Duties

Summary

Come work for the USPTO, we have been ranked as one of the best places to work in the federal government! The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been serving the economic interests of America for more than 200 years. We are responsible for granting US intellectual property rights for patents and trademarks. The USPTO is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, and has over 12,000 employees. For more information about the USPTO, please visit the USPTO Jobs Website .

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Responsibilities

During the current period of mandatory telework required by the Agency's COVID-19 response, telework will be mandatory. When it is determined the Agency will be moving to the reopening phase, the expectation will be to physically return to the office at the USPTO - Alexandria, VA campus. Telework days and any waiting period for eligibility will be determined at that time.

As a Lead Personnel Security Specialist, you will provide support to his/her supervisor and on a variety of matters that are critical to the personnel security program of the agency and the office. The incumbent will be responsible for the following duties:

• Evaluating personnel security files for security clearance disparities, adjudication issues, incident reporting, and eligibility changes; determines the impact of potential adverse or derogatory information by exercising personal judgement and discretion to evaluate the nature of information received and its potential effect upon security.
• Coordinating with other federal and local agencies regarding all aspects of USPTO's National Security Information programs, special access programs and personnel security programs.
• Adjudicating national security clearances for employees and adjudicates contractor cases for suitability; adjudicating complex suitability cases for employees that contain sensitive national security information and may require coordination with Federal intelligence and law enforcement entities.
• Preparing, analyzing, formulating, developing, reviewing and implementing security policies, standards and procedures in accordance with Executive Orders, Federal Laws and regulations.
• Making recommendations for changes in basic policy issuances and for implementing instructions covering established security techniques, practices, and methods based on personal analysis of very general policy directives and objectives.
• Representing the USPTO by advising senior USPTO managers and supervisors on matters related to personnel security processes and procedures.
• Ensuring that USPTO is in compliance with the following: Civil Applicant System (CAS) (FBI and DOJ); The Office of Personnel Management's Investigative Services (OPMIS) Secure Web Portal programs and their associated programs (i.e., The Electronic Questionnaires for Investigating Processing (e-QIP); Central Verification System (CVS); and Personnel Investigations Processing System (PIPS).

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
• You must meet time-in-grade-requirements.
• Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
• You must be suitable for Federal employment.
• You must successfully pass a drug screen.

Time-in-grade/band requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement unless eligible for special hiring authority, reinstatement eligible, non-current Federal employee applying as a VEOA eligible which do not require time-in-grade/band.

Qualifications

You must meet the following United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements for the advertised position. OPM's prescribed Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Administrative and Management Positions can be found at: 0080 . You must meet all qualification requirements including time-in-grade (refer to 5 CFR 300.604 for more information on time-in-grade) by the closing date of the job announcement.

Specialized Experience: is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the federal service.

Specialized experience for this position includes:

• Experience applying national security programs, personnel security, and special access programs;
• Experience developing policies and procedures relative to security programs to ensure regulatory compliance with Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DCSA), Executive Orders of an agency and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) requirements.
• Experience overseeing the administration of an agency's security processing, adjudication/suitability of federal and contractor background investigations; and/or
• Experience advising and providing guidance on personnel security related issues to senior leaders, advisory committee members, labor organizations, contractors and their agencies.

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.

Education

Education may not be substituted for specialized experience at the GS-13 grade level.

Additional information

Applicants applying for this position must be a United States Citizen.

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position.

This is a TOP SECRET position and has a risk level designation of "CRITICAL SENSITIVE".

This is a DRUG-TESTED designated position. As part of the on-boarding process, you must successfully pass a drug screen.

Background Investigation - If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.

The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit the Department of Homeland Security Website .

Probationary Period- If selected, you may be required to complete an initial one-year probationary period.

All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.

Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid.

CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a "well qualified" rating of 85 out of 100. Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: OPM CTAP/ICTAP . CTAP/ICTAP documentation requirements are listed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued.

All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. If you believe that you have been discriminated against and would like to file an EEO complaint, you must do so within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Claims of employment discrimination must be submitted to the attention of the USPTO's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity via email ( oeeod@uspto.gov ) or phone (571-272-8292).

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 for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume and your responses to job specific self-assessment questions. Your resume will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to demonstrate possession of any specialized experience and how well your background and experience relates to the self-assessment questions in the job announcement.

The self-assessment questions relate to the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies (KSA's). Please do not provide a separate response to the KSAs.

KSA 1 - Knowledge of national security, personnel security, and special access programs.

KSA 2 - Ability to develop policies and procedures to ensure compliance of executive orders, Agency, DCSA and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) requirements.

KSA 3 - Knowledge of comprehensive security regulations and policy requirements to function as a technical authority in assignments requiring application of new theories and developments.

KSA 4 - Skill in oral and written communication to advise high-level committees or senior-level officials on personnel security issues.

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
Suitability/Fitness , National security

Required Documents

Your application and all required documents must be received by 11:59 pm ET on the closing date of this job announcement.

A complete application consists of:

1. A resume or any other written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications; optional cover letter: Your resume should indicate your citizenship and should list your educational and work experience including titles, salary, employment dates, duties, experience and how it relates to the specialized experience in the job announcement. Please Note: Responses to job questions that are not fully supported by the information in your resume may result in adjustments to your rating. Any experience claimed in a cover letter should be substantiated by information contained in your resume. A HR Representative will validate the qualifications of those candidates eligible to be referred to the hiring official.

Supporting Documents:

1. Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) - For current and/or former Federal employees, your status eligibility and highest permanent grade/step/salary held in the Federal service will be validated with a copy of your most recent (NON AWARD) SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" so that we may verify your time-in-grade.

2. Performance Appraisal - Recent performance appraisal with supervisor's signature showing the official final rating of record, and copy of incentive award(s). In cases where the performance appraisal is incomplete or unavailable, applicants may provide explanation of the reasons.

3. Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) documents - If you are a Veteran claiming eligibility under VEOA, you will be asked to submit a copy of your DD-214. Veterans must include dates of military service on their application materials, and submit a copy of each Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD-214. For more info, please visit Special Appointing Authorities for Veterans.

4. Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) documents - Applicants will be asked to submit:

(1) A copy of your specific RIF notice, written notice of your expected separation or other documents of priority consideration status;

(2) A copy of your latest SF-50 noting current position, grade, and duty location;

(3) A copy of your last performance appraisal and the rating; and

(4) Any documents from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

5. Special Appointing Authorities - If you are applying under the special appointing authority such as those authorized for the severely disabled (Schedule A) or Vietnam era and disabled veterans (VRA), you will be asked to submit documents showing eligibility to non-competitively apply under Merit Assignment announcements. Please indicate the type of special appointment you are seeking on your application. For more info on non-competitive appointments and supporting documents, please visit Federal Employment of People with Disabilities or Feds Hire Vets - Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans.

You can choose ONE of the following methods to submit Supporting Documents:

1) You can upload your documents when you register or update your information on the Dept. of Commerce site which you access through the USAJobs site.

OR

2) You can fax your documents to 571-258-4254 using the system generated fax cover sheet.

NOTE: The preceding documents requirement are based on job requirements and individual applicant eligibility. Not all documents are applicable to all applicants; if you are unsure which documents apply to you, contact the HR Specialist listed on this announcement.

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.