Clarification from the agency

This Merit Promotion position is open to Current Federal Employees and Former Federal Employees with permanent status or reinstatement eligibility. Individuals who are eligible for a special appointing authority may also apply such as Individuals with Disabilities (Schedule A), former Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and Vista volunteers; certain Military Spouses, or individuals eligible under various programs for Veterans (VRA, VEOA, 30% disabled).

More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

The Supervisory Personnel Security Specialist reports to the Deputy Director of Talent Management, OHR. In this role, you will serve as the Personnel Security Branch Manager, responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of the personnel security program, including ensuring compliance with federal and SI-specific security regulations, standards, and policies.

In this position, you will:

• Exercise the full range of supervisory and personnel management authorities and responsibilities in directing work of subordinate staff, and in the development of long-range goals and objectives.
• Plan and assign work, delegating authority as appropriate; set and adjust priorities as necessary; develop performance standards and appraise work, giving advice and/or instructions as required.
• Manage personnel security operations and adjudication procedures, conduct reviews of security administration, and develop strategies to improve operational efficiency.
• Plan, direct, and coordinate personnel security-related activities across various areas including strategic planning, organizational design, business process improvements, enterprise IT system requirements, contract management, training, budget and forecasting, and enterprise performance metrics.
• Provide technical expertise in reviewing, modifying, and developing new policies, documenting adjudications, and internal and external messaging to applicants and incumbents.
• Monitor the federal security environment to benchmark best practices, lead efforts to modernize personnel security administration, and identify necessary resources to improve operations.

Conditions of employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
• May be required to serve an 18-month probationary period for supervisors.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for GS-14 if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as 1) Managing personnel security operations that includes providing leadership and direction to security assistants/specialists; 2) Developing and implementing personnel security policies/procedures; 3) Administering and monitoring background investigation requests; 4) reviewing/adjudicating background investigation reports.

For GS-15-You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-14 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as : 1) Managing personnel security operations that includes providing leadership and direction to security assistants/specialists; 2) Developing and implementing personnel security policies/procedures; 3) overseeing the allocation of personnel, financial, and technological resources; 4) creating metrics and reports that monitor work volume and productivity and 5) providing technical expertise in security administration, to include analytical, management, and oversight support for security and suitability process changes

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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.
 

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above.  The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

1. Leadership/Supervision-Ability to exercise supervisory and personnel management responsibility by providing leadership and direction to subordinate personnel

2. Personnel Security and Safety-Ability to use software, programs, applications and/or systems to produce metrics, reports and presentations that identify/monitor work volume, trends, productivity,
   quality and timeliness.

3. Technical Competence-Ability to monitor and make technical judgments concerning interpretation and implementation of current, developing and new Federal and SI Personnel Security regulations, directives and policies.

4. Program Management-Ability to participate in the administration and management of the security clearance process.

BASIS OF RATING:  Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. If, after the Human Resources Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA):  If you are applying for a VEOA appointment, you must be a veteran and must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service. ("Active Service" under this law means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.) A veteran who is released under honorable conditions shortly before completing a 3-year tour is also eligible.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities:  The following links contain information on the eligibility requirements to be considered under a noncompetitive appointing authority:

• Primary Appointing Authorities for Career and Career-Conditional Appointments
• Hiring Authorities for Veterans
• People with Disabilities