Clarification from the agency

Current career/career-conditional Federal employee in the competitive service; Reinstatement eligible; Special Appointing Authority eligible; VEOA eligible Veteran; ICTAP eligible; OPM Interchange Agreement eligible.

The Department of Energy's mission is to ensure America's security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.

The Office of Environment, Health, Safety, and Security office is responsible for policy development and technical assistance; safety analysis; and corporate safety and security programs.

As a Operations Manager, you will:

• Direct and manage complex criminal investigative programs.
• Coordinate training for agents (weapons qualification, certification), and manage logistical aspects for deployments.
• Create intelligence products and threat assessments to support the deployment and employment of staff for executive protection missions.
• Lead and supervise a team of criminal investigators and special agents.
• Make key decisions on investigative direction, techniques, and handling classified materials for cases related to national security.
• Establish and foster relationships with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and intelligence community partners to coordinate investigations and share threat information.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a United States Citizen.
• This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
• If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• If selected, your appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position is not remote, the selectee will be expected to report to the duty station(s) listed. If selected, military spouses, veteran caregivers, and spouses of foreign service employees may be eligible for applicable workplace flexibilities.
• The incumbent may be required to be deputized as a Special Deputy U.S. Marshal.
• This position is also designated as a security high risk position and therefore is subject to selection for counterintelligence-scope polygraph examination.
• Must carry and maintain proficiency in the judicious use of firearms and other weapons in the performance of duties and continue to meet the requirement of the Lautenberg Amendment.
• Must be available to work an average of twenty (20) additional hours per pay period to meet requirements of the Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP), as prescribed in Title 5 United States Code, Section 5545.

Qualifications

Waiver of Mandatory Entry Age: Criminal Investigator (GS-1811) positions generally carry a mandatory maximum entry age of 40 in accordance with applicable regulations and DOE policy. DOE may waive the maximum entry age requirement for this recruitment. This waiver:

• Applies to all qualified and eligible candidates; and
• Is not limited to candidates with prior military service or any specific applicant group.

Candidates selected under this announcement may be granted a one-time, individual age waiver as part of the appointment process. All applicants must meet all other qualification, suitability and appointment requirements for the position.

MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS: The duties require moderate to arduous physical exertion involving walking, prolonged periods of standing, use of firearms, impact weapons, 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 distance vision in each eye, correction permitted, to 20/20 is mandatory. Near vision, corrective lenses permitted, 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, applicant must possess emotional and mental stability. Any physical condition that would cause the applicant to be a hazard to him/herself, or others is disqualifying. Any pre-existing condition that is intentionally hidden during the hiring process, including falsification of medical records, is grounds for termination of employment.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting ALL of the following:

1. Overseeing the planning, direction, and evaluation of significant investigative or protective programs; AND
2. Developing and implementing operational plans and strategies involving high-risk or national security concerns.

"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.

Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications. Your full resume will be made available to the hiring manager if you are referred.

Time-in-Grade: Current Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement to receive consideration.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this 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 how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement, as demonstrated in your application and your responses to all assessments required for this position. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application or cheating on the assessment may result in removal from consideration. Responses to assessments must be prepared solely by the applicant. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, CoPilot) to draft, edit, or generate responses is strictly prohibited and may result in removal from consideration.

Your application will be assessed based on your responses to an online job knowledge assessment. For applicants applying under Merit Promotion or VEOA procedures, your score on this assessment will determine if you are considered a 'best qualified' candidate. The online job knowledge assessment primarily consists of multiple-choice questions designed to evaluate your understanding of key concepts relevant to this position.

Your application and resume should demonstrate that you possess the following competencies. Do not provide a separate narrative written statement. Rather, you must describe in your resume how your past work experience demonstrates that you possess the competencies identified below. Use specific examples of employment or experience contained in your resume and describe how this experience has prepared you to successfully perform the duties of this position.

• Criminal Investigation
• Criminal Law
• Leadership
• Strategic Thinking

Non-competitive Procedures: If you are applying under a non-competitive or special hiring authority, you will still be required to complete the assessment. However, you will not be evaluated against the rating and ranking criteria. Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine if you are minimally qualified for this job. Veterans' Preference will be applied when required by the hiring authority (e.g., VRA, Schedule A).
Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements and current employees must have at least a fully successful or equivalent performance rating to receive consideration.

All qualified Non-competitive applicants and the best qualified Merit Promotion and VEOA applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.
Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified", which is defined as having a score of 85 or better.

Shared Certificates: The Department of Energy shares lists of applicants among its internal Departmental Elements and organizations. You may be referred for consideration to other DOE Hiring Managers throughout the Department for more than one position based on this application. By applying to this announcement, you understand your application materials may be shared with multiple Hiring Mangers throughout DOE. If additional positions are filled from this announcement conditions of employment may differ. You will be notified if you are referred for additional positions.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date ( 03/10/2026) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12900855.