Career Programs are civilian position functional groupings, aligned by position Occupational Series that provide a “life-cycle” career management structure incorporating civilian development, training and mentorship.

Similar to the construct of the military MOS or Branch Code designations that identify position functional alignment, the Career Program designation is aligned to the position, based on the responsibilities of that position.

The Career Program functional community supports and facilitates Department of Defense initiatives to implement competency-based workforce assessments, define Mission Critical Occupations (MCOs), and establish Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) functional communities.

There are 31 Career Programs that represent functional community alignment of 100 percent of the Army civilian workforce. All positions, including Appropriated Fund, Non-Appropriated Fund, Direct Hire Foreign Nationals and Federal Wage System are aligned to a Career Program designation.

The 31 Career Programs include a variety of occupational specialties, including: Human Resource Management; Engineers & Scientists; Medical; Legal; Comptrollers; Contracting & Acquisition and Information Technology Management.

Each Career Program publishes distinct training and development plans that outline progressive career paths with associated training and recommended position assignments. These plans are published on Army Career Tracker.

Each Career Program has an appointed Functional Chief, a senior level (senior executive service – SES or general officer) official responsible for the integration and management of training, education and professional development opportunities into the human capital lifecycle for the Career Program.

The Functional Chief appoints a Functional Chief Representative (FCR) for direct Career Program management and oversight.

The FCR is the Army Component Functional Community Manager and assists the OSD Functional Community Manager at the Department of Defense to ensure their respective Career Program communities have the functional proficiency required to support both the Department of Defense and Army missions.

For additional information on Career Program management, please refer to:

• Army Regulation (AR) 690-950, Career Program Management, 16 November 2016
• Army Career Tracker: https://actnow.army.mil/wps/myportal/act/plan/pdm
• Career Program Proponency Division MilSUITE site: https://www.milsuite.mil/book/community/spaces/Civ-HR/civilian-career-programs-management