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 position may be eligible for telework/alternative duty location. The duty location will be negotiated after a selection has been made and is subject to final the selecting official's approval. The reflected salary on the announcement does not include locality pay. Salary will be adjusted in accordance with the locality pay of the final approved duty location selected.

This position is located within Human Capital, Recruitment and Hiring Directorate, Headquarters Hiring Operations Division. The Headquarters Hiring Operations Division is responsible for providing advisory and consultative services to all Headquarters level program offices within the Transportation Security Administration for the recruitment and hiring of federal employees. The Division performs full cycle federal recruitment and hiring operations within the TSA Headquarters. Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Provides advice and guidance to less senior specialists or to TSA managers and employees sufficient to resolve highly complex problems requiring significant adaptation of past precedents or application of new regulatory guidance or legislation; recommending alternative approaches; and providing management advisory and consultative services regarding recruitment and hiring matters, to include advising on the use of special appointing authorities.
• Develops application questionnaires, engaging subject matter experts and the resources of the organizational assessments staff to ensure efficiency and effectiveness; working collaboratively with managers and supervisors to establish relevant job analyses and applicant assessment evaluation tools.
• Performs evaluations and analyses to ensure qualifications requirements are met, filling vacancies, and meeting client organizations' human resources needs to support goals and objectives.
• Prepares job opportunity announcements to include senior technical and management positions, issuing selection certificates, and counseling managers on appropriate interviewing techniques and certification of final selection actions; providing detailed explanations of the process and criteria to managers, employees, and designated employee representatives; performing technical reviews of certificates prepared by other specialists.
• Ensures that managers are provided viable options for filling positions based upon available appointment authorities and historic availability of candidates, including options to use career ladders, and student appointment programs.

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

This position is also being announced through Public (US Citizens) procedures under Announcement #HQ-ES-HC-20-768109-P. Candidates who wish to be considered under both Public (US Citizens) and Government-Wide procedures must apply to both announcements.

**** It is anticipated that all TSA Headquarters personnel within the Washington, DC metropolitan area will begin relocating to Springfield, Virginia beginning Summer/Fall 2020. If you are selected for a Headquarters position currently located in this region, your duty location will change due to the TSA Headquarters Consolidation Plan. *****

Travel Required

Not 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 have reached the minimum age (18) at the time of application.
• You must complete a favorable Background Investigation (BI).
• Selective Service registration is required.
• See additional "Conditions of Employment" and "Other Information" section

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-I Pay Band (equivalent to GS-13), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-H or GS-12 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as:

• Providing advisory and consultation services to federal leadership officials on federal recruitment and hiring issues; and
• Drafting and posting federal job opportunity announcements using federal hiring management systems; and
• Developing federal job analysis worksheets and assessment questionnaires, and
• Performing federal qualification determinations and veterans' preference adjudications to applicants.

To qualify for the SV-H Pay Band (equivalent to GS-12), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-G or GS-11 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined:

• Drafting and posting federal job opportunity announcements using federal hiring management systems; and
• Developing federal job analysis worksheets and assessment questionnaires, and
• Performing federal qualification determinations and veterans' preference adjudications to applicants.
• Performing recruitment functions to selected candidates such as job offer extensions and/or onboarding procedures.

To qualify for the SV-G Pay Band (equivalent to GS-11), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-F or GS-9 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as:

• Drafting and posting federal job opportunity announcements using federal hiring management systems; and
• Assisting HR department (i.e. Senior HR Specialist) in the development of federal job analysis worksheets, and
• Performing federal recruitment functions to selected candidates such as job offer extensions and pay setting.

OR

Achievement of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a field of study which is in or directly related to this position.

OR

Three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree.

OR

LL.M., if related.

OR

Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education, beyond the second year, and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for this position, and may be computed by first determining your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the band level; then determining your 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.

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 year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the one year of full-time study requirement.

Note: For positions requiring positive education requirements, or if you are using education to meet all or part of the qualification requirements, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or an itemized list of college courses from an accredited college or university, which includes equivalent information from the transcript (course title, semester/quarter hours, and grade/degree earned) in your resume. The information must be provided with the application by the closing date of the announcement. If selected, the applicant must supply a transcript or certification of degree.

NOTE: Credit for experience is given based on a 40-hour workweek. Part-time experience is credited on a part-time ratio, i.e., working 20 hours per week for two months equals one month of experience. No additional credit is given for overtime.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). 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.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Resumes must include the following:

• Narrative description of duties with start and end dates (including the month and year) for work experience.
• State the number of hours worked in a position (i.e. full-time or part-time). If part-time, state the total number of hours worked per week.
• Performance level (i.e. band or grade)

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

Education

Additional information

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.

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.

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 .

Permanent Change of Station (PCS) expenses are not authorized.

Relocation expenses are 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 and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies 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 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 as determined by the job analysis.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

• Comprehensive knowledge of human resources (HR) recruitment and placement programs, principles, concepts, practices, laws, regulations, and procedures to serve as a senior specialist with responsibility for providing management advisory services and/or policy interpretation and performing the full range of recruitment and placement duties for designated program areas.
• Skill in addressing a wide range of recruitment and placement issues in order to perform complex research, develop projects, identify interrelated problems, draw conclusions, and recommend program improvements.
• Knowledge of federal staffing requirements to develop and apply recruitment strategies as well as identify, attract, and retain highly qualified candidates.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Confidential

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Credentialing , Suitability/Fitness

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:

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action - Current TSA employees are not required to submit an SF-50 to support eligibility for Status consideration.

If you are not a current TSA employee: you must submit your most recent Notification of Personnel Action SF-50 (or equivalent document) to support your eligibility for Status consideration.

NOTE: An award SF-50 (i.e. cash or time off award) does not indicate grade or level (i.e. pay band) or tenure to determine your eligibility for this position and will not be accepted.

DD-214 - If you are claiming Veterans' Preference or eligible Veterans' Service, provide a copy of your DD-214 (Member Copy 4), Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other appropriate documentation to prove your entitlement and to provide verification of an Honorable Discharge.

SF-15 and VA Letter - If you are claiming Veterans' Preference based upon a Compensable Disability, Widow or Spouse Entitlement, or as a Purple Heart recipient, you must submit your DD-214 or other proof of entitlement; an SF-15, and the required proof of disability, i.e., Department of Veterans Affairs letter dated 1991 or later.

Individuals with Disabilities (IWD) Letter - In order to be eligible for employment through TSA's Individuals With Disabilities Appointing Authority, documentation of the disability is required. Such documentation is used to verify that the individual being hired is indeed a person with an intellectual disability, severe physical disability, or psychiatric disability. This documentation must be provided with your application before an individual can be hired. Documentation of eligibility for employment under this hiring authority can be obtained from a licensed medical professional (e.g., a physician or other medical professional certified by a state, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory to practice medicine); a licensed vocational rehabilitation specialist (i.e., state or private); or any Federal agency, state agency, or agency of the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory that issues or provides disability benefits.

If you do not submit required documentation described in this job opportunity announcement, your application will be deemed incomplete and you will be ineligible for further consideration for this vacancy.

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.