Clarification from the agency

Recent graduates who have completed, within the previous two years or will receive within 9 months a qualifying associate, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution; Veterans unable to apply within two years of receiving their degree due to military service obligation but are within six years from the date on which the requirements for their degree/academic course of study were completed.

This is a Recent Graduate appointment in the Pathways Program. Selected individuals are placed in a dynamic two-year development program in the excepted service designed to lead to a competitive civil service career in the Federal government. At the successful conclusion of this program, the agency may non-competitively convert individuals to a term (position lasting 1-4 years with an extension up to 120 days) or permanent position within the competitive service. Conversion to a Federal competitive service position will be at the discretion of the agency and is neither guaranteed nor implied.

Limiting Number of Applicants: It is recommended that you apply as soon as possible in order to receive consideration as this announcement will close on 4/1/2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET or on the day we receive 1,000 applicants (whichever comes first.)

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Field Operations.

Location is negotiable upon final selection. You will be asked for your location preferences once all pre-employment process have been completed. ATF will have the final determination based on the needs of the agency.

This position starts at a salary of $$48,809.00 (GL-5, Step 1) to $79,954.00 (GL-9, Step 10) with promotion potential to $134,435 (GL-13 Step 10).

The Salary listed reflects the rest of U.S. scale and, if applicable, will be adjusted to meet the locality pay or cost of living expenses of the duty location upon selection.

In this position, you will serve as a criminal investigator (special agent) trainee performing the below duties:

• Investigating criminal violations of Federal laws within the enforcement jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Justice.
• Conducting investigations of violations relating to explosives, firearms, arson, and alcohol and tobacco diversion.
• Preparing concise criminal investigative case reports.
• Testifying for the Federal Government in court or before grand juries.
• Gathering and analyzing evidence through investigative leads, seizures, arrests, execution of search warrants, and a variety of other means.

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 at least three of the last five years (additional details below).
• Age Requirement: Must be at least 21 years of age and not older than 37 at the time of appointment. The day immediately preceding an individual's 37th birthday will be the last day for selection consideration. However, the age restriction may not apply if you are a preference-eligible veteran or if you are currently serving or have previously served in a federal civilian law enforcement position covered by 5 U.S.C. § 8336(c) or 5 U.S.C. § 8412(d). (After subtracting the years/months of prior and current Federal service worked in a primary law enforcement position, applicants must be less than 37 years of age).
• Motor Vehicle Operation: You must have a valid automobile driver's license at the time of appointment.
• Security Clearance: You will be required to obtain a Top-Secret clearance for this position.
• You will be required to carry a firearm and maintain firearm proficiency.
• Pass the below assessment hurdles:
  • Occupational Questionnaire
  • ATF Special Agent Applicant Assessment
  • Physical Task Test
  • Structured Interview
• Pass the below pre-employment requirements:
  • Drug Test
  • Medical Examination
  • Polygraph Examination
  • Background Investigation
• Attend and successfully pass the below training:
  • Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP)
  • ATF Special Agent Basic Training (SABT)
• Mobility Agreement: You must sign a mobility statement and agree to be relocated at any time to any office in the United States, to include U.S. territories. All candidates will be required to perform a minimum of 3-5 years at their initial duty station.
• Firearms Requirement: You will be required to carry a firearm and maintain firearm proficiency. This position requires that the incumbent meet initial and continuing qualifications in the use of firearms as outlined in the Gun Control Act of 1968, amended by the Lautenberg Amendment of 1996. The Lautenberg Amendment makes it a felony for anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence such as an assault or attempted assault on a family member, to ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms or ammunition.
• Drug Testing: You must satisfactorily complete a drug test prior to being hired. More information on the ATF Drug Policy can be found here.

Qualifications

GL-5: You qualify for the GL-5 grade level if you havethree years of progressively responsible experience, 1 year of which was equivalent to at least the GS/GL-04 performing duties such as:

• Gathering pertinent data
• Communicating effectively orally and in writing.

OR

A bachelor's degree or successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in ANY FIELD leading to a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Your conferred date must be listed on your unofficial or official transcript.

OR

Will receive within 9 months of the closing date of this announcement a bachelor's degree in ANY FIELD of study from an accredited college or university. Expected conferred date must be listed on your resume along with submissions of your unofficial transcripts.

GL-7: You qualify for the GL-7 grade level if you possess: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Assisting in criminal investigations by gathering evidence, conducting record and database searches
• Participating in searches, seizures, and arrests
• Preparing reports for routine investigations

OR

Successful completion of one year of full-time graduate education from an accredited college or university in a major such as: Criminal Justice and/or Administration; Law and Society; Forensics; Public Safety and/or Administration; Homeland Security; Law Enforcement; Justice Administration; Organizational Security and Management; Criminology; Cyber Security; Social Work; Fire Science. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise a year of graduate education. If that information is not available, use 18 semester or 27 quarter hours.

