Security Specialist - Washington, District of Columbia

Job Summmary

Joining the Secret Service, Technical Development and Applied Research, Technical Security Division will allow you to conduct and coordinate a variety of highly technical security functions at the White House and other United States Secret Service facilities in the Washington, DC area and field offices worldwide. For definitions of terms found in this announcement, please click here.

Who can apply

1. Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
2. Federal employees - Competitive service
3. Individuals with disabilities
4. Land & base management
5. Military spouses
6. Special authorities
7. Veterans

Job Duties

The selectee will serve as a Security Specialist in the Technical Development and Applied Research, Technical Security Division. Typical work assignments include: Developing, enhancing and/or modifying existing database storage, collection and dissemination processed. Instructing non-technical field office personnel specifically on proper usage of office electronic security systems. Inspecting field office electronic security systems on an annual basis for compliance with established and approved USSS standards. Consulting with agency field personnel and contractors to review proposals, plans and specifications for property renovations and office relocation, to insure compatibility with technical security policies and standards. This Security Specialist position starts at a salary of $82,764 (GS-11 step 01), with promotion potential to $153,354 (GS-13 step 10).

Requirements

U.S. Citizenship is required. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service If selected for this position, you will be required to: Obtain and maintain a Top-Secret Tier 5 clearance. For more information visit OPM Mythbuster Page. Submit to a drug test prior to your appointment and random drug testing while you occupy the position. Submit to a (Full-Scope or Counterintelligence (CI)) polygraph examination prior to your appointment. Submit a credit check after a conditional offer of employment has been accepted. Contracting Officer Representative (COR) II certification is required within one year of entry on duty. NOTE: The person selected for this position may be subject to a one-year probationary period.

Qualification

To be considered qualified for this position you must meet the following qualification requirements for the respective grade level in which you are applying. GS-11 You qualify for the GS-11/12 level (starting salary $82,764.00) if you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level performing duties such as: Assisting personnel in establishing/operating security programs; Conducting security surveys; Inspecting and monitoring physical security protective systems; and Establishing relationships within internal and external stakeholders to remain current or security, trends, equipment, and manufacturing. OR You have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., if related, from an accredited college or university that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform this work. (NOTE: You must submit a copy of your college transcripts (official or unofficial) to support your claim). OR You have a combination of specialized experience (less than one year) and graduate education (beyond 2 years of graduate education), that when combined equals 100% of the qualification requirement. Note: Only graduate education in excess of two years {generally 36 semester hours) may be used in this calculation. (NOTE: You must submit a copy of your college transcripts (official or unofficial) and your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet the experience to support your claim. GS12 You qualify for the GS-11/12 level (starting salary $99,200) if you possess one of the following: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level performing duties such as: Providing technical expertise to relevant personnel to establish security processes and procedures; Maintaining databases to support security controls, critical to daily operations; and Surveying personnel to make determination surrounding security features, costs, and updates. Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying). Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to current competitive service employees applying for a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. NOTE: All current or former Federal employees must provide a copy of their SF-50, "Notice of Personnel Action" that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position, title, series, grade, step, tenure (1 or 2), and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). You may need to submit more than one SF-50 to comply. The qualification requirements listed above must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Education

For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for a position by substituting education or training for experience, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted that includes your name, the name of the educational institution, course title(s), number of credits, grade, and date of completion. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

Additional information

DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to [email protected]. More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade and unit occur. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions. The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement. The Secret Service prohibits employees from having visible body markings (including but not limited to tattoos, body art, and branding) on the head, face, neck, hand and fingers (any area below the wrist bone) (exception: a single conservative and unobtrusive tattoo in the form of a ring is authorized on one finger). DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays.

