Clarification from the agency

ICE Employees only

View Common Definitions of terms found in this announcement.

Criminal Investigator, GS-1811-14 supervisory and non-supervisory positions will be filled in various locations within the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, Office of Professional Responsibility, and Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs.

As a Supervisory Criminal Investigator (Group Supervisor), you will perform the following duties:

• Serve as a first line supervisor responsible for the administration, management, and conduct of investigative activities and special operations assigned to the field office or geographic location.
• Establish guidelines and performance expectations as well as observe the performance of staff.

As a Supervisory Criminal Investigator (Assistant Attache), GS-1811-14 you will perform the following duties:

• Assist the Attache/Deputy Attache in performing the administrative and human resource management functions relative to the staff supervised.
• Assist in planning and organizing ICE operations within the designated foreign area of responsibility to include matters of involving the priority programs of terrorism, money laundering, and other criminal violations within the purview of ICE; and the removal of non-citizens from the United States in coordination with host country officials and the Department of State.
• Establish and maintain liaison with appropriate officials of U.S. Government agencies and counterpart foreign officials to develop coordination and supporting bilateral ICE/DHS enforcement projects and programs.

As a Supervisory Criminal Investigator (Resident Agent in Charge), you will perform the following duties

• Oversee the administration, management and conduct of all investigative activities, programs and special operations within your assigned area of responsibility.
• Plan and develop national and special investigative programs, make recommendations for the introduction of new programs, conduct pilot programs and acceleration of existing programs.

As a Criminal Investigator (National Program Manager), you will perform the following duties:

• Serve as an advisor to ICE leadership at Headquarters and field levels providing intelligence and investigative input to field officers involved in major anti-terror and criminal investigations.
• Develop training and programs on topics such as investigative matters, intelligence collection, trend analysis, methods of detecting fraudulent documents, and similar subjects for presentation to top agency officials and other key stakeholders.

As a Criminal Investigator with the Office of Professional Responsibility, you will perform the following duties:

• Conduct, lead, and report on investigations regarding criminal misconduct of ICE personnel, their associates, contractors, and any other entity under the investigative jurisdiction of the OPR.
• Develop criminal investigative objectives, strategies, and goals.

By applying to this announcement, you will be considered for both supervisory and non-supervisory positions.

By applying to this announcement, you will be considered for permanent promotions, temporary promotions, and detail positions.
Some temporary promotions may be made permanent without further competition.

Mobility: The selectee must be available for both temporary assignments and permanent assignments based upon the needs of the agency.

Secondary Law Enforcement: For approved secondary covered positions under 5 USC 8331 (20) and 5 USC 8401 (17), previous experience in a primary (rigorous) law enforcement position (or equivalent outside the Federal Government) is a prerequisite. Law Enforcement retirement coverage (special law enforcement provisions) is extended only if the secondary covered position immediately follows service in a law enforcement position. FERS applicants must have completed three (3) years of service in a rigorous position (AKA primary) position and transfer directly from a covered position in order to continue Law Enforcement retirement coverage upon selection.

Primary position means a position whose primary duties are:

• Investigation, apprehension, or detention of individuals suspected or convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the United States.

Secondary position means a position that:

• (1) Is clearly in the law enforcement field; and
• (2) Is in an organization having a law enforcement mission; and
• (3) Is either -
  • (i) Supervisory; i.e., a position whose primary duties are as a first-level supervisor of law enforcement officers in primary positions; or
  • (ii) Administrative; i.e., an executive, managerial, technical, semiprofessional, or professional position for which experience in a primary law enforcement position, or equivalent experience outside the Federal government, is a prerequisite.

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.
• Time in Grade: Current Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade in the Federal service. Time in grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
• This position requires the selectee to carry a firearm. Any person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence cannot lawfully possess a firearm or ammunition (Title 18, U.S.C. Section 022 (g)(9)).
• Convictions of misdemeanor crime of domestic violence are disqualifying.
• Motor Vehicle Operation: A valid state motor vehicle license and the ability to drive an automobile during the performance of duty is required.
• This position may require the incumbent to be reassigned to a different geographic location. Accordingly, the incumbent will be required to sign a mobility agreement, which will remain in effect through the duration of the assignment.
• Previous experience in a primary (rigorous) law enforcement position (or equivalent outside the Federal Government) is a prerequisite.
• Supervisory Probationary Period: If selected for a Supervisory position under provisions of the Civil Service Reform Act, first time supervisors and/or managers will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period.

Qualifications

Please limit your SA-14 resume to 5 pages. If more than 5 pages are submitted, only the first 5 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.
Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

This Job Opportunity Announcement is for current GS-13 and former GS-14 ICE Employees seeking a promotion to a GS-14 Criminal Investigator position.

Please note, a temporary promotion to a GS-14 position is not considered a permanent GS-14 position

You qualify for the GS-14 grade level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-13 grade level performing duties such as:

• Utilizing a combined methodology of intelligence, investigative techniques, and legal authorities to perform investigations and associated activities.
• Conducting a broad range of investigations of unusual difficulty and responsibility associated with trade, travel, finance, and immigration for the purpose of combatting illicit activities.
• Serving as a Special Agent for interagency, multi-jurisdictional, international, and/or inter-organizational inquiries and investigations.

