Section 158.703 - Designating and staffing assignments(a)Designating assignments. The Department designates assignments by defining combinations of CTMS qualifications and DHS-CS cybersecurity work associable with qualified positions. CTMS policy implementing this section addresses procedures for DHS organizations to designate assignments, including as a result of designating qualified positions as described in § 158.702 .(b)Staffing assignments. The Department staffs assignments by:(1) Matching assignments with DHS-CS employees as described in paragraph (d) of this section;(2) Matching assignments with newly appointed individuals as described in paragraph (c) of this section; or(3) Seeking to recruit individuals and establish new qualified positions under the talent acquisition system described in § 158.501 and then matching assignments with newly appointed individuals as described in paragraph (c) of this section.(c)Initial assignment. Upon appointment of an individual to a qualified position, the Department matches the individual with an assignment based on the alignment of the individual's CTMS qualifications, determined under the assessment program described in § 158.520 , to the CTMS qualifications of an assignment. In matching an individual with an initial assignment, the Department may also consider:(1) Input from the individual;(2) Input from DHS organizations;(3) Mission-related requirements; and(4) Strategic talent priorities.(d)Subsequent assignments. The Department matches DHS-CS employees with assignments subsequent to employees' initial assignments, as necessary.(1) The Department matches a DHS-CS employee with a subsequent assignment based on the alignment of the employee's CTMS qualifications with the CTMS qualifications of an assignment. In matching a DHS-CS employee with a subsequent assignment, the Department may also consider:(i) Input from the employee;(ii) Input from DHS organizations, especially the primary DHS organization of the employee's current assignment;(iii) Information about the employee from the performance management program described in § 158.802 and the career development program described in § 158.803 ;(iv) Mission-related requirements; and(v) Strategic talent priorities.(2) A DHS-CS employee may have multiple assignments throughout the employee's service in a qualified position, but may only have one assignment at a time. A DHS-CS employee's subsequent assignments may have assignment information, described in § 158.706(e) , that is different than the assignment information of the employee's initial assignment, including primary DHS organization.(3) In alignment with the career development program described in § 158.803 and based on information from development reviews described in § 158.806 the Department communicates with DHS-CS employees on an ongoing basis about subsequent assignment opportunities;