Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security, United States Coast Guard, Deputy Commandant for Mission Support (DCMS), Office of Security Policy & Management (DCMS-34), Security Center (DCMS-342), Chesapeake, VA.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

In this position, you will serve as an Adjudicative Team member with responsibility for performing security clearance actions for military, civilian (summer hires, interns/externs, volunteers, NAF employees), contractors, auxiliary and reserve personnel; providing customer service; and carrying out varied functions in support of communications and records maintenance, quality control, and policy coordination elements of the Security Center, interim security clearances, SCI program, and HSPD-12 activities.

Being a CG civilian makes you a valuable member of the CG team. Typical work assignments include:

* Making complex national security and suitability adjudicative decisions within established timelines for civil service, military and/or contract members;

* Adjudicating completed Personnel Security Investigations of a difficult nature, and validating submitted products, to ensure that they meet requisite legal requirements and are compatible with USCG and National Standards;

* Collaborating with a team of non-supervisory personnel (civilian, military and contractor) and Team Lead on matters relating to personnel security program objectives, priorities and deadlines;

* Providing recommendations on improvements within the Team and solutions for technical work problems;

* Participating in discussions, meetings and conferences with Agency officials, subject matter specialists; and senior technical personnel and Departmental and industry representatives to secure and provide information concerning security matters and problems; discuss recommendations, conclusions, and alternatives; and develop solutions to immediate, anticipated or potential problems of a complex nature involving the applicability of security regulations and procedures.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - This position requires occasional travel.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• You will be required to undergo pre-employment and random drug testing.
• This position requires a Top Secret clearance.
• A final offer of employment is contingent upon a negative drug test result.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

To qualify for the GS-12 grade level: Applicants must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the federal sector. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work.

Specialized experience includes the following: demonstrated knowledge of security clearances as they pertain to military or civil service personnel, interim security clearances, personnel security policies, suitability, quality assurance, customer service, sensitive compartmented information (SCI), HSPD-12, derogatory information and clearance appeals, accessions and reciprocity in order to make difficult adjudication and suitability decisions; skill in determining eligibility for access to classified or sensitive information and granting personnel security clearances/accesses in the presence of minor derogatory information; skill in responding to or resolving complex problems or questions involving Personnel Security and Suitability for service-related matters; and skill in oral and written communication.

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.

Education

This position does not have a positive education requirement. If you are including education on your resume, report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Required Documents section for detail.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications click here

Additional information

Applicants will be required to complete questions contained on the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) at the time a tentative job offer is made. Certain responses on the form could pose a problem with suitability for employment determinations. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete/make updates to the OF-306 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, or imprisonment.

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 at click here

Recruitment incentives may be authorized.

All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans , Peace Corps / VISTA volunteers , and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

More than 1 selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 45 days from the date the certificate was issued.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for the application and hiring process, please contact 202-795-6291. Decisions on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Visit Reasonable Accommodation

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

We will review your résumé and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, your experience, education and training will be rated using the on-line assessment to place you in one of three categories.

The necessary Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities to perform this job are:

Knowledge of security clearances as they pertain to military or civil service personnel, interim security clearances, personnel security policies, suitability, quality assurance, customer service, sensitive compartmented information (SCI), HSPD-12, derogatory information and clearance appeals, accessions and reciprocity in order to make difficult adjudication and suitability decisions.

Skill in determining eligibility for access to classified or sensitive information and granting personnel security clearances/accesses in the presence of minor derogatory information.

Skill in responding to or resolving complex problems or questions involving Personnel Security and Suitability for service-related matters.

Skill in oral and written communication.

If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview. Your resume and responses to the self-assessment questions are an integral part of the process for determining your qualifications for the position. Therefore, you must support your responses to the self-assessment questions by providing examples of past and present experience in your resume.

Veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they are 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. For information on veterans' preference, click here.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Top Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk

Trust determination process
Credentialing , Suitability/Fitness , National security

Required Documents

1. Your resume
2. Your responses to the online questionnaire
3. If you are qualifying based on education, submit a legible copy of your unofficial college transcript from an accredited college/university. The transcript copy must reflect the college/university name and/or logo. Applicants are highly encouraged to proactively order a copy of their official transcripts to be delivered to their home address so transcripts will be readily available if selected. If selected, you will be required to provide official transcripts prior to establishing your start date. Foreign education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited institutions in the U.S. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications click here.
4. If you are claiming special priority selection rights under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), you must submit a copy of your agency notice, most recent performance rating and most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, noting your current position, grade level and duty location. If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not ICTAP eligible. To be considered eligible, you must be placed in the well-qualified category for this position. Please see ICTAP eligibility.
5. If you are claiming veterans' preference, please submit the following documents. Please see Feds Hire Vets for detail.
a. Veterans claiming 5 point veterans' preference must submit legible Member 4 Copy DD214(s) indicating Character of Service. 5-point preference will not be granted if appropriate documentation is not submitted with your application.
b. 30% Disabled Veterans must submit their Member Copy 4 DD-214(s), which includes Character of Service, and VA Disability Letter with percentage of disability OR documentation of disability determination from a branch of the Armed Forces which reflects a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more.
c. Other 10 point Preference Eligibles must submit applicable Member Copy 4 DD-214(s), which includes Character of Service, and provide documentation of your other 10 point preference. If claiming 10 point preference, you must provide required documentation described on the back of the SF-15 which proves that you are entitled to such preference. 10-point preference will not be granted if appropriate documentation is not submitted with your application.
d. If you are a current active duty military member who does not have a DD214 and is claiming preference under the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act, you must submit certification from the Armed Forces indicating that you will be discharged or released under honorable conditions from active duty within 120 days from the date on the certification. Certifications must be on letterhead from the appropriate military branch and include the following information: military dates of service and expected discharge or release date, character of service, military rank, type of discharge and date when terminal leave will begin. Certifications must be signed by, or by direction of military members' military personnel offices, unit commanders or higher headquarters.
6. OPM must authorize employment offers for former or current Political Appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information. Submit proof of your former or current status, such as your SF-50. Please see here.

All documentation as outlined above must be received by the closing date of the announcement. If you are unable to submit your documents electronically, you may fax or mail the documents. A fax cover sheet will be provided to you from the system, with fax number and instructions to transmit the requested documents. The required documents will also be accepted by mail and must be received by the closing date of the announcement. The mailing address is COMMANDANT (CG-123SE), ATTN OFFICE OF CIVILIAN HUMAN RESOURCES (JOBS), US COAST GUARD, 2703 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AVE SE, STOP 7912, WASHINGTON, DC 20593-7912.

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.