Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results
 

Supervisory Intelligence Research Specialist (Section Chief)

Department of Justice
Drug Enforcement Administration
Intelligence Division

Summary

These positions are located in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Intelligence Division in the following areas:

- Intelligence Division, Office of Special Intelligence, Data Management Section (NSD) in Merrifield, VA.
- Intelligence Division, Office of Special Intelligence, Investigative Support Section (NSI) in Chantilly, VA.

Overview

Help
Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/26/2026 to 04/06/2026
Salary
$169,279 to - $197,200 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 15
Locations
2 vacancies in the following locations:
Chantilly, VA
Merrifield, VA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Relocation and PCS are authorized. TCNs will be issued by the Career Board.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
15
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
F-NC-26-12918082-IMP-KMC
Control number
862792900

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

Current Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) employees in the competitive service on a career or career conditional appointment. Eligible displaced and surplus Department of Justice (DOJ) employees in the local commuting area.

Duties

Help

As a your typical work assignments may include:

  • Among other duties, the incumbent will perform the following duties:
  • Provides program direction for formulating and implementing a worldwide program, both domestic and international, for the collection, analysis, production, and dissemination of both operational and strategic intelligence.
  • Formulates the objectives of a major segment of the intelligence program. Provides direction, advice and coordination relative to critical intelligence projects. Develops productive working relationships and promotes coordination with high-level representatives of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
  • Plans and oversees the operations of an intelligence program. Develops plans for the collection, evaluation, processing, and dissemination of operational, tactical, and strategic drug intelligence.
  • Responsible for the dissemination of strategic and operational intelligence to other DEA entities.
  • Performs supervisory functions over staff, establishing guidelines and expectations for performance, and ensures performance improvement.
  • May be required to testify during career as an Intelligence Research Specialist.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a Background and/or Security Clearance
  • Open to DEA Employees and CTAP Eligibles ONLY
  • Drug testing designated position
  • Polygraph required
  • Mobility Agreement required
  • Successful completion of a one-year supervisory probationary period is required (unless already completed)

Qualifications

For more information on eligibility requirements see: DEA Employment Eligibility

Applicants must meet the required qualification requirements described below by the closing date of the announcement. If you are qualifying based on education or if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcripts with your application.

Basic Qualification Requirements:


Applicants applying for the GS-15 must meet one of the following requirements:

Have at least one full year of specialized experience that is at least equivalent to work performed at the GS-14 grade level. Specialized 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.

Qualifying experience must demonstrate the following: one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-14 Federal grade level performing such duties as providing first-line supervision to a multi-agency staff engaged in the collection, analysis, evaluation, production and dissemination of drug law enforcement intelligence in support of drug law enforcement activities.

Additional information on the position qualification requirements are located in the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Qualifications Standards Handbook.?

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

Education requirements do not apply to this vacancy announcement.

Additional information

For reasonable accommodation at the Drug Enforcement Administration, please contact the Human Resources office listed in this announcement.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If an applicant is currently, or has been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, applicants must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office listed in this announcement.

Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to similar positions in any Division/Office listed in this announcement. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.

Relocation Incentives may be considered and approved if the DEA has determined that the position is likely to be difficult to fill in the absence of an incentive and funding for such an incentive is available.

If eligible, telework agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents) and assessment questionnaire.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

The assessment questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions which provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question in 200-words or less.? You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and have not used a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot.

Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) candidates must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for selection priority. Candidates are considered well qualified if their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) exceed the minimum qualifications described in the announcement.

ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE: You may preview the https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12918082.

Drug Enforcement Administration

TOUGH WORK. VITAL MISSION. Challenge yourself! You have the power to help combat drug trafficking. Be a part of DEA! It's tough work, but a vital mission. Whatever your background or expertise, your work at DEA will be tremendously rewarding because it will have a daily impact on national security and the quality of life of all Americans.

The DEA is our country's leading organization in charge of enforcing the controlled substance laws of the United States. The DEA provides employees with an exciting career whether supporting missions at home or abroad. Our employees make a difference by working together as a team to keep Americans safe from dangerous drugs and those who traffic them.

Please visit www.dea.gov to learn more about who we are and career opportunities that our organization offers.

Agency contact information

HRRF Recruitment Unit
Email
HRRF.Recruit@dea.gov
Address
Drug Enforcement Administration
Do Not Send Postal Mail
Springfield, VA 21310
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Drug Enforcement Administration, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.dea.gov/index.shtml

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.