IHSC Special Operations Unit Section Chief (O-6 Billet) Supervisory

Summary

Supervisory clinical leader supporting IHSC Special Operations Unit programs across air, land, and sea missions. Oversees staff, training, policy, quality, logistics, and program evaluation while providing deployable direct patient care during ICE operations and interagency missions. This position is only open to USPHS officers who are currently IHSC employees. USPHS Call to Active Duty (CAD) candidates are not eligible for this position.

Duties

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Interpretation and translation of policies, regulations, laws and practices within the scope of the employees' duties. Provides direct supervision, tasking, programmatic and individual evaluation of the assigned staff and others as directed by the Unit Chief. Provides guidance and assists overseeing ISOU's programs (Medical Air Operations, Ground Operations, AMIO-USCG Support, Special Operations Reserve (SOR), ISOU Training, Sustainment Training, First Responder Continuity Training, Altitude Physiology/Aerospace Medicine Continuity Training, Clinical Practice, Aircrew Training, Crew Safety, Logistics/Supply, Medical Equipment, Public Health Information, Transport Safety & Quality, Medical Records, Peer Review, Credentials, Communication, Awards and Base Leads Programs) and within the mission, vision, and goals of the organization. Serves as an expert in programs development, expansion, and sustainability. Provides guidance to professional and technical staff in areas of program planning, development, and evaluation. Incumbent will develop and carry out a plan for evaluating program efficiency, effectiveness, and currency. Maintains a deployable status 24/7 in support of IHSC Special Operations missions to include: Air Operations, Ground Operations, and Sea Operations with maximum of one sea deployment as needed by USCG with UC approval. Provides mentoring and career development strategies to all assigned officers. Remains flexible and able to adapt to sudden changes in schedules and work requirements which may mean cancellation of leave if it interferes with unexpected missions or trainings. Must be able to travel 50% of the time or more as required. Assists with compiling monthly reports for submission to IHSC HQ. Participates in IHSC supervisory, programmatic meetings and training as assigned. Complete yearly performance evaluations for Special Operations base leads and program managers as assigned by the Unit Chief. Serves as a team member for analysis of established protocol practices, identifies areas of improvement and collaboratively drafts comprehensive recommendations for improved efficiency of essential mission components. Serves as an expert in program development and expansion (e.g., Medical Air Operations, Training, Ground Operations and AMIO). Assists with preparing and delivering presentations to professional, academic, and special interest groups with expert knowledge, serves as an authority on national and international health care trends and a variety of health care service delivery issues. Analyzes health care, programs, transport and prehospital industry trends of related special population groups and mission sets. Assists in developing and implementing policies and guidelines to improve first responder health services, program delivery, and flight medicine to all assigned programs, projects and population needs. Assists Unit Chief in developing business plans, evaluating program goals and objectives, priorities, and activities in ISOU operations, program progress, and changing health needs and demands. In this regard, the incumbent develops and monitors an implementation plan in support of overall program goals and ICE needs. Represents the ERO/IHSC Special Operations, in the Unit Chief's absence, to other federal and non-federal agencies, grantees, and advocacy organizations, to ensure a coordinated effort in improving health care to the nation's special populations. Works with representatives of state and local health agencies, as well as professional and community-based organizations when indicated to succeed in a common designated operation. Serve as a major focal point for the exchange of information. Mastery of managerial and administrative practices including interpersonal and communication skills needed to interact with multiple federal agencies, military, state and local governments. Incumbent (RN or APP) serves as Medical Aircrew Member and first responder during ICE removal missions. Provides direct patient care for individuals in ICE custody, IHSC clinics, or during DHS missions in accordance with agency procedures, nursing guidelines, and/or clinical protocols. The incumbent works in small aircrafts, business jets, large airliners, or helicopters, which may be civilian, military and U.S. government local, state, or federal assets. Incumbent provides direct patient care on land, air or sea, to detainees as identified in USCG Alien Migrant Interdiction Operations and emergency medical care to U.S. Coast Guard staff in accordance with agency procedures and guidelines while shipboard. Must attend all assigned trainings and courses providing clinical, operations and leadership/managerial knowledge and skills.

Qualifications and evaluation

We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements. You may be selected for an interview at the hiring authority's discretion. You will be notified of selection or non-selection.

