Savannah native Kiran Ahuja recaps first year as head of Office of Personnel Management

Last year, Kiran Ahuja was nominated and confirmed as head of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the agency responsible for millions of federal civilian employees. Ahuja, who hails from Savannah, Georgia, is the first Indian American woman to take the post. 

She’s a Windsor Forest High School graduate and earned her bachelor’s degree in political science at Spelman College before graduating from the University of Georgia Law School.

Ahuja said that spending her formative years in Savannah as an Indian immigrant influenced her life’s work.

“Being part of the new wave of immigration into Georgia really shaped my appreciation for how important it is to really build bridges across different communities (and) how to give back to your communities,” she said. 

Previously:Savannah native Kiran Ahuja chosen by Biden to lead Office of Personnel Management

In addition to being an attorney for the Department of Justice, Ahuja has had more than two decades of public service and executive nonprofit experience. She’s been an advocate for the Asian American community in and outside of the government. 

In 2009, Ahuja was named the executive director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Before then, she was the founding executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF). 

Now, Ahuja leads the OPM, the largest employer in the country at nearly 2.2 million federal employees. The agency is responsible for federal human resources policy, including benefits management, life insurance and retirement for government employees. 

Most recently, the OPM announced a $15 minimum wage for U.S. federal civilian employees, which would impact 3,226 Georgians. 

In the following Q&A, Ahuja reflects on her first year as head of OPM and how Savannahians and Georgians can take advantage of federal job opportunities. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Question: What does the Office of Personnel Management do and what do you do in your role as director?

Kiran Ahuja: "An easy way to think about it is we are the HR function in any organization. We set policies for agencies and we support them in a lot of the work they do to try to bring on the best and the brightest. Across the country, we’re doubling down on our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. We’re the people behind the people." 

Q: Tell us a little bit about your journey  from Savannah all the way to the nation’s capital. 

KA: "Back then I was so engaged in community and public service. I think I got the bug from all the different volunteer opportunities I was exposed to in Savannah. Being part of that new wave of immigration into Georgia really shaped my appreciation for how important it is to really build bridges across different communities, how to give back to your communities.

"I knew early on that I wanted to be a lawyer or get into policy work and to work for the federal government. My first job out of law school was with the Department of Justice. I did quite a bit of work in the Asian American community and had the opportunity before this role to be in the Office of Personnel Management (as chief of staff)."  

Q: What are some highlights and challenges during your first year in this position?

KA: "I’ll share three issues we’ve been seeking to tackle:

"How do we work in this new environment and what does it mean to be in a hybrid workforce? We've realized that we can also just be more competitive as an employer. Already, 80% of federal jobs are outside of Washington D.C. and I think we’ll start to see more and more. 

"How do we bring in the best and brightest talent into the federal government and how do we draw from the incredible diversity in this country?

"We’re also taking targeted approaches to how we think about attracting talent. This would be of interest to folks in Savannah. Recently, we issued a hiring path exclusively for military spouses. If you’re part of the military, you’re often having to move so we’ve enabled agencies to hire military spouses in a much easier fashion. We encourage people to look at usajobs.gov." 

Q: Last month, the federal government announced that the minimum wage for U.S. federal employees would be raised to $15 per hour, which came out of an executive order that President Biden signed in his first week in office. As a part of that order, you were directed to submit a report with recommendations to promote the $15 minimum wage. Can you tell us more about what was in this report?

KA: "We were able to discern that about 70,000 individuals, mostly in service industries within government, such as custodial workers, individuals working in the commissary in the Department of Defense facilities and wildland firefighters (were being paid below $15 an hour). In that report, we laid out what we found and what would be the regulatory path to do that through our guidance…We have to be that model employer being the largest employer." 

Q: About 3,226 Georgians will be impacted by this raise. Savannah has a significant veteran population and it’s also home to the Hunter Army Airfield and Fort Stewart is nearby. How might people take advantage of careers in the federal government?

KA: "There were more than 1,000 available positions in Georgia. The opportunities there include both remote and location-based agencies. In particular, we’re doing a big push around our effort to fill jobs that are specific to the bipartisan infrastructure act that was passed last year.

"Part of that is not only the jobs that localities and states will create, but the federal government has to hire people in order to implement these programs. We need scientists, engineers, contract specialists, HR specialists, grant specialists so there’s real opportunities. I encourage all Georgians and civilians to take a look at usajobs.gov and check out those opportunities."

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.