Personnel Security Specialist

Summary

This position is located within the Executive Office of the President (EOP), Office of Administration (OA), Office of the Chief Security Officer (OCSO), Personnel Security Division (PSD). The incumbent serves as a Personnel Security Specialist, performing duties associated with the analysis of personnel security information to make suitability, eligibility, and adjudication recommendations or determinations.

Duties

As a Personnel Security Specialist, GS-0080-7/9, your typical work assignments may include the following under supervision: Serves as the operational expert to ensure Executive Office of the President (EOP) candidates and current EOP employees meet national standards for security, suitability, and credentialing for employment, retention of employment, and/or eligibility for physical and logical access to facilities and systems and classified national security information. Makes initial determination as to scope of investigation required, considering such factors as sensitivity level of position, background information on individual, criteria for governing various classes of security clearances, etc. Performs a preliminary investigation by making a local check of military and civilian records and makes an initial determination recommendation of individual's suitability, trustworthiness or reliability, to include analysis of credible derogatory information. Processes of initiating, reviewing, and approving background cases for release to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in compliance with policies relating to completion of suitability investigations for Federal employees and others requiring background investigations. Coordinates with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies, to obtain completed investigations. In cases of compelling need, prepares package and makes an interim security clearance based on the review and analysis resulting from checks of available records after ensuring that an appropriate investigation packet has been initiated.

Qualifications and evaluation

In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. 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. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Security, Teamwork, and Technical Competence Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Category Rating Procedures: If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories: Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF) and appropriate Quality Ranking Factors (QRF) as determined by the job analysis. Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis. Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis. Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. This position is not considered scientific/professional. Other 10-point preference eligible and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligible within the category in which they qualify. View information on www.fedshirevets.gov.If you are determined qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview. Assessment Process: Structured Resume Review (SRR) Pass/Fail: Subject matter experts (SMEs) will evaluate your resume to assess your technical qualifications for the position, focusing specifically on the required specialized experience. They will only consider the first two pages of your resume, beginning with your work experience, and will not review any additional materials such as cover letters or links included in your resume. Candidates who successfully pass this structured resume review will advance to the next stage of the assessment process. To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13039209

Education

ARE YOU USING YOUR EDUCATION TO QUALIFY? You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement. PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society. GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study. FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the 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. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

How to apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. If an application limit has been reached, the vacancy may close prior to the stated closing date. To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. Please limit your resume to 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your 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/. To ensure full consideration of your experience and education we encourage you to use the USAJOBS resume builder to prepare your resume or to guide you in preparing your resume. See http://www.usajobs.gov/Content/pdfs/Tutorials-Resume.pdf for more information. PLEASE NOTE: It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and/or uploaded, (i.e., resume) is received, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. You may verify your documents have been processed with your application package successfully. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Human Resources WILL NOT modify or change any answers submitted by an applicant. Application packages will NOT be accepted via mail. Due to security processes, mail delivery takes approximately 2-3 weeks to process at which time the vacancy announcement will be closed and no further consideration will be given to additional application packages. Click the following link to view and print the occupational questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13039209.

Required documents

Applicants who do not submit required documentation to determine eligibility and qualifications will be eliminated from consideration. Other documents may be required based on the eligibility/eligibilities you are claiming. To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes: 1. Resume: For qualification determinations, your resume must contain hours worked per week and dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as insufficient and you will not receive consideration for this position. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, provide your pay plan, series and grade, i.e. GS-0301-09. Your resume must include detailed information as it relates to the responsibilities and specialized experience for this position. Evidence of copying and pasting directly from the vacancy announcement without clearly documenting supplemental information to describe your experience will result in an ineligible rating. This will prevent you from receiving further consideration. Note: If you upload more than one resume, the last resume received will be the one utilized for consideration. Please limit your resume to 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. If you choose to use your own resume, curriculum vitae, or any other written form you choose, then you must ensure it contains all of the required information and you organize it so we can associate the following information for each experience/position: Job title Name of employer Beginning and ending dates of employment (month/day/year format) Hours worked per week. We will assume full-time unless otherwise stated. We will prorate part-time employment in crediting experience. Detailed description of job duties for each job held, accomplishments, related skills, and responsibilities to include any supervisory/managerial responsibilities and number of staff supervised (if applicable) Your resume must show the series and grade or equivalent for all federal positions you have held (if a federal position). 2. A complete Assessment Questionnaire 3. Other supporting documents to be submitted with application: DD214: Veterans' Preference Documentation, if applicable, a DD-214 Member 4 copy, which shows type of discharge. If still active, provide an official Statement of Service. Any other documentation such as VA letter documenting disability, SF-15, and any other required supporting documentation based your veterans' preference claim. SF-50: Federal applicants must submit an SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) that shows your most recent Promotion, Within Rate Increase (WRI/WGI), or Appointment/Conversion (if applying as a current or former Federal Employee) showing you are/were in the competitive service and the highest grade or promotion potential held. Do not use Award actions. If you are an EOP employee you may obtain a copy of your SF-50 from OPF or eOPF. If you have separated from Federal Government employment, you may obtain a copy of your SF-50 via: National Personnel Records Center, Annex, 1411 Boulder Boulevard, Valmeyer, IL, 62295; FAX (618) 935-3014; Email rm.communications@nara.gov; or visit the https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/new-nprc. Peace Corps volunteers must submit a copy of your "Description of Service (DOS)" in lieu of the SF-50. If you do not have one you should email the Peace Corps Office of Volunteer and PSC Financial Services at certify@peacecorps.gov. If you are currently serving in a pay banded position, please include a copy of your pay band chart with your application. College transcripts (if the position has a positive education requirement, or you are qualifying on the basis of education). If your education was completed outside of the U.S., you must submit a transcript or an official evaluation of your education (e.g., from a NACES accredited organization) that is in English. Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents contain personal information such as SSN and DOB and some documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove said personal information before you submit your application.

Additional information

Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment under Merit Promotion procedures, you must be a preference eligible or a Veteran separated after 3 years or more of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions. Active Duty Military Members MAY apply under this announcement due to the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act. You must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions along with your application for Federal employment. A certification is a document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days from the date of application. If selected, appointment eligibility requirements must be met prior to the effective date of appointment. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx). Interagency Career Transition Assistance Programs & Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp. For more information about ICTAP eligibility please review the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/ictap/ Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy Statement: http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/index.cfm Employment Information Resources - Resource Center: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Main_Page If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternative Application. 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. (https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information)