Transportation Security Administration Representative (TSAR)

Summary

This position is a Transportation Security Administration Representative (TSAR) responsible for serving as TSA's onsite transportation security representative outside the continental United States within an assigned international region. The incumbent acts as the primary TSA representative to foreign governments, Embassy officials, and international stakeholders on complex transportation security matters, including terrorist incidents, threats, and incidents involving U.S. interests.

Duties

• This position serves as a Transportation Security Administration Representative (TSAR) assigned to International Operations (IO), Security Operations (SO), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As a TSAR, you will serve as the on-site Transportation Security Representative for assignments located outside and/or inside the continental United States. You will serve under the administrative supervision of the Regional Director for an Area of Responsibility (AOR) and have overall responsibility for developing and maintaining effective and professional relationships with U.S. and foreign government officials to promote consistency with international security standards, foreign government requirements, and TSA regulatory programs. You will be considered a technical subject matter expert in a broad range of highly complex transportation security issues for host countries within the assigned AOR. Duties may include, but are not limited to: Liaison: Serving as the TSAR for foreign governments and embassy officials, ensuring attainment of international security standards, sharing best practices, serving as the on-site coordinator for the TSA/DHS response team to transportation-related terrorist incidents and threats, coordinating the dissemination of threats or security related information, representing TSA with U.S. and international stakeholders engaged in transportation security activities, developing TSA/DHS positions through coordination and communication on a wide range of highly complex transportation security issues, and facilitating Federal Air Marshal (FAM) operations in foreign airports. Analysis: Planning and carrying out complex analytical reviews involving international transportation security issues and coordinating with TSA Headquarters to identify and mitigate threats to the international security system, developing engagement strategies for countries within the AOR. Developing and presenting briefings, speeches, issue papers, country profiles and background/talking points on a wide range of issues of interest to high level officials. Networking: Developing stakeholder networks and cultivating effective relationships to manage crisis situations and resolve complex and potentially controversial transportation security issues involving the international community. Program Management: Planning and formulating proposed mitigation options for transportation security issues and presenting options for review by leadership. Conducting in-depth and timely analyses of National Civil Aviation Security, Quality Control, Training, and other transportation security programs for assigned countries; providing extensive assistance to host governments to improve the security of international transportation security systems. Resource Management: Serving as budget and resource manager for the AOR and preparing funding requests, justifications, and advance estimates on AOR program requirements. Providing technical and administrative guidance and direction to contract employees.

Qualifications

In addition to the minimum qualifications described above, you must meet the following specialized experience to be considered qualified for the position: To qualify for the SV-K Pay Band (equivalent to GS-15), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-J Pay Band or GS-14 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as: Experience interpreting, developing, and applying transportation security policy or programs in an enforcement, investigation, inspection or compliance arena. Demonstrated experience advising on aviation security policies, laws, and regulations. Demonstrated experience evaluating and recommending improvements in transportation security, including issues with international impact. Demonstrated experience developing influence and maintaining professional relationships with high-level international partners and other officials across organizational and functional boundaries. Conditions of employment: MOBILITY: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in the wake of 9/11 to strengthen the security of the nation's transportation systems while ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce. TSA employs a risk-based strategy to secure U.S. transportation systems, with nearly 50,000 Transportation Security Officers, each day at approximately 450 airports nationwide. The agency continuously sets the standard for excellence in transportation security through its people, processes, technologies and use of intelligence to drive operations. Mobility is a condition of employment. Applicants and current TSA employees who are selected for this position must sign and submit a mobility agreement upon acceptance of a job offer. Executing this agreement is required as a condition of employment for an individual selected for a vacant mobility position. Work may require driving or traveling by motor vehicle and occasionally involves regular and reoccurring exposure to moderate risk or discomforts that require special safety precautions. This duty assignment can result in dangerous and/or austere living conditions. In addition, work may require driving or traveling by motor vehicle to surrounding countries and therefore may be required to obtain vaccinations depending on guidance from State Department, DHS, and/or the host country. The TSAR position is a tour of duty assignment generally lasting up to five years, with an initial 36-month tour and, with agency approval, a second tour of up to 24 months. Any extensions beyond the second tour are based on agency needs. During the assignment, Human Capital will assist the employee with a career assessment and future position interests, and TSA will provide a consistent and timely placement process upon tour expiration, subject to priority placement eligibility, qualification requirements, career development considerations, and agency needs. 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.

Requirements

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. You must pass Drug Screening, subject to random drug tests. You must be able to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI clearance. This is an Emergency Essential position. Must sign mobility agreement upon selection. This position requires Financial Disclosure Please see the Qualifications section for conditions of employment. If you fail to meet the conditions of employment or any other pre-employment requirements, such as missing any of the scheduled appointments, the hiring agency may rescind their tentative offer of employment. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for TSA 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.

How to apply

All of the following must be received in our office by 11:59 PM EST (Eastern Standard time) on the closing date of this announcement. If we do not receive all required information by the closing date, your application may not be considered. The vacancy questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions. This provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question. Please provide a response of 200 words or less to each question. You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot. To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. Your application must include: Resume Self-Assessment Questionnaire for this position Applicable supporting documents (see Required Documents Section) To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your résumé and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. Veterans 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 documentation that is required, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.