Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Office of Operations, Security, & Preparedness, Personnel Security Adjudication Center (PSAC).

The PSAC is the VA nationwide Security Clearances and Suitability determinations background adjudication center for all VA contractors, all VA
employees occupying a National Security (Top Secret, Secret, etc.), and a vast number of employees in a Public Trust position. The employee will be a Supervisory Personnel Security Specialist assigning work, setting priorities, monitoring products, completing performance
evaluations, recommending personnel actions, etc., to team members,

• Serves as the first line supervisor and operations manager for an PSAC Intake and/or Production Team, with full supervisory authority and expertise of the subject.
• Responsible to ensure that each team member is adequately trained and receives follow-up training as regulations, procedures, and processes are changed and updated.
• Monitors and reports on the status and progress of work, checking on work in progress, reviewing completed work to ensure regulations and instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines, and quality have been met. Assigns work to subordinates based on priorities, difficulty, requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of the employee(s).
• Gives advice, counsel, or instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters, and identifies developmental and training requirements for employees, providing or arranging for needed instruction.
• Prepares reports, maintains records of work accomplishments, and records administrative information as required, and coordinates the preparation, presentation and communication of work related information to a Team Lead, Supervisory Security Specialist.
• Researches, learns and applies a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods to identify, assess, and analyze and improve team effectiveness, efficiency, and work production.
• Technical guidance and instruction will be provided to the Security Assistants regarding the DCSAs Requesting Personnel Investigations via eApp.
• Ensures the initiation of appropriate levels of background investigations for appointees, employees and contractors of the department in Public Trust and sensitive positions in accordance with Title 5 CFR §731 and §1400.
• Oversees the receipt and processing of suitability and security documents in accordance with established procedures. Oversight consists of auditing the PSAC SharePoint Web Site and the PSAC Shared Drives ensuring background investigation requests are downloaded
  and processed within the established five (5) working day requirement.
• Uses software applications to generate information needed to prepare/assist in the preparation of reports.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• 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, 08/05/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to some former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade.

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-9) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience include: knowledge of personnel security and suitability to ensure Position Risk/Sensitivities by analyzing duties and relating them to established position sensitivity criteria; determining the appropriate position risk/sensitivity level designed by OPM's Position Designation Tool (PDT) and investigation required for the position; serving as a PIV coordinator; initiating, addressing questions, and reviewing information submitted in e-QIP.

OR,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or a LL.M, if related. Such education demonstrates the knowledges, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position.

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond a masters or 2 full years of graduate level education. For example, an applicant has 9 months of specialized experience equivalent to GS-9 and 2 1/2 years of creditable graduate level education. The applicant meets 75 percent of the required experience and 50 percent of the required education, i.e., the applicant has 1/2 year of graduate study beyond that required for GS-9. Therefore, the applicant exceeds the total requirement and is qualified for the position. (The applicant's first 2 years of graduate study are not qualifying for GS-11.)

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.

Note: Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list series and grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary and is usually accomplished while the employee is comfortably seated at a
desk or table. Some walking and standing may occur in the course of a normal workday in connection with travel to and attendance at meetings and conferences away from the work site.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications: Knowledge of personnel security and suitability to ensure Position Risk/Sensitivities by analyzing duties and relating them to established position sensitivity criteria; determining the appropriate position risk/sensitivity level designed by OPM's Position Designation Tool (PDT) and investigation required for the position; serving as a PIV coordinator; initiating, addressing questions, and reviewing information submitted in e-QIP.

CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from 2200 Fort Roots Drive, North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114. This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from 2200 Fort Roots Drive, North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114 .

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.

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), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

• Accountability
• Customer Service
• Decisiveness
• Flexibility
• Interpersonal Skills
• Problem Solving
• Resilience

Area of Consideration: Eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

• All current, permanent VA Employees in the Personnel Security Adjudication Center (PSAC) Only

During the application process, you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.