Clarification from the agency

These positions will be filled through the Office of Personnel Management's Direct Hire Authority for the occupation and is open to all U.S. citizens.

As an Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse Practitioner) you will serve as a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at detention facilities staffed by the ICE Health Services Corps (IHSC). These sites provide medical, dental and mental health care to detainees in ICE custody. You will provide direct psychiatric care to detainees via scheduled appointments, emergency or urgent care visits, and daily rounds. You will perform duties such as:

• Perform comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, behavioral health care, and detoxification as required by policy or for detainees' symptoms/complaints.
• Apply patient-specific knowledge to monitor and control stress levels and provide emotional support and counseling, and apply knowledge of drugs and therapeutics when prescribing medication.
• Follow agency policy in the management of significant mental illness including prevention of violence, homicide, self-harm, and suicide.
• May serve as medical escort of detainees as needed, for domestic/overseas travel.
• Participate actively in the quality improvement system, to comply with Joint Commission standards and National Patient Safety goals, and other quality improvement projects.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation.
• You must successfully pass a drug screen.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must certify registration with Selective Service.
• Requirements by Closing Date: Unless otherwise noted, you must meet all requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
• Probationary Period: This is a full-time permanent position (Career/Career-Conditional appointment). Upon appointment to this position, you may be required to serve a one-year probationary period.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: GS-13: You qualify for the GS-13 grade level if you possess the following:

EDUCATION: This position requires at least a Graduate Degree as a Public Mental Health Nurse Practitioner from an educational program accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), or an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. Youmust submit an official transcript or unofficial transcript that clearly documents the courses completed and the degree earned.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. Failure to provide such documentation with your application will result in lost consideration. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/

LICENSURE: For all grade levels and positions, applicants must have passed the National Council Licensure Examination.

In addition, you must possess a current, active, full, and unrestricted license as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) from a State, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States, AND you must possess an unrestricted license with the state of your licensure and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to prescribe controlled medications.

EXPERIENCE: GS-13: In addition to the mandatory license and education described above under Basic Requirements, applicants must have at least one or more full years of professional advanced nurse practitioner experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service performing duties as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner providing direct behavioral healthcare, providing emotional support and counseling, and reducing distress and enhancing coping ability.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

CERTIFICATIONS:
You must be board certified by the American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC).

You must possess current Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Provider certification.

CONTINUING EDUCATION: Continuing education requirements must be met as required for licensing and board certification maintenance, as applicable

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: You must be able to understand, speak, read, and write English fluently. Bilingual communication capability is preferred.

ON-CALL: You must be willing to participate in the emergency on-call process, to include duty hours, after duty hours, designated holidays or other times as directed.

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.

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.

Current or Former Political Appointees: 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.

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.

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 resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements.

Direct Hire Authority: These positions will be filled through the Office of Personnel Management's Direct Hire Authority. The "Rule of Three", Category Rating and Veterans Preference will not apply to this vacancy. For more information on Direct Hire Authority, please see: OPM Direct Hire Fact Sheet.

Veterans: Although the Direct Hire Authority permits hiring without regard to Veterans Preference, applicants who are eligible for Veterans Preference are still encouraged to include that information in their application and submit supporting documentation (i.e. DD-214, or other substantiating documents). This position is not considered scientific/professional. View information on veterans' preference.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not ICTAP eligible. View information about ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under ICTAP, you must be placed in the well-qualified category for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement.

Pursuant to Executive Order 12564, and the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan, ICE is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and, therefore, personnel in safety- or security-sensitive positions (testing designated positions) are subject to random drug testing. Moreover, other drug testing of employees (e.g., reasonable suspicion drug test) may be conducted in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. All applicants tentatively selected for employment at ICE are subject to pre-employment drug testing and a final offer of employment is contingent upon a negative drug test result.