Criminal Investigator

Summary

The Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Inspector General is currently looking for a Criminal Investigator in the Office of Invesigations. Join our professional team of auditors, criminal investigators, and inspectors who help support DOE's mission through performance and financial audits, inspections of management issues and administrative allegations, and investigations into alleged violations of law.

Duties

As a Criminal Investigator for the Office of Investigations, you will be responsible for the following: Develop investigative plans and independently execute operations involving alleged or suspected criminal violations of Federal law (including contract/grant fraud, procurement fraud, and program corruption) characterized by multiple subjects, complex financial/electronic records, and operational obstacles. Conduct interviews, interrogations, surveillance, consensual monitoring, undercover operations, and physical or electronic evidence searches; execute search and arrest warrants; issue administrative subpoenas; and manage crime scene evidence in strict compliance with legal chain-of-custody rules. Perform detailed evaluations of complex documentary, financial, and electronic data (e.g., bank records, contracts, electronic communications); analyze complex patterns and interrelationships; assess witness credibility; and resolve contradictory, missing, or fragmentary information. Draft clear, complete, and legally supportable written products, including Reports of Investigation (ROIs), prosecutive summaries, search/arrest warrant affidavits, and subpoena requests; present case findings to Assistant U.S. Attorneys and agency officials; and provide sworn testimony before grand juries, courts of law, or administrative bodies. Develop operational contacts, build investigative sources, and coordinate joint enforcement activities with Federal, State, local, and foreign law enforcement partners, prosecutors, and technical experts to resolve complex jurisdictional and investigative matters. This position is being advertised as part of a career-ladder opportunity (GL-09/GS-11) FPL 13. The duties described above reflect the position at GS-11 grade level. If selected at the lower grade level (GL-09), you will perform similar duties of a more conventional scope and complexity under closer supervisory guidance.

Qualifications and evaluation

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements above. Once the announcement closes, we will conduct a review of your application package to verify your eligibility and qualifications. If you are found qualified, your application will move forward to additional phases of the review process. Merit Promotion & VEOA Procedures: If you are minimally qualified for this job, your responses to the self-assessment questions (Multiple Choice, Yes/ No questions) will be evaluated to determine if you are a best qualified candidate. If you meet the qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified, you will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities must meet minimum qualifications to be referred. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Criminal Investigative Techniques Evidence Handling & Preservation Investigative Analysis Investigative Planning: Non-competitive Procedures: If you are applying under a non-competitive or special hiring authority, you will still be required to answer the assessment questions. However, you will not be evaluated against the rating and ranking criteria. Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine if you are minimally qualified for this job. Veterans' Preference will be applied when required by the hiring authority (e.g., VRA, Schedule A). All qualified Non-competitive applicants and the best qualified Merit Promotion and VEOA applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP/ICTAP): If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for CTAP/ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet CTAP/ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 85 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13052954.

Education

Continuing from the Qualification Section Above: In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined above by the closing date of the announcement. Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website: Criminal Investigation Series 1811 Volunteer Experience: "Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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. Time-in-Grade: Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appt. If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), grade-point average or class ranking, and date degree conferred. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating. CONTINUED FROM THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SECTION BELOW: Shared Certificates: The Department of Energy shares lists of applicants among its internal Departmental Elements and organizations. You may be referred for consideration to other DOE Hiring Managers throughout the Department for more than one position based on this application. By applying to this announcement, you understand your application materials may be shared with multiple Hiring Mangers throughout DOE. If additional positions are filled from this announcement conditions of employment may differ. You will be notified if you are referred for additional positions.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the announcement closing date to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: You must have a login.gov account to sign into USAJOBS: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/account/. To begin the application process in USAJOBS, click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all required and supporting documentation. You must click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 pm (ET) on the announcement closing date. You may update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period by returning to your USAJOBS account, select Update Application: https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application, during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account; applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each application status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. If you need help with login.gov or USAJOBS (e.g., account access, Resume Builder) visit the USAJOBS Help Center: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/ If you experience difficulty applying on USAJOBS, after clicking the Apply Online button, or you are experiencing a significant hardship hindering your ability to apply online, the Agency Contact listed in the announcement can assist you during normal business hours. If you receive any system error messages, take screenshots if possible, to aid technical support. Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - you must remove your image from any badges, licenses, etc. Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.

