Clarification from the agency

Status Candidates (Merit Promotion and VEOA Eligibles) and Special Hiring Authorities; current, permanent VA Employees may receive priority consideration.

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VA Healthcare System Serving Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan (VISN 10) advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being

Major Duties:

• Directs, coordinates and/or performs a variety of supervisory and non-supervisory policing law enforcement assignments and projects that are performed on Departmental property; including any properties owned, leased, or licensed when consistent with Federal laws, regulations, VA policy and operational guidance. Works in collaboration with the Captain who serves as the incumbent's immediate supervisor.
• Coordinates or oversees off-station VA law enforcement activities, investigations or protection support in accordance with applicable laws and VA policy.
• Provides Lieutenant policing services routinely at all segments of VA facilities located over large geographical areas, some of which may be in different states, counties, municipalities, or townships. Performs certain elements of the work away from Departmental properties.
• Serves as Lieutenant and Officer-in-Charge performing various law enforcement and administrative functions throughout VHA. Manages, supervises and coordinates the VHA, PS law enforcement activities for designated assigned areas. Performs a broad range of supervisory responsibilities over other law enforcement policing staff. Serves as a watch commander or administrative lieutenant at the geographic area assigned.
• Oversees human resources activities; and leads, prioritizes, assigns, reviews, approves, and disapproves employees' assignments and related assignments
• Serves as a lead on and personally conducts investigations, apprehensions, or detention of individuals suspected or convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the US. Conducts investigations with a nexus to VA, prisoner transport, patient search and recovery, life-saving efforts, disaster response and recovery, asset protection during transit, training, and other matters.
• Responds to highly dangerous and active crimes in progress and makes independent decisions to take/direct/coordinate immediate steps to preserve life and property.
• Conducts classes; coordinates specialized training in a variety of forums and ensures appropriate and timely training of staff. Ensures sufficient stock of tactical supplies and equipment; and maintains liaison with the appropriate VHA entities to obtain that which is needed.
• Carries firearms and other weapons, intervenes when necessary to de-escalate situations and determines when and how much force must be applied. Advises individuals of their (Miranda, Weingarten, Garrity, etc.) rights, and protects the constitutional and civil rights of persons.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Rotating tour to include holidays, nights, and weekends
Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Police Officer/PD99828S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• May be required to complete a physical/fitness examination
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Unrestricted Driver's License is required
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Position is subject to the Lautenberg Amendment
• Applicant shall not possess any Brady/Giglio violations or concerns
• This position in undergoing a classification consistency review and may result in a change in grade - will be required to sign a Memorandum of Understanding
• Firearm Requirement: VA Police Officers are required to carry agency-approved firearms while on duty on VA property. Officers must achieve and maintain qualification/certification with the agency-approved firearms as condition of gaining and continuing employment as a Police Officer. Applicants must be able to possess firearms under the terms of the Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9).

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/25/2025.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-8. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-8 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization that provided a knowledge of a body of basic laws and regulations, law enforcement operations, practices, and techniques and involved responsibility for maintaining order and protecting life and property. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: supervising/leading and providing guidance/direction to law enforcement personnel at various levels on duties in response to potential threats of violence, detecting criminal activity, fire and other emergencies; enforcing federal, state, and local laws; coordinates or oversees off-station law enforcement activities, investigations or protection support; performs various administrative functions to include reviewing and overseeing daily and monthly police activity, crime and accident reports and plans, incoming correspondence, monitoring budget and/or budget requests, managing/overseeing personnel activity, etc.; may have served as Officer-In-Charge within a police department.

Creditable specialized experience may have been gained in work on a police force; through service as a military police officer; in work providing visitor protection and law enforcement in parks, forests, or other natural resource or recreational environments; in performing criminal investigative duties; or in other work that provided the required knowledge and skills. Experience as a security guard or corrections officer is generally not qualifying.
Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Criminal Law
• Decision Making
• Leadership
• Managing Human Resources
• Security
• Teaching Others

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; religions; 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work requires, on a regular and recurring basis, considerable and strenuous physical exertion such as running, frequent climbing of multiple flights of stairs, and carrying items weighing over 50 pounds. It requires stamina, physical agility, dexterity, and the strength to pursue, apprehend or detain persons who are often uncooperative, assaultive, and/or armed.
The work involves both moderate and high risks and possible endangerment of life or serious injury that requires the exercise of safety precautions and use of personal protective equipment. The work is performed in settings in which there is regular and recurring exposure to moderate to severe discomforts and unpleasantness, such as high temperatures in confined spaces, high temperatures due to mandatory protective personal equipment, or adverse weather conditions during extended periods of traffic and patrol duties. The work involves moderate risk requiring exercise of safety precautions when working around hazardous materials such as toxic gases, explosives, infectious biological materials, and others that pose a moderate risk of exposure.

POLICE OFFICER CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYEMENT

1. New VA Police Officers are required to attend an 8-week course at the VA Law Enforcement Training Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Satisfactory completion of this course is a condition of continued employment.

2. Designated Drug-Testing Position: Applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to an appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.

3. A medical examination is required. The duties of these positions require moderate to arduous physical exertion and/or duties of a hazardous nature. Applicants must possess: good near and distant vision, ability to distinguish basic colors, and ability to hear the conversational voice.

4. Applicants and employees must have the capacity to perform the essential functions of the position without risk to themselves or others. Applicants and employees must possess emotional and mental stability. A psychological examination is required. In most instances, a specific medical condition or impairment will not automatically disqualify an applicant or employee. A medical condition or impairment is disqualifying only if the condition, for good medical reason, precludes assignment to or warrants restriction from the duties of the specific position. For some positions, the loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid. Reasonable accommodation shall also be considered in determining an applicant's ability to perform the duties of a position.

5. A character investigation will be conducted on applicants selected for employment. The purpose of such an investigation is to secure evidence of the candidate's honesty, integrity, general character, and loyalty to the U.S. Government. 6. As a condition of employment, must qualify to be issued a firearm and semi-annually with assigned firearm, annually with an expandable Straight Baton (MEB), maintain a valid State or Commonwealth Driver's License and pass annual physical and psychosocial assessments. Applicants must be able to possess firearms under the terms of the Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9).

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.