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Forensic Interview Specialist

Department of Homeland Security
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)

Summary

View Common Definitions of terms found in this announcement.

Organizational Location: These positions are located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, in eight (8) duty locations.

These are non-bargaining unit positions.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted today · Apply by 06/01/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 1, 2026
Location
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$106,437 - $161,313 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - 75% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Secret
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
HSI-12931560-DE-TB
Control number
870570200

Duties

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As a Forensic Interview Specialist, you will perform the following duties:
  • Conducts forensic interviews of minor victims, and adult victims who suffer from cognitive or developmental disability, or from severe trauma in the context of the HSI Victim Assistance Program;
  • Assists HSI special agents investigating crimes (e.g., sexual and physical abuse, child exploitation, human trafficking, human rights abuse, etc.,) both within the United States and internationally;
  • Coordinates and conducts forensic interview in high profile or sensitive cases that may involve numerous victims and/or witnesses;
  • Assists in determining whether the victim/witness may be experiencing trauma symptoms, or personal adjustment problems, which may require counseling or therapy;
  • Advises HSI special agents and victim assistance specialist/coordinators in the field concerning referrals to service providers for victims and witnesses with mental health, safety and medical concerns;
  • Participates forensic interview peer review sessions to promote adherence to best practice standards; and
  • Provides training and guidance for HSI special agents, and other forensic interviewers, outside law enforcement agencies and non-governmental agencies in the area of effective methods for interviewing victims and witnesses of crime.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
  • You must successfully pass a background investigation.
  • You must successfully pass a drug screen.
  • Males born after 12/31/59 must certify registration with Selective Service.
  • Requirements by Closing Date: Unless otherwise noted, you must meet all requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
  • Probationary Period: This is a full-time permanent position (Career/Career-Conditional appointment). Upon appointment to this position, you may be required to serve a one-year probationary period.
  • The incumbent will be required to have a SECRET security clearance as a condition of employment. The clearance will be initiated after employment.
  • Incumbent will be restricted from handling sensitive materials until after clearance is approved.

Qualifications

Please limit your resume to 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

In order to be considered for this position, you must meet the individual occupational requirement and specialized experience requirement for this position.

INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT:

Basic Requirements:

Degree:
behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

OR

Combination of education and experience
that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.

OR

Four years of appropriate experience
that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.

You qualify for the GS-13 grade level if you possess one of the following:

Experience: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level or equivalent performing duties such as:
  • Conducting forensic interviews of minor victims and witnesses, as well adult victims and witnesses who suffer from cognitive or developmental disability, or from severe trauma;
  • Demonstrating skills that result in legally defensible forensic interviews where resultant information may be presented in court;
  • Assisting victims by participating on multidisciplinary teams;
  • Applying knowledge of the federal, state and local criminal justice systems, the procedures of law enforcement agencies (federal, state and local) as they relate to treatment and handling of victims of crime; and
  • Assisting agents/law enforcement professionals on scene when victims are likely to be encountered.


Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience):
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.

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

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

Additional information

Salary: The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the lowest and highest potential salaries for this position. The actual salary range will be based on the applicable locality pay for the selected duty location. General Schedule locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages.

This position is at the full performance level.

E-Verify: DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.

Suitability: If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet these standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully obtain and maintain a background investigation for Secret as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information)

A student loan repayment incentive may be available, in which case a service agreement will be required.

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.

We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, we will use an Assessment Questionnaire to place you in one of three categories based on your experience, education and training. The competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job are:

  • Attention to Detail
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Model or Protocol
  • Multi-Disciplinary and Forensic Interviews
  • Peer Review
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Relationship Building
  • Research Based Practices
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork

If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:
  1. Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF) and appropriate Quality Ranking Factors (QRF) as determined by the job analysis.
  2. Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
  3. Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview.

Interviews may be required for this position. Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration.

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 eligible and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligible within the category in which they qualify. View information on veterans' preference.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not ICTAP eligible. View information about ICTAP eligibility ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under ICTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling on those who want to help protect American interests and secure our Nation. DHS components work collectively to prevent terrorism; secure borders and our transportation systems; protect the President and other dignitaries; enforce and administer immigration laws, safeguard cyberspace; and ensure resilience to disasters. We achieve these vital missions through a dynamic workforce spanning hundreds of occupations. Make an impact; join DHS.

The mission of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is to protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety. ICE focuses on smart immigration enforcement, preventing terrorism, and combating the illegal movement of people and goods. ICE is the principal investigative arm of DHS and the second largest investigative agency in the federal government. Created in 2003, through a merger of the investigative and interior enforcement elements of the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, ICE has more than 20,000 employees in more than 400 offices in the United States and around the world. ICE is a key component of the DHS layered approach to protecting our nation from a wide range of threats. For additional information about ICE and career opportunities, please visit www.ice.gov.

Agency contact information

Tashima Beach

Visit our careers page

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

http://www.ice.gov

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