OR

A bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and/or Administration; Law and Society; Forensics; Public Safety and/or Administration; Homeland Security; Law Enforcement; Justice Administration; Organizational Security and Management; Criminology; Cyber Security; Social Work; Fire Science with Superior Academic Achievement (SAA). Your conferred date must be listed on your unofficial or official transcript. To qualify for SAA, you must meet one of the following:

1. A grade point average of "B" (a GPA of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study.
2. A grade point average of "B+" (a GPA of 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in the applicant's major field of study, or those courses in the applicant's major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study.
3. Rank in the upper one-third of the applicant's class in the college, university, or major subdivision.
4. Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies.

OR

Will receive within 9 months from the closing date of this announcement a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement or one full year of graduate level education (equivalent to 18 semester or 27 quarter hours) in the field of studies of Criminal Justice and/or Administration; Law and Society; Forensics; Public Safety and/or Administration; Homeland Security; Law Enforcement; Justice Administration; Organizational Security and Management; Criminology; Cyber Security; Social Work; Fire Science from an accredited college or university. Expected conferred date must be listed on your resume along with submissions of your unofficial transcripts.

GL-09: You qualify for the GL-9 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Serving subpoenas, arrest, and search warrants
• Conducting interviews, interrogations of suspects and witnesses
• Providing status reports of ongoing criminal investigations to higher level management

OR

A master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in Criminal Justice and/or Administration; Law and Society; Forensics; Public Safety and/or Administration; Homeland Security; Law Enforcement; Justice Administration; Organizational Security and Management; Criminology; Cyber Security; Social Work; Fire Science a J.D. or an LL.B. degree from an accredited college or university may substitute for experience required at this level. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise two years of graduate education. If that information is not available, use 36 semester or 54 quarter hours. Your conferred date must be listed on your unofficial or official transcript.

OR

Will receive within 9 months from the closing date of this announcement a master's degree or equivalent or 2 full years of progressively higher graduate level education (equivalent to 36 semester or 45 quarter hours) or a J.D. or an LL.B. degree in the field of studies of Criminal Justice and/or Administration; Law and Society; Forensics; Public Safety and/or Administration; Homeland Security; Law Enforcement; Justice Administration; Organizational Security and Management; Criminology; Cyber Security; Social Work; Fire Science from an accredited college or university. Expected conferred date must be listed on your resume along with submissions of your unofficial transcripts.

NOTE: Your resume must indicate how you meet the qualifications above, otherwise, you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.

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

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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Medical Examination: Individuals must meet the established medical standards and/or physical requirement for the position, proving they are medically and physically capable of performing the essential job functions and duties of the position safely.

Polygraph Examination: You will be required to successfully complete a polygraph examination. Applicants who have significant responses or who manipulate the polygraph process will be removed from the hiring process. Researching polygraph is unnecessary and highly discouraged, as many websites recommend methods that, if employed, may be deemed as a manipulation of the polygraph process.

Polygraph Reciprocity: ATF may accept the results of a prior federal polygraph exam in lieu of an ATF polygraph exam.

Background Investigation: You will be required to undergo a background investigation prior to employment. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions, the use of illegal drugs 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.

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 for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. This vacancy will utilize a multiple hurdle assessment process to determine the qualifications of applicants.

• Hurdle 1 - Occupational Questionnaire related to the major duties and competencies of the position.
• Hurdle 2 - Special Agent Applicant Assessment (SAAA).
• Hurdle 3 - Physical Task Test (PTT).
• Hurdle 4 - Structured Interview rated by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) panel for related position competencies against a pre-determined rating schedule.

The structured interview will determine the final rating of the applicant for possible referral to the hiring official for hiring consideration.

The occupational assessment will be used to assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Problem Solving
• Self-Management
• Oral Communication
• Criminal Investigation
• Legal, Government and Jurisprudence
• Seizure

You will be evaluated on the below competencies for the ATF Special Agent Applicant Assessment:

• Writing
• Reasoning
• Integrity
• Conscientiousness
• Dependability/Reliability
• Use of Force
• Judgment
• Cooperativeness

You will receive an email invitation to complete the ATF Special Agent Applicant Assessment. This invitation will come in two emails from cloud@performancefit.com. One email will be the link to the exam and the second will be the password. Please be patient as this could take several weeks.

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.

The initial occupational assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to move to the next assessment hurdle in the hiring process. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Applicants who meet or exceed the cut score on the occupational questionnaire will be invited to take the SAAA and subsequently the PTT and Structured Interview. If you meet the minimum qualifications, we will use the results of the occupational questionnaire, SAAA, PTT and Structured Interview required for this position to place you in one of three categories based on your experience, education, and training. Your rating in the structured interview will be used to place you in one of the following 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.

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

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