Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

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The Personnel Security Assistant serves as an Assistant to the Personnel Security Specialist and assures that all appointees have the appropriate level of security/suitability clearance commensurate with their assignment. Work assigned is of a very confidential and highly sensitive nature.

Major duties may include, but not limited to:

• Reviews information submitted by the requesting office to validate level of background required, enters appointee information into a local data base tracking system and refers appointee for fingerprinting.
• Enters appropriate data in required databases related to an appointee's suitability from a wide variety of sources.
• Performs audits of official personnel folders to assure that information related to suitability is properly recorded and filed.
• Initiates, reviews and releases appointees background investigations in the Office of Personnel Managements, National Background Investigation Service (NBIS) or in conjunction with the VA- Adjudication Center.
• Regularly monitors the status of specific pending items, compiles data to produce reports, follows up to determine status and records results.
• Takes and transmits electronic fingerprints for appointees or when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) returns fingerprints unclassifiable for various reasons.
• Assemble position descriptions and functional statements for the Personnel Security Specialist for review.
• Serves as the initial point of contact for new appointees including but not limited to paid or without compensation employees, volunteers, students, residents, and contractors.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents).
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

• your 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 Federal service

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

GS-05 Grade Level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-04 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Experience in applying a full range of standard and non-standard clerical assignments and resolving a variety of non- recurring problems. Experience applying knowledge in a variety of assignments involving different and unrelated steps, processes, or methods.
Identifying and understanding the issues involved in each assignment and determining what steps and procedures are necessary and the order of their performance. Completion of each transaction typically involves selecting a course of action from a number of possibilities.

OR;

Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-05 level. Have successfully completed (4) years of education above the high school level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial or technical NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation

OR;

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-05 level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-05. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

GS-06 Grade Level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Experience in working independently within the framework established by leadership in carrying out recurring assignments such as obtaining, inserting, and correcting missing and incorrect data in Personnel Security files and automated systems. Following established procedures or instructions that specifically describe how the work is to be done and the kind of modifications or exceptions that can be made.

There is no educational substitution for the GS-06 level.

GS-07 Grade Level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-06 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Experience in applying knowledge of the regulations, policies, procedures, principles and concepts that govern the Personal Identity Verification Program, to include HSPD-12. Experience in providing oral communication in order to provide technical advice and guidance to customers. Entering, extracting, and evaluating employee information via access to various computer databases. Knowledge in how to deal with highly charged emotional situations and have the ability to work calmly and effectively in sensitive, stress producing situations.

There is no educational substitution for the GS-07 level.

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; religions; 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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.