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How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. Upon review, your resume and/or supporting documents need to support your answer choices and reflect the one year of specialized experience requirement, in order to be considered. If the one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the next lower grade level cannot be identified in your resume, you will be considered not qualified. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Planning and Evaluating Problem Solving Reading Comprehension Reasoning Security Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Technical Competence The USA Hire Assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the Federal government, you are not ICTAP eligible. View information about ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under ICTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85.0 for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement. Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, the veteran must be 1) a preference eligible; or 2) be a veteran separated after 3 or more years of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement. Veteran's preference does not apply under Merit Promotion procedures. View VEOA information on Feds Hire Vets. An interview may be required for this position. If an interview is required, failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration. An interview may be required for this position. If an interview is required, failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration. Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards in merit promotion selection decisions in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3). Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Document Requires:-

In addition to addressing the vacancy specific questions, you must also submit the following documentation: Resume - In order to receive credit for experience contained in an uploaded resume, your employment history should show work experience in month/year format (MM/YYYY), reflecting starting date and ending date, and include the number of hours worked per week. If tentatively selected for the position, the applicant may be required to provide additional documentation (SF50s) to validate their eligibility for the position. Are you qualifying based on education or the position has an education requirement, or you are qualifying based on a combination of education and experience? Submit a copy of your college/university transcript (unofficial is acceptable) it must show school name, student's name, credit earned, degree, and date awarded. Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. For example, specific courses accepted for college-level credit by an accredited U.S. college or university, or foreign education evaluated by an organization recognized for accreditation by the Department of Education as education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. college or university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications for more information. Those with Foreign education, click here. Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP)? Submit a copy of your agency notice, copy of your most recent performance appraisal (with at least a satisfactory rating), and your most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location. Are you a veteran? Submit Member Copy 4 of your DD-214 or other (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) and/or documentation of service-connected disability. If claiming 10-point preference, you will need to submit a Standard Form (SF-15), Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. If applying based on eligibility under the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act, you must submit certification from the Armed Forces that you will be discharged or released from active duty within 120 days from the date on the certification. This must indicate your dates of service, your rank, and confirm that you will be separated under honorable conditions. View VEOA information on Veterans' information. Are you a current or former federal employee? Submit a copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing your tenure code as career or career-conditional (codes 1 or 2, in block 24), and position occupied in the competitive service (code 1, in block 34) In addition, the SF50s must show the highest grade or promotion potential level attained competitively. An award SF-50 does not contain the required information. If you are applying for a higher grade, please provide the SF-50s which shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade and that supports one year of experience (i.e., With-in Grade Increase (WRI) SF-50). You may need to submit more than one SF-50 to comply. Also submit your performance appraisals and/or incentive awards. Are you claiming special appointing authority, such as Schedule A or VISTA/Peace Corps service? Submit proof of this eligibility. For additional information on special appointing authorities, click here. Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee? Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment: Position title, Type of appointment (Schedule a, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee) Agency, beginning and ending dates of your appointment. You may be asked to provide a copy of your recent performance appraisal and or incentive awards.

How to appy this Job

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. PLEASE NOTE: If your materials are not received by the closing date, your application will be evaluated solely on the information available, and you may not receive full consideration or may not be considered eligible. Also, if you do not provide a valid email address, you may not be notified of the outcome of your application. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button Answer the questions presented in the application and submit the required documents. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access to USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. To view the required online assessment questionnaire please visit https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12641464. The online assessment questionnaire is required in additional to the USA Hire assessments. For more general information, system requirements, reasonable accommodation information, and to request assistance regarding the USA Hire Assessments, review the following resources: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_Assessments. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire To update your application, excluding External Assessment responses, during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account. Find your application record, and click edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. For information on what each Announcement Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. We strongly encourage you to apply online. If you cannot apply online, you may contact theAPT Talent Management Division at [email protected] OR by calling (202) 406-6420 between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:30 pm EST (excluding Federal holidays) prior to the closing date of this announcement to receive assistance. The Secret Service provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.

Apply Online

Next Step after Apply

It is your responsibility to verify that any information entered or uploaded is received and is accurate. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. Determining your eligibility and qualifications is dependent on the supporting documentation and information provided, which may impact your referral for further consideration. If a document is not legible, you will not be able to view it in your application. Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications and determine your eligibility. Best-qualified applicants will be referred for further consideration and possible interview. We expect to make a selection within 45 days of the closing date of this announcement. If you are selected, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation. For more information on applying for Federal employment, please click here.