Duties

Summary

Securing Travel, Protecting People - At the Transportation Security Administration, you will serve in a high-stakes environment to safeguard the American way of life. In cities across the country, you would secure airports, seaports, railroads, highways, and/or public transit systems, thus protecting America's transportation infrastructure and ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce. For additional information about our agency please: Click Here .

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This Transportation Security Specialist position is located in the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA), Vetting Analysis Division, Vetting Operations Branch, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If selected for this position, you will be responsible for conducting vetting operations for passengers, ensuring that only cleared individuals have access to the U.S multi-modal transportation infrastructure. Typical assignments include but are not limited to:

• Interpreting vetting match results that are produced by an automated vetting system. Conducting extensive research, interpretation, and evaluation of complex multi-source data to determine whether an identity being vetted is a match to an identity on the terrorism watch lists.
• Identifying gaps in information and taking action to obtain the proper intelligence and law enforcement information to support security threat assessments.
• Preparing and reporting results detailing the analysis and evaluation in support of decisions made and to properly document findings.
• Conducting analysis to identify trends and patterns in transportation vetting results in the identification and mitigation of threats to the transportation infrastructure.
• Performing data analysis of credentialing and vetting programs to identify security gaps and develop programs to mitigate security risks.

The major duties described above reflect the full performance level of this position. Typically, the lower pay band (SV-H Band) performs the same duties but will receive more guidance and training; and/or projects/work assignments may be less complex.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Some travel may be required.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
I

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National.
• You must complete a favorable Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI).
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI Clearance.
• Must pass pre-employment drug screening AND random drug/alcohol testing.
• Selective Service registration is required.
• See additional "Conditions of Employment" in "Other Information" section

You must meet the qualification requirements for this position no later than the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

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.

Qualifications

To qualify for the SV-H Pay Band (equivalent to GS-11/12), you must meet one of the qualification requirements (A, B, or C) outlined below:

A. Experience: To qualify for the SV-H Pay Band (equivalent to GS-11/12), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-G Pay Band or GS-9 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such specialized experience is defined as:

• Experience utilizing Background Investigative Systems in order to evaluate and interpret data that may reveal possible terrorist activities;
• Experience preparing and distributing vetting reports to internal and external government agencies;
• Experience analyzing and interpreting multi-source data.

OR

B. Education: Completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a related field; or three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related.

OR

C. Combining education and experience: Combinations of successfully completed progressively higher level graduate education (beyond the second year) and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements, and may be computed by first determining the total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the band level; then determining the education as a percentage of the education required for the band level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for the position.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: Education at the graduate level in an accredited college or university in the amounts indicated above meets the requirements for this position. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. One (1) year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement.

Applicants who meet the qualifications listed above based on education or a combination of education and experience must provide proof of education, such as a list of completed college courses or the date and school of degree (including the number of semester or quarter hours) or transcript(s) from an accredited college or university. The information must be provided as an attachment to the application by the closing date of the announcement. If selected, you must supply a transcript(s) or certification of degree.

Education

Additional information

Conditions of Employment:

• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI Security Clearance. This is a Critical Sensitive (Level 4) position and requires a current and favorable Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI). There is no waiver for this position.
• You must pass pre-employment drug screening AND be subject to random drug and alcohol testing.
• You must be able to perform shift work nights, weekends, or holidays and respond to duty during emergency situations.
• This is a 24/7 operation and the position is Emergency Essential.

Eligibility to apply for other Federal positions: TSA is an Excepted Service agency exempt from most of Title 5 United States Code, including regulations which apply to displaced Federal employees (CTAP/ICTAP) of other agencies, and employment with TSA does not confer "Competitive Status" that generally results from selection and service in Competitive Service agencies. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established an Interchange Agreement, which allows most permanent TSA employees to apply and be considered for vacancies in Competitive Service agencies. Information from OPM on this or other Interchange Agreements is available at: http://www.opm.gov .

To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation as a condition of placement into this position.

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.

TSA employees who are absent for the purpose of performing military duty may apply for any vacancies announced in their absence.

It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. Information about an individual's employment experience will be used only to determine the person's qualifications and to assess his or her relative level of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Although an individual's personal conduct may be relevant in any employment decision, including conduct during periods of unemployment or evidence of dishonesty in handling financial matters, financial difficulty that has arisen through no fault of the individual will generally not itself be the basis of an unfavorable suitability or fitness determination. For more information, click here .

Payment of relocation expenses (Permanent Change of Station) is not authorized.

More than one position may be filled from this announcement.

If you are entering TSA employment on an appointment without time limitations, you must serve a basic trial period unless you have already met the requirement.

TSA policy requires verification of Selective Service registration for male applicants born after 12/31/59. For more information click here .

View common definitions of terms found in this announcement.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of the experience and/or related education as reflected in your resume and supporting documentation. You are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show possession of the competencies required for this position. We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If, after reviewing your resume and any supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your category placement may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Grouping procedures. Under Category Grouping, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;

Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceed the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job; and

Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.

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.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

In addition to a resume and the assessment questions, you must submit copies of any of the following documents if you are applying based on current or former Federal Government Status, Veterans' Preference or eligible Veterans' Service (a veteran who was honorably discharged from the armed forces after completing at least three (3) years of continuous active duty service), or education or a combination of education and experience:

TSA employees do not have to submit an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action.

Transcripts: If you wish to qualify for this position based on your education, submit copies of your transcript(s) from accredited colleges or universities for each school attended

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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 .

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.