Education

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES: Minimum 3 years of prior experience as member of the ISOU. Minimum 4 years' experience in immigration or correctional health systems. Knowledge of ISOU programs, operations, and missions. Knowledge of ICE/IHSC mandates, program policies and guidelines, operating procedures, and various departmental initiatives. Ability to interact with a wide variety of cultures, organizations, and special interest groups. Knowledge of organizations and responsibilities of all levels of government operations. Professional knowledge of a wide range of managerial and medical concepts, principles, and practices to perform specialized medical assignments for air, land and sea missions. The incumbent must exercise a high degree of independence, initiative, judgment, and follow-through on a wide range of sensitive, complex administrative issues. Proficiency of Microsoft Office Programs: Word, Excel and PowerPoint Attend and pass all required training dependent on discipline and assigned position. Successfully be able to attain clearance at the Secret Level Maintains clinical professional skills via continuing education opportunities by self and/or agency. Maintain CPR/Basic Life Support and Advance Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification Knowledge of writing USPHS individual and unit awards. Must be able to attain and maintain DHS Secret Clearance. Must be able to attain and maintain a U.S. Government Official Passport. Must be able to attain and maintain a U.S. Government/ICE Official Credentials. Must maintain minimum flight hours per Official Non-Aircrew member flight orders. Preferred but not required at hire, knowledge, skills, and abilities: Master's degree in a clinical professional (RN, PA-C, FNP) or healthcare managerial field. Certification as Correctional Health Care Professional (CCHP). Knowledge and/or experience with IHSC policies, accreditation requirements. Knowledge of public health preparedness, infection control and tuberculosis management. Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS), Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) certification, Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC), Advance Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advance Life Support (PALS), Emergency Pediatric Care (EPC), Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC), National Registered Emergency Medical Tech at any level (NREMT/Basic/Advance/Paramedic), or Transport/Flight Medical Provider Course. Prior Patient Transport (Ground or Air) to include Aerospace Medicine or Flight Nurse experience and training in civilian or military programs. 3 years' experience Emergency Department, Intensive Care, or Patient Transport (Air or Ground). Proficient in any secondary language. Prior military experience preferred due to necessity to understand the vital relationship and interface occurring with USCG and DOW services in training and joint operations and planning.

How to apply

To apply for this position, you must submit the required documentation outlined under the REQUIRED DOCUMENTS section below. The complete initial Application must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 10/24/2026. 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. To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log into your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire. Please ensure you click the Submit My Answers button at the end of the process. Note: To check the status of your application or return to a previous or incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account, select Application Status, and click on the more information link under the application status for this position. Applications and supporting documentation will not be accepted by mail or email. If you need further assistance, contact the Human Resources Office representative listed on this announcement at least one day prior to the closing date for further instructions.

Required documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position. A complete application includes: U. S. Public Health Service Officers Cover Letter/Letter of Interest. Degrees. (Place under "Diploma/GED") Professional license. (If applicable) Additional professional certificates. (If applicable) Three professional references. (i.e., name, title and contact information) Official USPHS Promotion CV - e.g., relevant experience, education, training. (Place under "USPHS Promotion CV") You may provide a civilian resume in addition to the USPHS Promotion CV to capture all relevant work experience. *Three most recent Commissioned Officer Effectiveness Reports (COER). (Place under "Performance Appraisal") A copy of your current Service Remaining Requirements Agreement. Indicate if you have an Assignment Pay (AP) Agreement and the date of the end of your AP Agreement. If you do not, please submit a memo attesting to no AP in the Assignment Pay (AP) Agreement section in the documents section of application.

Additional information

This position is located within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC); Office of the Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) of Health Systems Support (HSS), and IHSC Special Operations Unit (ISOU). The incumbent is supervised by the Chief of ISOU with the IHSC DAD of HSS as the reviewing official. This is a clinical and supervisory position. As the ISOU Section Chief, the incumbent assists the Unit Chief with providing oversight of ISOU's 21 components programs. The incumbent works with a multi-disciplinary team in achieving the programmatic goals for the Division. This is a supervisory position that includes assisting with management and administrative responsibilities to include providing leadership and guidance, policy development and oversight, program assessment, including patient care as a registered nurse (RN), family nurse practitioner (FNP) or physician assistant (PA) on air, land and sea deployments. ISOU provides specialized medical support during air, land and sea transport to include consultation, planning, planning, education/training, management, policy formulation, program coordination, direction, direct patient care and liaison for all health matters pertaining to illegal aliens in the custody of ICE. The incumbent will work alongside ICE officers, interact with civilian, state and federal government organizations, contract staff, U.S. and foreign dignitaries, and domestic and foreign law enforcement agencies including the Department of War (DOW). The incumbent's oversight may include support to ICE Air Operations (IAO) components involving international operations in the effort to repatriate detainees requiring continuity of care and medical or mental health assistance during the removal process. This may include oversight of the Alien Migrant Interdiction Operations (AMIO) component where officers provide medical assistance to the United States Coast Guard (USCG) aboard cutters and treating persons rescued or interdicted at sea. IHSC has a multi-sector, multidisciplinary workforce of more than 1600 employees, including U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) commissioned officers, federal civil servants, and contract staff. IHSC provides on-site direct patient care to ICE detainees at 20 detention facilities throughout the country and manages the provision of off-site medical care for detainees housed in approximately 112 additional non-IHSC staffed facilities. The ICE detainee population is approximately 34,000 detainees on a daily basis, with an average length of stay of approximately 30 days, and over 400,000 detainees annually. IHSC also provides medical support during ICE enforcement operations in the air, on the ground, and at sea. DHS SUPERVISORY CONTROLS: DHS ICE ERO HHS SUPERVISORY CONTROLS: DHHS USPHS CC SUPERVISORY CONTROLS: Incumbent works under the supervision of the Unit Chief of IHSC Special Operations. The IHSC Deputy Assistant Director of Health Systems Support serves as the incumbent's reviewing official.