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How does the Senior Executive Service Pay Scale Work? - FederalPay.org

Overview

The Senior Executive Service (SES) Schedule was established in 1978 for employees with broad view of government function and the solid executive skills needed to ensure the United States Government is managed responsively. SES positions are needed to ensure the needs, policies, and goals of the nation are met and of the highest quality. This position gave greater authority to agencies to manage their own executive resources. Since 1978, two more positions have been added to the SES pay schedule. The Scientific and Professional (ST) position was created for high-level research and development in the STEM fields. The Federal Government’s most renowned scientists and engineers serve in ST positions. Finally, Senior Level (SL) employees are in non-executive positions whose duties are broad and complex enough to be classified above GS-15.

SES Details

There are approximately 8,000 SES jobs in the federal government. These positions are first or second in charge of government agencies and departments. There are five levels of pay in the SES schedule, Levels I to V. Level I is the highest paid.

No one who is paid on the GS pay schedule can exceed the pay of Level V SES.

Although congress is not technically on the SES pay scale, senators’ and congressmen’s pay is approximately equal to SES Level III.

SES pay is based on two factors: Level and Appraisal Type.

Level is based solely on your title. View the table of SES Jobs to view the level of all SES jobs.

SES Performance

Organizations with an authorized appraisal system conduct a review of their SES’s performance. SES pay is then based on the appraisal results. Their pay can be slightly more or less than the pay specified for their level. Not all organizations have an authorized appraisal system. In these organizations, SES personnel are paid just the base pay for their level.

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Topics: Per DiemSES
** This Document Provided By www.FederalPay.org - The Civil Employee's Resource **
Source: www.federalpay.org/articles/senior-executive-schedule