Skip to content
Defense Commissary Agency

Lead Store Associate

Location: South Carolina, Charleston AFB
Requires Relocation: No
Start Date: 21/01/2026
End Date: 02/02/2026
Offering Type: Permanent
Hiring Paths: Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL), Military spouses, The public
Service Type: Competitive
Travel Percentage: Occasional travel
Full Time On-site

Defense Commissary Agency

About Defense Commissary Agency

The foundation for success of the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) mission is our people. We have a workforce of more than 13,000, reflecting our nation’s diverse cultures and backgrounds, and annual sales of more than $4 billion. We take pride in offering a valued benefit that contributes to military family readiness and enhances quality of life by providing a service that almost all military families use. As one of the few international grocery chains, we operate 236 commissaries throughout the world. We are a grocery store and a whole lot more. Commissary Website Must be able to satisfy the requirements of the 26JUL12 DODI 1400.25 V1230, DoD Civilian Personnel Management System: Employment in Foreign Areas and Employee Return Rights.

Summary

Job summary

Serves as a Lead Store Associate in a commissary store at a Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) facility. The primary purpose of this position is Lead three or more employees in carrying out the main work assignments needed to successfully operate a commissary store. Specific assignments vary by individual store and store management requirements. Read the entire announcement before starting the application process.

Major duties

Distributes and balances workload among employees, assuring timely accomplishment of assigned workload. Monitors the status of work and makes adjustments in accordance with established priorities. Provides on-the-job training in specific tasks and job techniques. Recommends changes in work methods to improve timeliness and quality of work. Provides input to supervisor on employee performance, conduct and training needs. Performs work in various areas of the commissary. Read the entire job announcement. Focus on the following sections to understand whether or not you qualify for the position. This critical information is found under: Duties and Qualifications How to Apply (including a preview of the assessment questionnaire, if applicable) How You Will be Evaluated Your resume must thoroughly describe how your skills and experiences align to the criteria defined in the Qualifications section of this announcement and it must support your responses to the assessment questionnaire. We do not assume you have the necessary experience to successfully perform in this job regardless of your employment history or academic career.

Qualification

You must meet the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) qualifications for series 1101 and additional requirements by the announcement closing date. Your resume (and/or transcript if necessary) must clearly show that you have the qualifications described below. You can use experience, education, superior academic achievement, or a combination of experience and education to qualify. Experience: One (1) year of demonstrated knowledge of retail procurement and distribution methods; principles, procedures, and techniques of retail food merchandising and retail food store management; and developments in commercial retail food store items, equipment, and practices (specialized experience) equivalent to at least the GS-4 grade level. Experience can be under other Federal service pay systems, private sector, or military. Examples of qualifying experience include: Supporting all aspects of the work performed in the various departments of a retail grocery store. Operating an electronic checkout system. Conducting on-the-job training in specific tasks and job techniques. OR Education: Four (4) full year of graduate level education with major study in business administration, public administration, agricultural economics (food industry management), or other fields related to the position; or superior academic achievement. OR Combination of experience and education. To calculate the combination, divide your total months of experience by 12, then divide your graduate level semester hours by the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study or 18 and add the two percentages. If the total is 100%, you meet the minimum qualifications through a combination of experience and education. You will receive credit for all relevant qualifying experience (paid and unpaid), including volunteer work done through National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Physical requirements: (1) Frequently lift, push, pull, carry and handle commissary products weighing up to 50 pounds without assistance. (B) Work includes long periods of standing, stooping, kneeling, bending and climbing. You will attest to your ability to perform these physical requirements in the Questionnaire. As part of the online application process, you will respond to a series of questions designed to evaluate your level of experience in the position's competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics). Communication Grocery Operations Leadership Minimum Qualifications GS-05 (Specialized Experience) Overtime: Occasional Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Nonexempt Bargaining Unit Status: Not Covered Obligated Position: No Reemployed Annuitants Considered: No, DoD criteria not met. Work environment: Performance of work in some areas of the commissary requires exposure to hot or cold weather, or damp and drafty conditions. incumbent may be exposed to differences in temperatures in storing or obtaining items in refrigerated rooms or in warehouse. There is a danger of minor injuries such as cuts, scrapes, bruises, heat sealer bums, and slipping on wet floors. Recruitment/Relocation Incentives Offered: No Telework eligible: No Remote work eligible: No

Education

Foreign Education. When using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to qualify, you must show a private organization specializing in interpreting foreign education programs has deemed the foreign education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program or that a U.S. accredited college or university has given full credit for the foreign courses. You must include a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing in your application package (required document).

Evaluations

HR reviews your documents to determine if you are qualified and meet requirements. Your questionnaire score is a preliminary measure of how well your background matches the required competencies. HR reviews your documents to determine if you are qualified and meet requirements. Your questionnaire score is a preliminary measure of how well your background matches the required competencies. Under category rating procedures you are placed into one of three categories based on the evaluation results: Best Qualified - Candidates who possess the type and quality of experience that substantially exceeds the position's minimum qualifications, including all selective placement factors and appropriate quality ranking factors. Highly Qualified - Candidates who possess the type and quality of experience that exceeds the position's minimum qualifications. Qualified - Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications and are proficient in some but not all of the position's requirements. Candidates in the best qualified category are referred to hiring managers before candidates in other categories. Within the best qualified category, candidates are referred in the following order: adjudicated veterans' preference candidates with 10-point preference, adjudicated veterans' preference candidates with other than 10-point preference, military spouse preference candidates, and candidates with no preference. Selections are subject to restrictions of the DoD referral system for displaced employees. Neither preference nor priority entitles you to a Federal job. You must apply, meet the qualification standards and all additional requirements, and submit all necessary documents. Military spouses must be in the best qualified group in order to receive military spouse preference. Veterans Preference: You must provide a copy of your DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty or other acceptable documentation that includes your character of service. The member 4 copy is preferred. Contact the National Archives or your military personnel records center to request a copy of your DD-214. Those claiming 10-point preference must submit a completed SF 15 Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (For Veterans and Relatives of Veterans) and all required proof listed on the reverse of the SF 15. Note that a letter from the VA that contains the following may be sufficient instead of a SF-15: Dates of service, Discharge status, and Disability rating. Contact the Department of Veterans Affairs or call 1-800-827-1000 to obtain a copy of the VA letter establishing proof of disability.