DHS secretary Janet Napolitano has appointed the chief human capital officer at the Defense Logistics Agency since 2000 as DHS’s new CHCO.
DHS credited Jeff Neal with helping to identify over $50 million in administrative and operational savings while at DLA, an effort that was recognized the Partnership for Public Service as a model for other federal agencies to follow.
DHS also said Neal created an enterprise leader development program to address critical leadership skills developed a highly successful agency-wide survey to meet current challenges.
Among Neal’s tasks at DHS will be to "enhance diversity at DHS to reflect the composition of the nation and build department-wide capabilities and systems to provide the best training, education and professional development opportunities," according to the department.
Neal will also face endemic workforce problems that have landed DHS and many of its subcomponents at or near the bottom of worker satisfaction indexes since the department was cobbled together in 2002. Prior holders of the position during the Bush administration also acted as the point person on the attempt to install the MaxHR alternative personnel system and thus caught heavy flak from unions and Capitol Hill. The department remains a favorite target of unions even though that effort has been abandoned.
Prior to DLA, Neal was the deputy HR director at the Department of Commerce from 1998 to 2000, he served as director of headquarters complex operations at DLA from 1997 to 1998, and before that as a personnel officer at DLA and GSA from 1993 to1997.
