Rob Romer

Experience

• 

  United States Air Force

  Feb 1993 - Jul 2014

  Hired to develop, modify and implement strategic compensation/benefit programs for multi-billion dollar, 507,000 personnel entity in support of national interests worldwide in a dynamically changing environment.▪ Air Force’s lead expert for strategic compensation and key Air Force catalyst for Department-level reform▪ Revamped Air Force’s $900M incentive pays program, linking incentives to talent management objectives▪ Worked with multiple agencies to design/execute $1.2 billion reassignment budget during budget redux▪ Detailed for his compensation expertise to team created to address Department-level concerns about personnel executing the nuclear deterrent mission; identified several monetary/non-monetary incentives for talent acquisition, retention and mission success; all recommendations adopted by Secretary/Chief of Staff of the Air Force Show less Hired to adapt analytics into personnel policy for 507,000 person multi-billion dollar entity. Leveraged program management principles and systems to improve career composition and development of individual specialties. ▪ Transformed model driven analysis into individual talent management plans for senior leaders of ~300 specialties▪ Architect of plan creating separate space operations & nuclear/missile operations specialties for 3,100 personnel; resulted in growth of space operations depth and robust nuclear & missile operations experience▪ Developed multiple annual personnel management plans for entire Air Force enterprise informed with impactful analysis to determine accurate specialty levels, meet personnel level goals and improve quality of personnel Show less Directed all HR / Food Operations / Recreation Services support for 12K+ personnel with $54.2M in business assets▪ Led merger of diverse HR and Food Operations/Recreations Services units and led the resulting 690 person operation in 30 activities, 52 facilities & 75 major programs to the top rated unit of its kind in the entire Air Force▪ Successfully garnered facility improvement funding for Bowling ($200K), Human Resources Customer Service ($180K) & Child Development Centers ($250K); reduced overall utility and personnel expense by $65K▪ Created and implemented expeditionary skills training for 2.5K personnel; filled training void & saved lives Show less ▪ Headed 10 person inspection team, assessing compliance in 9 critical support/operations areas at 50 units worldwide; streamlined assessment processes & regionalized events to eliminate 24 inspections, saving $918M ▪ Directed 12 person HR team, creating and executing promotion & evaluation policy for 69K personnel at 13 locations; identified and championed enterprise level policy changes resulting in annual savings of $500K▪ Created first-ever training course to discuss race in the workplace and developed metrics to precisely track complaints as equal opportunity/diversity training specialist for the Office of the Secretary of Defense▪ Led 19 person training and support team directly responsible for 700 student personnel and $3.2M facility Show less

  • Assistant Division Head, Compensation

    Jan 2013 - Jul 2014

  • Assistant Division Head, Personnel Mgt

    Aug 2011 - Jan 2013

  • Director, US Personnel Department

    Aug 2010 - Aug 2011

  • Branch Head, Personnel Mgt

    Jul 2009 - Aug 2010

  • Force Support Squadron Commander

    Jun 2007 - Jul 2009

  • Personnel Leader

    Feb 1993 - Jun 2007
• 

  HQ USAF

  Jul 2014 - Aug 2017

  Division Head, Personnel Policy

  Develops, plans & executes total lifecycle human capital policy & manages multiple projects for multi-billion dollar, 507,000 personnel entity in support of national interests worldwide in a dynamically changing environment.▪ Head of the Air Force’s initiatives to improve Human Capital plans; supervised 21 senior personnel and revolutionized hiring, promotion, appraisal, placement, diversity, development, and benefit programs▪ Oversaw the Air Force’s largest drawdown, creating dynamic programs to reduce 20K personnel, saving $2B▪ Built a $16M compensation/benefits program to incentivize/retain personnel skilled at safeguarding nuclear weapons▪ Successfully orchestrated the redesign of appraisal/promotion programs for 250K employees; first in 40 years▪ Catalyst for 2 year growth plan of 10K personnel via creative hiring & retention programs; done in 1.5 years▪ Led over 15 successful engagements with House and Senate staffers to garner support for key Air Force issues, most recently to address Air Force interests in the national pilot shortage▪ Developed/executed ten diversity and inclusion initiatives designed to attract and retain women in the Air Force▪ Team builder/business developer – Maintains significant contacts with senior and mid level leaders/experts in Department of Defense, all Services, Joint Staff, Congressional staffers, and other federal agencies Show less

• 

  United States Air Force

  Mar 2018 - Jan 2021

  Chief, Accessions, Workforce Development and Equal Opportunity Div & AFPC Lead Space Talent Mgt

  - Architect of the defined skills required and human capital policies and programs needed to transfer over 6,000 service members from the Air Force into the Space Force to establish the first new military Servicesince 1947- Original member of the team that developed and wrote the Guardian Ideal, the seminal talentmanagement and development strategy for the Space Force; team‐focused, culture changing and acodified commitment contract between team leaders and team members- Selected to oversee the requirements and personnel policy improvements for the Department of the Air Force’s Space Cadre Task Force in 2018 … the genesis of what would become the Space Force Show less

• 

  United States Space Force

  Jan 2021 - Jul 2022

  Deputy for Space Force Human Capital Planning

  - Created the first unified talent management organization for the Space Force, leveraging talentacross the globe and aligning resources to address current and emerging talent needs- Developed an organizational structure and methodology that supports CEO level intent to providemore connected, collaborative, and where appropriate, a different approach to managing employees- Leveraged significant human capital expertise and the latest industrial social science research toestablish a framework that focuses on a team centric and competency‐based approach to peoplemanagement and development- Recognizing the importance of establishing and improving the USSF approach to workforcerequirements, led a Sprint to imagine, establish a vision and implement a true workforce designapproach for the Space Force - Routinely updated and provided decision briefings to all C‐Suite levels with tremendous results,catapulting talent management strategies and programs to the forefront of this newest militaryService Show less

• 

  USSF Enterprise Talent Management Office

  Jan 2022 - Oct 2024

  Director

  - Director of the first unified talent management office in the Space Force, leading an entirely remote and geographically separated workforce of 67 members and growing the operating budget from $1.7M to $15.4M in two years- Completed initial scientific justification for performance appraisal systems and on track to implement a quantitative system that reduces bias and workload while increasing transparency and consistency- Defined and provided clear criteria for a Competency Based Requirements Framework (CF), approved by USSF senior leadership, using transparent position requirements to enable employees to develop in line with their career path and provide hiring managers receive data‐informed best‐fit lists of talent agnostic of applicant’s status; first military Service to implement- Talent acquisition innovator: employed Hirevue, a digital and flexible interview platform, to assess all applicants for fit with organizational values using scientifically based questions, and streamlined hiring process timeline from 85 days to 33 days- Redesigned the ETMO into two divisions for matrixed support and current operations, created a program management model for development programs, led the transformation from static organizational design to dynamic workforce design, and defined emerging roles and functions for talent management across multiple organizations Show less

• 

  RAND

  Oct 2024 - now

  Adjunct Staff Officer