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

Prior to submitting your application, you are expected to carefully review all materials related to the SA-14 Promotional Process on the HSI Career Center on HSINet. Important information is provided about how to prepare your SA-14 resume, as well as a set of frequently asked questions. Read all of the information, as some of the requirements and guidance have changed since the previous SA-14 promotional process.

In addition to meeting the eligibility and qualification requirements, completing and passing each phase below is required for placement on a Certificate of Eligibles.

Phase I. Occupational Questionnaire and SA-14 Resume

• At the time of application, candidates will complete an Occupational Questionnaire (OQ) and submit their SA-14 resume.
• The OQ asks about Foundational and Advanced Investigative Experiences. To proceed in the promotional process, candidates must possess specialized experience, all Foundational Investigative Experiences, and a minimum of one Advanced Investigative Experience.
• In preparing their SA-14 resumes, candidates must briefly reference their Foundational Investigative Experiences. Candidates must provide sufficient detail, depth, and breadth to demonstrate how they meet the Advanced Investigative Experience requirements, using the Context, Actions, Results (CAR) format. Candidates should provide details for as many of the Advanced Investigative Experiences that they possess. Resumes should also conform to ICE's Five-Page Resume Guidance.
• Assessment window: August 22 - September 5, 2023.

Phase II. Supervisory Situational Judgment Test (SSJT)

• This pass/fail online assessment measures critical leadership and interpersonal skills; candidates are given two hours to complete it.
• Candidates who applied to an SA-14 promotional announcement in previous years and passed the SSJT will not be required to re-take the SSJT. Passing results will be applied to this job announcement and candidates will be advanced to the Phase III Experience Review. Instead of receiving a testing invitation, those excepted from re-taking the SSJT will be notified at the beginning of phase II.
• For candidates who are required to complete the SSJT, email invitations should be received on September 7, 2023.
• Anticipated assessment window: September 7 - September 15, 2023.

Phase III. Investigative Experience Review

• A panel of supervisory special agents will be trained on how to review and evaluate the resumes of candidates who achieve a passing result from Phase II.
• Using established criteria, panelists' evaluations will focus on the specialized experience, Foundational, and Advanced Investigative Experiences. Panelists will determine whether the candidate receives a final rating based on the number and quality of investigative experiences presented in the SA-14 resume.
• Candidates evaluated to be Best Qualified will be placed on a Certificate of Eligibles.
• Anticipated Experience Review window: October 30 - November 3, 2023.

As part of the final selection decision, interviews will be conducted by hiring managers/selecting officials.

Not all candidates will be interviewed. If you have questions regarding the assessments or assessment process, please email SAPromotion@ice.dhs.gov for further assistance.

All dates listed in this section are subject to change. While every attempt will be made to adhere to the dates listed above, there may be instances in which a change is required.

Email Addresses:

• Throughout the testing process, the email address associated with your USAJOBS.gov profile is used for all official notifications concerning your application.
• It is your responsibility to proactively search for communications in email (including spam or junk folders), and on USAJOBS.gov, to ensure assessment deadlines, scheduling instructions, or document submissions are not missed.
• We strongly suggest using your ICE email address on your USAJOBS.gov profile as some email service providers have blocked important scheduling messages for various reasons.
• If your USAJOBS.gov profile was created or was linked to a dhs.gov email address, please ensure this is removed and replaced with a new email address prior to submitting your application. You may even consider creating a new USAJOBS.gov profile with a new email address. Instructions for changing the email address associated with your account can be found here.
• Update your email address prior to submitting your application. Once your application is submitted and the announcement has closed, that is the email address that will be used for all future communications including instructions for assessments.

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.

Your SA-14 resume will be reviewed to ensure you meet the qualification requirements. The Experience Review does not produce a numerical score used to rank candidates; rather, results will be used to identify the best qualified candidates based on Foundational and Advanced Investigative Experiences.

Candidates evaluated as Best Qualified will be placed on a Certificate of Eligibles.

Applicants are solely responsible for the responses and documentation submitted in their online application. Responses cannot be altered once the announcement has closed.

Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards in merit promotion selection decisions in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3).

This posting will not be utilized to fill overseas Assistant Attache positions, they will be advertised separately. However, you must be on a Certificate of Eligibles from this announcement to be eligible to apply.

This posting will not be utilized to fill Section Chief positions.

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.

Conviction of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence: This position requires the selectee to carry a firearm. Any person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence cannot lawfully possess a firearm or ammunition (Title 18, U.S.C. Section 922 (g)(9)). A "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" is generally defined under the statute as any offense involving the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, committed by the victim's current or former domestic partner, parent, or guardian. The term "convicted" as defined in the statute, excludes any person whose conviction h as been expunged, set aside, or pardoned, or any person whose civil rights have been restored unless the pardon, expungement or restoration of civil rights expressly prohibits the possession of firearms or ammunition. Candidates who have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence within the meaning of the referenced statute are not qualified for these positions. Candidates under consideration will be required to certify whether they have ever been convicted of such an offense. False or fraudulent information provided by candidates is criminally punishable by fine or imprisonment (Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1001.