Reid and he's going to be going over
a couple of different portions of this presentation as well.
I am the Pathways Program Coordinator.
My name is Nataliya Mindel and Shaheen is one of our esteemed interns in the office of human
capital, which is where our division is housed.
Today we're going to be going over a few different things
as mentioned. So we will go ahead and kind of give you a brief
background of CMS and we're going to jump right into what are the pathways program so
There are three parts of the Pathways program.
So we'll go ahead.
We're going to go into the Presidential Management styles program, the recent graduate program
and the paid intern program.
Alright Shaheen.
I'm going to go ahead and kick it off to you so you can let everyone know what a bit about
CMS.
Hi, everyone.
Thank you for that wonderful introduction.
So I'm just going to talk a little bit about what CMS is.
CMS is part of a larger organization, our parent organization is the Department
of Health and Human Services, also known as HHS.
You've probably heard a lot about in the news recently.
CMS is an amazing agency, our agency has the second largest budget in the federal government
and is the largest purchaser of Health Care in the world.
I didn't see our agency overseas programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's
Health Insurance Program also known as chip.
And our work touches the lives of millions of Americans across the United States, including
senior citizens, families people with limited income and people with disabilities.
And so the mission of CMS is to ensure up to date healthcare coverage and promote quality
care for beneficiaries.
Go to the next slide.
So CMS is located right outside of Baltimore, Maryland.
If you want to go to the next slide for this.
Um, but we also have 10 regional offices located right located around the United States, in
Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Denver, San Francisco,
and Seattle, as well as satellite offices in Washington, DC, Bethesda, Maryland and San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
So this is a quote right here from former President Barack Obama and as part as as part of the
President's hiring reform in 2010; "The Pathways programs are designed to make
the federal government more attractive to recruit top talent,
foster a positive experience for participants and inspires interest in the federal service
and to prepare students or recent graduates for successful careers
in the federal sector."
So now my colleague Italia is going to go into a little bit more detail about what the
Pathways programs are so I'll pass it over to you in Italia
Great, thanks so much again.
Alright.
So as I mentioned, what are the three parts of the Pathways program.
So we're going to talk a little bit about what the Presidential Management Fellows Program
is the recent graduate program and be paid intern program.
But before we do that I want to talk a little bit about the types of positions that we recruit
for at CMS.
Believe it or not, even though we are the country's biggest health insurance provider
that is not all we do.
There are different types of positions available within health insurance, but there's also
policy and regulatory affairs.
There's management analyst positions that are available.
Social Science Research Analyst positions that are available.
On any type of administrative kind of functions.
For example, we are all in human resources, so
That is an administrative function of a large kind of run an organization, also with finance
and contracting information technology and interdisciplinary data scientists, so that
as you can see there are plenty of opportunities at CMS for you.
And all these different kinds of series and positions that we do hire for are all reflected
in all three of the Pathways programs.
So again, that's PMS Presidential Management Fellows.
recent grads and interns that are paid.
So the first program that I would like to talk about today is the Presidential Management
Fellows Program.
Essentially this program is a two year leadership developmental program.
For entry level advanced degree candidates.
So what this means is, is that if you have at least a graduate degree than you would
potentially be eligible for the president Management Fellows Program.
If you've graduated within the last couple of years.
So we typically at CMS makes these appointments at the GS nine and
11 levels.
Some of you are wondering what is that.
So that is basically a pay grade structure that the government uses for general scheduled
position so Just for your knowledge that is typically
what we would hire out but the biggest part of this program is that you could potentially
be Converted to a permanent CMS employee and
have a full performance level of a GS 12 without having to compete further and reapply to announcements.
So that is one of the biggest things that everyone kind of looks forward to at the end
of their two year appointment.
And there's also promotion opportunities within that timeframe.
So walk away right now the PMs application period is actually open it just opened yesterday.
So this is really a two part process what happens first is applicants would go to USA
jobs.gov and would apply to be a finalist, if they are vetted by the Office
of Personnel Management in order to be a PMI finalist Sunday can go ahead and access a
repository of announcements from agencies.
That are looking to hire Presidential Management Fellows, and if they are appointed
Then they are then Presidential Management felt at that respective agency.
So if you're interested in the president manager Management Fellows Program.
Or know somebody that would be interested in this program I would highly recommend
That they go ahead and visit dot gov.
And you'll see jobs.gov to be able to apply for the finalists portion of this application
process.
A couple of different things go into the Presidential Management Fellows Program, and that includes
different types of requirements.
And engagement activities that happen throughout the first two years of that Presidential Management
bells.
Appointment so what me.
What that means is that there is a leadership development program that the PMs can join
It means that we have pathways activities that are CMS located as well.
