This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Communications Center at a Border Patrol Sector. The Communications Center operates on eight hour shifts, seven days a week, on a rotational basis. This position provides information to assist officers in detaining, apprehending and deporting aliens from the United States and facilitates officer safety by monitoring radio transmissions utilizing various communications systems. This position starts at a salary of $32,844 (GS-05, Step 1) to $47,598 (GS-06, Step 10) with promotion potential to $47,598 (GS-06, Step 10).

Your job will include:

• Providing communications and information to assist officers in detaining, apprehending and deporting aliens from the United States
• Facilitating officer safety by monitoring radio transmissions utilizing various communications systems
• Searching, locating and transmitting information to agents/officers such as driver's license information, social security numbers, passport numbers, criminal records, vehicle registrations and immigration checks
• Monitoring adjustable cameras and alerting agents of illegal attempts to infiltrate the border

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
• Primary U.S. residency for the last three years (additional details below)
• You may be required to pass a background investigation

This position is covered under the bargaining unit.

Shift work: You will be required to perform work on a shift and rotational basis.

Overtime: You must be readily available to work overtime on a scheduled or unscheduled basis in excess of the 40-hour work week.

Qualifications

GS-5: You qualify at the GS-5 level if you possess one year of specialized experience that demonstrates the ability to gather, sort and relay information from files, records and/or databases. Examples include maintaining activity or communication logs, and providing information to others using computer and/or communications equipment.

GS-6: You qualify at the GS-6 level if you possess one year of specialized experience researching, gathering, analyzing and relaying sensitive or confidential information using voice communications equipment in support of compliance, regulatory, enforcement, or investigative related activities and programs. An example includes searching large law enforcement databases to obtain information in support of law enforcement activities and relaying it to appropriate staff under stressful and/or emergency situations.

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.

EDUCATION SUBSTITUTION:

GS-05: Successful completion of a full four-year course of study above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite can be substituted for specialized experience. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45-quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school.

There is no education substitution for the GS-06 level.

COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

To combine your education and experience, you must convert each to a percentage, and then add the percentages. If your education is currently described in quarter hours, multiply by the fraction 2/3 to convert into semester hours then divide the semester hours by 18. To determine your percentage of qualifying experience, divide your total months of qualifying experience by the required number of months of qualifying experience. Add your percentages together. The total must equal at least 100% in order to qualify.

You must meet all qualification requirements, including education, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 10/02/2017.

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.

Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For more information visit this link.

Residency: If you are not currently a CBP employee, you must meet one or more of the following primary residency criteria for at least three years prior to applying to this announcement:

1. Resided in the United States or its protectorate or territories (excluding short trips abroad, such as vacations);
2. Worked for the United States government as an employee overseas in a federal or military capacity; or
3. Been a dependent of a United States federal or military employee serving overseas.

Exceptions may be granted if you provide complete state-side coverage information regarding participation in "Study Abroad" programs, overseas church missions, or state-side addresses of anyone who worked or studied with you overseas. You must provide information and related documentation at the time of application.

Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the Federal Government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. Information about ICTAP or CTAP eligibility can be found here. To be considered well qualified under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be placed in the Well-Qualified category for this position, as described above. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed in the "Required Documents" section 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 basic qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, we will use an online self-assessment questionnaire to place you in one of three categories based on your experience, education and training. Your entire application package will then be reviewed. The final determination will be based on all the information provided in your application package.

If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:

1. Best Qualified: Applicants possessing knowledge, skills and abilities and/or competencies substantially exceeding the minimum requirements of the position.
2. Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing knowledge, skills and abilities and/or competencies clearly exceeding the minimum requirements of the position.
3. Qualified: Applicants possessing knowledge, skills and abilities and/or competencies meeting the minimum requirements of the position.

Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. This position is not considered scientific/professional. Other 10 point preference eligibles and veterans with 5 point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. For more information about veterans' preference visit this link.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview. To preview the job questionnaire, see https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10050764

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other Characteristics:

Candidates who meet the minimum qualification requirements are required to possess certain Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, or Other Characteristics (KSAOs) in order to successfully perform the duties of this position. Candidates will be asked to demonstrate their attainment of these KSAOs in their resume. The KSAOs for this position are:

• Ability to communicate orally in order to establish/maintain effective working relationships with OBP agents and other law enforcement entities and to receive, transmit and relay technical information
• Skill in operating computers, radio based communications equipment, sensor indications, and phone systems to transmit and receive communications
• Knowledge of the geographic area serviced by the sector, the location of each repeater site, locations of patrol stations and other law enforcement agencies territorial jurisdictions
• Fundamental communications skills, i.e., keyboard, verbal, and written, for purposes of comprehensive data retrieval