Required documents

To apply for this position, you MUST provide a complete application package which includes: Your two (2) page RESUME showing all relevant work experience (paid and unpaid) including: duties performed; full name and address of the each employer; start and end dates (month/day/year); work schedule (part-time, full-time, number of hours if intermittent); salary; and any completed education and training (program title, subject area, number of hours completed, and completion date). For more information about what to include in your resume, please view this USAJOBS Resume Tutorial video on YouTube. Cover Letter, optional, expressing additional information not covered in your resume. SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" (current/former federal employees): Most recent Promotion, Within-Rate Increase (WRI/WGI), or Appointment/Conversion SF-50 or Notification of Personnel Action showing you are/were in the competitive service and the highest grade or promotion potential held. If your current position SF50 does not indicate you have competitive service status or does not reflect the pay plan and grade of the highest position you have held in the competitive service, in addition to your current SF50, you must provide your previous SF-50s that verify competitive status and highest grade held on a permanent basis. To properly verify status eligibility, your SF-50 must show the following: Full position title; appointment type; occupational series; pay plan, grade, and step; tenure code; and service computation date (SCD). If you do not submit an appropriate SF-50, we cannot verify your status eligibility. Most recent performance appraisal: All Applicants regardless of eligibility(ies) selected, MUST submit their most recent (within the past 18 months) performance evaluation or appraisal, which shows a final rating. If an evaluation or rating is not available, you must provide a statement indicating the reason. If you do not submit an appropriate appraisal or statement, you WILL NOT receive consideration for this position. Transcripts, if specific educational requirements are indicated in this job announcement. Unofficial transcripts or any report listing institution, course title, credits earned (semester or quarter hour) and final grade is acceptable. It is your responsibility to provide adequate proof that you meet the educational requirements. Applicants MUST submit a copy of their official Training Graduation Certificate or Transcript showing successful completion of CITP or an equivalent Federal basic criminal investigator academy with their application package to be considered eligible. Submit one or more of the following to support your eligibility(s) to apply to this job announcement: Veterans: DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; current active duty members- certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA letter. For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center & OPM CHCOC website for VOW information. Individuals with Disabilities: Schedule A letter from a physician, local, state or federal rehabilitation office citing your eligibility under 5 CFR 213.3102 (u). For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center. Certain Military Spouses: Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders authorizing you to accompany the Military member to the new duty permanent station; OR verification of the member's 100% disability (VA Letter); and/or verification of the member's death while on active duty (DD-1300 and Death Certificate) AND verification of the marriage to the service member (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage). For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center. Other non-competitive or special appointing authorities: provide documentation which supports your eligibility. Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable (e.g., Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.) For more information see the OPM Guide to Career Transition. Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

Additional information

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay. The minimum age for initial appointment to a law enforcement position is 21, and the maximum age is 37. (The date immediately preceding an applicant's 37th birthday is the final date for selection). This requirement does not apply to preference eligible veterans, or if you served in another Federal civilian (not military) law enforcement position covered by special civil service retirement provisions. Subject to drug testing, must test negative prior to being appointed, and will be subject to random testing thereafter. Failure to pass subsequent tests could result in disciplinary action, up to and including removal from the Federal service. Must successfully complete the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center's Basic Criminal Investigator Training Program. Applicants who have previously completed the training program are exempt. This position is covered under the provisions of the Lautenberg Amendment "Suitability to Possess Firearms and Ammunition." The selectee must successfully and safely qualify with a firearm; failure to do so may result in removal from the position. Criminal Investigators are subject to frequent travel and may be reassigned to a different duty location throughout the U.S. dependent upon program needs; a signed mobility agreement is required. Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP): LEAP is approved to compensate employees for unscheduled duty in excess of the 40-hour workweek. Criminal Investigators must be prepared to work overtime based on the needs of the agency. This announcement may be used to fill additional similar positions across OIG-DOE if identical vacancies occur within 120 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across OIG-DOE. More than one selection may be made from this announcement. For general information on government-wide Telework polices visit: www.telework.gov. You will be assigned to an OIG office. Limited, situational telework flexibilities may be offered as defined by agency policy. Telework flexibilities are not guaranteed. Relocation Incentives: May be authorized, subject to available funding and management approval, to current Federal employees who must relocate to accept a position in a different geographical area. If a relocation incentive is authorized, the employee must sign an agreement to fulfill a period of service with the agency of not less than 12 months and not more than 4 years, as determined by the gaining office in accordance with agency policy. Authorization of incentives is not guaranteed. Promotion Potential: Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactory perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommending by the position's supervisor. For Reasonable Accommodation information or assistance: Email: reasonableaccommodationoig@hq.doe.gov Phone: (202)586-4393 711 for TTY-Based Telecommunications Relay Service | Federal Communications Commission (fcc.gov)