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 Administrative Specialist Position is located in the Analysis, Administrative & Taskings Branch, Field Operations Division, Law Enforcement Federal Air Marshal Service (LE/FAMS) within Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Assisting higher level team members with completion of front office administration processes that include following up on cases and actions of the Assistant Administrator, office projects and analytical research.
  
• Assisting with developing and implementing procedures for expediting the flow of work through the office.
  
• Coordinating intelligence information related to transportation security threats and assists with highly sensitive issues associated with international incidents in coordination with higher level management.
  
• Consolidating and maintaining program data in Excel spreadsheet. Pointing out potential discrepancies and independently researching apparent causes of these discrepancies. Performing analyses of LE/FAMS activities.
  
• Maintaining office records (both electronic and paper) of inquiries, LE/FAMS staff actions, briefings and other formal related administrative requests to ensure the information is easily retrieved and formatted for similar requests.
  

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

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
H

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National.
• You must complete a favorable Background Investigation (BI).
• Selective Service registration is required.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret Clearance.
• 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-G Pay Band (equivalent to GS-11), you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the SV-F or GS-9 Pay Band 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 to be filled. Specialize experience is defined as:

• Analyzing procedures effectiveness and efficiency of support processes to ensure alignment with mission and management objectives;
• Coordinating office resources to preserve operations and administer procedural changes that increase effectiveness, efficiency, and economy of operations; AND
• Generating computerized and/or written reports and documents for tracking, management and audit purposes.

OR

You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: 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.

To qualify for the SV-H Pay Band (equivalent to GS-12), you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the SV-G or GS-11 Pay Band 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 to be filled. Specialist experience is defined as:

• Developing administrative procedures in alignment with agency and program office policies;
• Reviewing a wide range of projects for performance and adherence to program objectives. Through periodic feedback from in-process reviews, assures that tasks progress efficiently and remain focused on track; AND
• Analyzing and monitoring administrative processes to identify actual or potential problems, trends and deficiency situations or areas of imbalance.

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.

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

Education

None

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 .

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 and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF) 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, including all SPFs 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, including all SPFs 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:

• Knowledge of a wide variety of administrative policies, precedents, and procedures as well as management processes, systems, and requirements.
• Knowledge of policies and procedures of the handling of transportation security threats and incidents information.
• Knowledge of strategic planning policies, methods, procedures in order to conduct administrative tasks.
• Knowledge and experience with computer software productivity programs such as Microsoft: Office, Word, Outlook, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint, as well as enterprise tools such as WebTA and Concur.
• Skill in identifying and analyzing problems, making well-informed, effective and timely recommendations in clear, concise and technically sound oral and written communications, and coordinate where appropriate to resolve the issue.
• Skill in the preparation of complex communications to include knowledge of the appropriate communications protocols, policies, practices, and methods.
• Skill in coordinating and making travel arrangements, to include scheduling, itinerary details, reservations, preparation of travel vouchers and pre and post trip reports and other related documentation.
• Ability to analyze administrative issues, program policies, procedures, operations and perform appropriate actions where required.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate 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.

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.