Clarification from the agency

Government-Wide: Current and former permanent civilian Federal employees. Applications also accepted from Individuals with Disabilities; Veterans' Preference eligibles OR Veterans who were or will honorably discharge from the Armed Forces after completing at least 3 years of continuous active duty by the closing date of this announcement. Veterans' Preference eligibles will compete under TSA's Merit Promotion procedures for which Veterans' Preference is not a factor in the selection process.

This Intelligence Operations Specialist position is located in Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), Operations Support (OS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  Duties include but are not limited to:

• Collects, records and analyzes data/information; identifies problems; and performs analysis of encounters with known or suspected terrorists and assess the potential risk or threat these individuals pose to the transportation system based upon current intelligence, threat reporting and/or other derogatory data on a 24x7 basis.
• Performs analysis to discover links between known or suspected terrorists and individuals applying for or possessing credentials allowing access to critical it transportation infrastructure.
• Plans and carries out projects for collecting details from primary sources. Such projects are typically a part of a large and continuing program. Plans and analyzes data. May suggest data sources and prepare interpretive reports of limited scope.
• Evaluates incoming intelligence reports and derogatory information, identifies key and emerging issues, and highlights topics of interest while providing recommendations to improve procedures.
• Prepares intelligence products for agency personnel, counterterrorism stakeholders and other intelligence, screening and law enforcement entities.

This position is also being announced through Public (US Citizen) procedures under Announcement #HQ-OS-I&A-22-011354-P. Candidates who wish to be considered under both Public (US Citizens) and Government-Wide procedures must apply to both announcements.

The major duties described above reflect the full performance level of this position. Typically, the lower pay band (H Band) performs the same duties but will receive more guidance and training; and/or projects/work assignments may be less complex.

Conditions of employment

• You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National.
• You must have reached the minimum age (18) at the time of application.
• Selective Service registration is required.
• See additional "Conditions of Employment" and "Other Information" section
• You must complete a favorable Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI).
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI Clearance.
• Must pass pre-employment drug screening AND random drug/alcohol testing.

Conditions of Employment:

• Employee must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance based on a Special Background Investigation (SBI) with eligibility for Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).
• Requires Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel up to 20% of the time.
• This is a testing designated position. Employee required to pass drug screening prior to appointment and periodically as required during employment.
• This position description has been designated for a "Mission-Critical Emergency Employee" for Continuity of Government Operations (COOP); meaning that this incumbent may/can be required to report for CONUS related duty during an emergency at an offsite location.

If you fail to meet the conditions of employment or any other pre-employment requirements, such as missing any of the scheduled appointments, the hiring agency may rescind their tentative offer of employment.

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to E.O. 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Qualifications

To qualify for the SV-H Pay Band (equivalent to GS-11/12), you must meet one of the qualification requirements outlined below:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to the SV-G Pay Band or GS-9 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector.  Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled.  Such specialized experience is defined as:

• Applying knowledge and competence in the understanding and application of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) through the overall screening and vetting process; AND
• Developing intelligence assessments and reports, and providing recommendations to senior leadership within the intelligence community; AND
• Analyzing, providing and conducting comprehensive reviews of Publicly Available Information (PAI) Open Source/Social Media pertaining to Known or Suspected Terrorists (KSTs) and Persons of Interest (POIs); AND
• Conducting intelligence open source research using one or more of the following sources, applications and databases: NCTC Online, M3, Lexis Nexis, Worldwide Incident Tracking System (WITS), CIA Wire and Open Source Center, Tripwire Analytic Capability, TSA Selectee/No-Fly Search, HTML Database, WEBEOC Incident Tracker, and Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE), VPN, IP obfuscation and commercial data amalgamation software.

OR

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;

OR

Combining of Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements, and may be computed by first determining the total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the position; then determining the education as a percentage of the education required for the position; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for the position.

To qualify for the SV-I Pay Band (equivalent to GS-13), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-H or GS-12 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such specialized experience is defined as: 

• Applying a comprehensive knowledge and proven competence in the understanding and application of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) through the overall screening and vetting process; AND
• Developing intelligence assessments and reports, and providing recommendations to senior leadership within the intelligence community; AND
• Analyzing, providing and conducting comprehensive reviews of Publicly Available Information (PAI) Open Source/Social Media pertaining to Known or Suspected Terrorists (KSTs) and Persons of Interest (POIs); AND
• Experience conducting intelligence open source research using one or more of the following sources, applications and databases: NCTC Online, M3, Lexis Nexis, Worldwide Incident Tracking System (WITS), CIA Wire and Open Source Center, Tripwire Analytic Capability, TSA Selectee/No-Fly Search, HTML Database, WEBEOC Incident Tracker, and Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE), VPN, IP obfuscation and commercial data amalgamation software.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: Education at the graduate level in an accredited college or university in the amounts indicated above meets the requirements for this position. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the one year of full-time study requirement.

Note: For positions requiring positive education requirements, or if you are using education to meet all or part of the qualification requirements, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or an itemized list of college courses from an accredited college or university, which includes equivalent information from the transcript (course title, semester/quarter hours, and grade/degree earned) in your resume. The information must be provided with the application by the closing date of the announcement. If selected, the applicant must supply a transcript or certification of degree.   

Note: Credit for experience is given based on a 40-hour workweek. Part-time experience is credited on a part-time ratio, i.e., working 20 hours per week for two months equals one month of experience. No additional credit is given for overtime. 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.

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.

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.

Resumes must include the following:

• Narrative description of duties with start and end dates (including the month and year) for work experience.
• State the number of hours worked in a position (i.e. full-time or part-time). If part-time, state the total number of hours worked per week.
• Performance level (i.e. band or grade)

You must meet the qualification requirements for this position no later than the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of the experience and/or related education as reflected in your resume and supporting documentation.  You are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show possession of the competencies required for this position.  We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If, after reviewing your resume and any supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your category placement may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Grouping procedures.  Under Category Grouping, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies as determined by the job analysis.

Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies as determined by the job analysis.

Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies as determined by the job analysis.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview.