Clarification from the agency

Current permanent Federal employees with competitive status; Reinstatement eligibles; Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act and Farm Service Agency (FSA) County eligibles; Career Transition Assistance Programs (CTAP/ICTAP/RPL) eligibles; Veterans Employment Opportunity Act eligibles and 30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans; Military Spouses; Interchange Agreement eligibles; Persons with Disabilities; and Peace Corps and VISTA alumni.

• Investigate allegations of embezzlement and fraud involving USDA-funded programs.
• Establish and maintaining liaison with USDA agency personnel.
• Analyze allegations, complaints and investigations to identify issues involved and the types of evidence needed to properly address each matter.
• Maintain liaison with other Federal (non-USDA agencies) and State and local government organizations.
• Advise and/or assist U.S. Attorneys and/or State/local prosecutors and/or their staff members in the preparation of investigations for presentation to Federal and/or State/local Grand Juries.
• Appear as a witness before grand juries and trial courts or participate and assist in other legal proceedings; lead and coordinate collateral administrative functions in a unit, such as custodial officer for all investigative equipment.
• Personally handles exceptionally complex, technical investigative problems or controversial, novel, or exploratory questions and issues, and advises on potential investigations areas and new investigative approaches.
• Report critical information to other concerned law enforcement jurisdictions. Collaborate with other INV team members as required in establishing objectives of the OIG investigative program.
• Perform, or may lead and coordinate the conduct of, undercover and/or surveillance work; provide technical subject matter expertise support for training, internal inspection and/or quality control as required.
• Serve, as required, as a Task Force member or outside agency liaison, working from an alternate duty location, relaying information and accessing outside agency resources to support OIG investigations.
• Perform full criminal, civil or administrative investigations and conduct investigative interviews.
• Develop new approaches to performing investigative functions, including responses to identified weaknesses and vulnerabilities in on-going operations. Analyze investigative facts to arrive at sound conclusions.
• Plan and conduct fact-finding and prepare comprehensive administrative and technical reports in order to present complex and conflicting findings in a clear, logical, impartial, comprehensive, and concise manner.
• Collaborate with other INV team members as required in establishing objectives of the OIG investigative program.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a US citizen.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Selected applicants must undergo and successfully obtain and maintain a background investigation for a Top Secret (TS) clearance. You must meet initial and periodic suitability determinations based on favorable background investigations and updates.
• Direct deposit: per Public Law 104-134, all federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• You must successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• You will be required to complete an OGE-450, Confidential Statement of Employment and Financial Interests.
• Relocation expenses are NOT authorized.
• Designated or random drug testing required. Failure to pass a drug test or maintain a clearance is grounds for removal.
• You are subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Successful completion of a one-year probationary period is required, unless previously served.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a valid state-issued motor vehicle operator's license. You must be able to operate a government-owned or leased vehicle.
• Occasional travel is expected. Selected applicants must be able to acquire and maintain a government-issued travel charge card.
• You must pass initial and periodic medical examinations. Failure to meet medical requirements may result in reassignment from the position of criminal investigator or other appropriate action.
• Acknowledgement of career mobility is a condition of employment. You must be available for permanent reassignment to other regional or resident offices as required by the OIG.
• Successful completion of the Basic Criminal Investigative Training Program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center is required.
• You will be required to qualify to carry and use firearms and other weapons as part of assigned duties and maintain such qualification.

Qualifications

This position is a primary law enforcement position under 5 U.S.C. 8336 (C) (CSRS and 5 U.S. C 8412 (d) (FERS). You must be no more than 37 years of age upon entry into the GS-1811 series, unless you have previous service creditable under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) law enforcement provisions sufficient to enable you to retire at age 57 with 20 years of creditable service. Persons already in covered secondary positions or persons with previous approved service who apply for a primary position cannot be considered if their age at reentry into the primary position exceeds 37 years after subtracting their years of service in covered positions. Applicants must provide evidence of current or previous coverage that would qualify. This age restriction does not apply to those entitled to Veteran's Preference.

You will be required to qualify to carry and use firearms and other weapons as part of assigned duties and maintain such qualification. Applicants are ineligible for this position if, at any time, they have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony crime of domestic violence, unless such conviction was expunged, set aside, or the applicant received a pardon. Refer to the Lautenberg Amendment, titled "Gun Ban for Individuals Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence", Pub.L.104-208,[1] 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9).

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions and specialized experience as defined below.

THIS POSITION HAS A BASIC MEDICAL REQUIREMENT:

The duties of positions in this series require moderate to arduous physical exertion involving walking and standing, use of firearms, and exposure to inclement weather. Manual dexterity with comparatively free motion of finger, wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, and knee joints is required. Arms, hands, legs, and feet must be sufficiently intact and functioning in order that applicants may perform the duties satisfactorily. Sufficiently good vision in each eye, with or without correction, is required to perform the duties satisfactorily. Near vision, with or without correction, must be sufficient to read printed material the size of typewritten characters. Hearing loss, as measured by an audiometer, must not exceed 35 decibels at 1000, 2000, and 3000 Hz levels. Since the duties of these positions are exacting and responsible, and involve activities under trying conditions, applicants must possess emotional and mental stability. Any physical condition that would cause the applicant to be a hazard to himself/herself or others is disqualifying.

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC MEDICAL REQUIREMENT ABOVE, APPLICANTS MUST MEET THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS BELOW.

Time in grade: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade to be considered for the next higher grade (one year at the GS-12 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-13 level). Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying). Restrictions are contained in 5CFR 300, Subpart F. You must include an SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one) that supports meeting this requirement with your application package.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENT FOR GS-13:
Applicants must possess one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 in the federal service or the private sector that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as: Criminal and administrative investigations, from planning and conducting fact-finding, to reporting the results of investigations; performing undercover and surveillance work; conducting investigative interviews; and analyzing investigative facts to arrive at sound conclusions. This experience includes the preparation of comprehensive administrative and technical reports in order to present findings in a clear, logical, impartial, comprehensive, and concise manner. In addition, I have experience conducting liaison activities with other investigative agencies on behalf of my agency, including Federal, State, and local agencies, and developing new approaches to performing investigative functions, including responses to identified weaknesses and vulnerabilities in on-going operations.

Evidence of one year or more of specialized experience must be clearly documented in your resume.

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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience, documented in your resume.

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 your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies listed below:

• Criminal Investigation
• Oral Communication
• Partnering
• Teamwork
• Written Communication

Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further evaluation. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities need only meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

Note: If after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12794554.

As a condition of employment for accepting the position of Criminal Investigator (Special Agent), GS-1811-13, with the USDA Office of the Inspector General, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider the following:

- performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the service.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. If you do not receive certification for continued employment, you should receive written notice prior to the end of your probationary period that your employment will be terminated and the effective date of such termination.