Personnel Security Specialist

Summary

This vacancy is for a Personnel Security Specialist in the Office of the Secretary within the Department of Commerce, Office of the Secretary, Insider, Risk, & Continuity (OSIRC). All Office of Security, Insider Risk and Continuity employees are considered Emergency Employees and may be required to assist in providing essential services during an emergency, weather, or COOP event at the worksite, an alternate location, or via telework.

Duties

• As a Personnel Security Specialist, you will: Initiate and adjudicate all levels of cases for the Department's personnel. Review and issue pre-appointment and interim access approvals. Prepare and review Administrative Review packets in the denial and/or revocation action of a security clearance. Ensure compliance with Executive Orders, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), other stakeholders, and Department of Commerce policies and procedural requirements. Develop policy, procedures, and standards and provide guidance for a personnel security program. This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Personnel Security Specialist ZA-0080-3, FPL: 3 positions within the Department of Commerce in the same geographical location or local commuting area with the same qualifications and specialized experience.

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Occupational-Series Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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. This position is being filled under the Department Of Commerce Alternative Personnel System (CAPS). Under CAPS, positions are classified by career path and pay band. The ZA-03 is equivalent to the GS-11/12 grade levels. To qualify at the ZA-03 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-02/GS-9 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience: Analyzing personnel security guidelines and/or policies; Conducting investigations/inquiries related to eligibility determinations; and Adjudicating and/or granting access to National Security Information. -OR- SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: Completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M if related, in a field related to this position. -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position. This position requires a TOP SECRET/SCI CLEARANCE: Any required investigations and clearances must be completed before the selectee can be placed in the position. You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. A probationary or trial period may be required. Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/). 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. All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing. Bargaining Unit Position: No Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE form 450): Yes Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expense: WIll not be paid License required: No Drug Test Required: Yes, This position is subject to pre-employment drug testing and random drug testing thereafter. 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.

Education

If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information. There is no positive education requirement for this position. See Qualifications Above. NOTE: Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.The application process is as follows: To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. Note: To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. 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 at least 3 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.