Personnel Security Specialist (Area Coordinator)

This is a non-status, non-permanent Personal Services Contract (PSC) position. This position does not provide Competitive or Excepted Service status into the Civil Service.

Key Requirements:

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/ 

APPOINTMENT DURATION: Temporary Non-Status Contractor Position: 1 year renewable for up to 4 years.

This position is located in the Operations Division (Field Operations), Office of Personnel Security and Suitability, Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), U.S Department of State (DoS), Rosslyn, VA.  You will serve as a Personnel Security Specialist (Area Coordinator) and will be responsible for conducting personnel security investigations.

Telework: This is a telework eligible position. 

Travel Required: Not Required

Duties: 

• Conduct investigations and evaluates results for compliance with prescribed standards and criteria.
• Analyze cases to determine the scope of the investigation required and prepare instructional guidance to the contract field investigators and the regional security officers.
• Evaluate and ensure the sufficiency of information that is derived from investigation of cases.

Qualifications:

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements, described below by the closing date of this announcement. Applicants applying for the GS-12 grade level must have at least 1 full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service which provided you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.  

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

• Experience conducting personnel security/suitability adjudicative assessments by evaluating background information from a variety of sources and reports.
• Experience serving as a technical authority on the development and interpretation of personnel suitability and security guidelines, policies, and regulations.
• Experience evaluating security clearance access eligibility based on reports of background investigations and other legal documentation.

How You will be Evaluated: Once the application process is complete, a review of your resume will be conducted and compared against your responses to the assessment questions to determine if you are qualified for this job.  Note:  Responses to questions that are not fully supported by the information in your resume may result in adjustments to your rating. 

Qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies:

• Knowledge of current security concepts encompassing a wide range of security issues.
• Knowledge of personnel security and suitability adjudication.
• Ability to convey pertinent security information to others.

HOW TO APPLY: Submit a detailed resume. Applications must be received electronically by 11:59 pm on June 5, 2023. Your resume or application must clearly reflect the requirements of this position, if not your application may not be considered.  Applications, which are incomplete, not received by the deadline stated above will not be considered.   All materials submitted will become property of the Department of State. For any questions, please contact DS/EX/HRM at WimpyeMW@state.gov.

Benefits: 

 The Bureau of Diplomatic Security has a program that allows personal services employees to be reimbursed for their health premium costs that they incur during their period of performance. The program pays 72% of the insurance premium cost (to the maximum limits set by OPM annually) for self, self plus one, or self plus family.To be eligible for the PSC Health Insurance Reimbursement Program, the PSC must be included on the plan and NOT be enrolled in any other form of group plan such as a spousal plan or a retirement plan. This program does not cover Dental or Vision supplements.

Personal Service Contractors entering on duty with prior qualifying service, as defined by OPM, may have their service computation dates updated to credit their years of applicable prior service for higher annual leave accrual rates.  PSC leave accrual rates are explained in 3 FAM 9116.1. 

Benefits for PSC’s in the Department of State are outlined in 3 FAM 9116.

Other Information:

• For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or OAA@state.gov.
• If eligible, telework/and or remote agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval.
• Please note that any approved remote work arrangement is subject to the locality pay area of the alternative telework worksite.

Applicants found to be among the top qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview. 

For any questions on this announcement, please contact Marcia Wimpye at WimpyeMW@state.gov.