And it means that there is just a really good foundation to have a positive experience within
the first couple of years in that federal part of your career.
So without further ado, we're going to go ahead and get into what the recent graduate
program is so the recent graduate program is Slightly similar to the me at Panama program,
but then definitely has its differences as well.
So this is also an entry level hiring program, but this program is one year long versus the
PM, a program that is two years long.
Applicants must have graduated from a qualifying educational institution or program within
the last two years.
So yes, this means is that if you graduated with an undergrad or advanced degree.
Then, this could be the right program for you, but you have to have done it within with
Elisa 3.0 GPA.
And you have to have done it within the last two years, there are certain exceptions for
veterans.
If there was military service obligations so they will have up to six years to apply
to this program poster graduation.
We actually currently have a couple of positions that we're going to be going ahead and announcing
on USA jobs.gov
Now previously I mentioned the PMs program has a different sort of application process
where you first have to be a finalist, and then you would go ahead and apply to agent
specific specific announcements.
However, the recent graduate program is direct to CMS right so the CMS will go ahead and
post that announcement on USA Jobs and you're applying directly to the CMS announcement
posting
So we do have to position that we're going to be announcing for so we will be announcing
for social science research analyst around October 16 and a health insurance specialist
around November.
16 timeframe.
So definitely be on the lookout for those And we also hire recent graduates typically
at the GS seven or GS nine level again with a full performance potential level of the
GS 12 So that really just reflects the page structure
of how our developmental positions are actually classified and you can
Definitely get all that kind of information to the public information is going to be the
on the announcement.
So you can kind of see what the different salaries are reflective of the of the different
Gs.
Great.
Alright, last but not least, we're going to talk about the paid intern program so
This is a very great opportunity for those who are still in school still taking classes.
Right.
So it gives students the federal the exposure to a federal civil servants.
Doing during the summer months.
So typically will onboard our interns around late May and they stay here, typically through
September.
So folks that are interested in this program.
Do you have to have at least a 3.0 GPA and they have to be enrolled at least half time
and a degree seeking program.
So this program is specifically for those that are still taking courses at least on
a half time basis.
So there is potential for those summer interns that come on board to stay a bit longer.
Which means they would either be extended or converted to a permanent in terms.
So typically what happened there.
Is you would just have to continue to sort of prove that you're enrolled at least half
time and have that 3.0 GPA and your manager has to be able to have the ability to keep
you on board.
Again, the biggest perk of this program is that if you meet all the requirements of the
intern program and your managers able to convert you out of the program itself.
You could become A permanent CMS employee without having to
apply to any further announcements and any further competition processes.
So again, this could go up to a GS 12 non competitively.
So that's a heck of a way to climb up the ladder and the government.
So we typically post these positions to USA jobs.gov again it's a direct application process
and we will be doing that around January.
So we do have Shaheen here who himself as an intern.
So I'm sure that everyone on the call today would love to hear a little bit from you show
him how was your experience as an intern.
No, he Sure.
So I originally started my internship at CMS in the summer 2019 originally I was with another
office for for in various administrative tasks for the summer intern.
And eventually I was brought on as a permit intern with the Office of Human Capital under
the recruitment outreach Division, which is where I currently work on
I've grown so much professionally from my experiences at CMS doing such meaningful work.
I've been able to work on many projects that have allowed me to enhance my professional
skills and gain knowledge of what it's like to work in the federal government.
The other interns and colleagues, I work with are absolutely amazing and are always encouraging
this growth and to say the least.
It's been a very meaningful and rewarding experience for me.
I'm so proud to be able to work for an agency that is on the front lines and doing a lot
of the machine work.
Now, during this pandemic.
So with that, I guess I'll just pass it back to the Italia to close out the rest of our
webinar.
Awesome.
Thanks for sharing Shaheen I just personally want to say how wonderful
all three of these programs are I personally also came into the federal government.
As an intern myself.
Many, many years ago and had the, you know, ability and the luck to be able to transfer
over to such a great agency that we work for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
so
Definitely a very exciting place to be.
Another note, I like to make on the intern program and actually really any of the programs
is anytime you guys see announcements that you know are open for PMS or recent grads
or interns as long as you fall into those eligibility calls
I really encourage everyone to You know, we're in a little bit more about those jobs and
it perhaps even if you don't feel like that might be the exact right fit still apply.
You never know.
We've had a lot of folks that you know have transferred three components of
offices that we have here at ended up roles and Probably they would have never imagined.
But hey, they're pretty happy and ended up being a good fit and learning the work and
just, you know, overall, having a great developmental experience in all three parts of these programs.
So with that.
All that said, that is kind of a conclusion of our general kind of part of the presentation.