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• The incumbent serves as a Police Officer ensuring a safe and secure environment across all VA Administrations and properties within various settings, including a variety of jurisdictional environments, such as VHA Medical Centers and facilities, Inpatient Clinics, Outpatient Clinics, and domiciliaries throughout the United States. This position serves as a vital part of the VA Police Services often serving as the face of the VA and as the first person a Veteran or visitor encounters when entering a VA facility. The incumbent provides security and assistance to Veterans, patients, employees, contractors, volunteers, affiliates, visitors, and others who frequent VA facilities daily. The incumbent is expected to empathize, engage, and communicate with all individuals they encounter to ensure a positive outcome and the safety of the facility and all its occupants.

• Serve as a Police Officer carrying out responsibilities where most work is performed on Veterans Affairs Departmental properties, which includes any properties owned, leased, or licensed to VA.
• Protect Veterans, volunteers, and others on Departmental property, U.S. officials, other individuals, and him or herself during any given situation against threats to personal safety when force becomes necessary to enforce laws and regulations. Protect Veterans, employees and visitors sensitive and protected medical information from unauthorized release or unauthorized use where prohibited by law and or policy as guided by the privacy officer, FOIA, HIPPA, etc.
• Carry firearms and other weapons, intervenes when necessary to deescalate situations, and determines when and how much force must be applied.
• Conduct investigations, apprehensions, or detention of individuals suspected or convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the US, protection, and transport of U.S. officials.
• Provide patrol in vehicles, on foot, and/or on a bicycle. Detect and intervenes in criminal activity; respond to calls for police assistance, irregularities, and unusual or suspicious circumstances. Investigate incidents and take steps to mitigate further risk and resolve situations. Provide emergency response coordination as needed.
• Take charge of significant and catastrophic events (e.g. active threats/shooter, terroristic threats or attacks, suicides, fires, full and partial property closures, infrastructure failures, and natural disasters) until additional resources are mobilized and response plans are fully executed.
• Coordinate and direct responding personnel and emergency vehicles to safe routes, establishes perimeters, access control and renders aid in the initial command role. Take appropriate action to mitigate hazardous situations.
• Protect high-value VA assets, personnel and materials and ensures continuity of operations.

• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. Do not submit an award SF-50.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• These positions are NFFE Bargaining Unit positions.
• Applicants may be referred over for consideration prior to the close date of this announcement.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

Qualifications

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

GS-06 grade level:
You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-5) in the federal service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Police Officer.

Specialized experience is experience that provided knowledge of a body of basic laws and regulations, law enforcement operations, practices, and techniques and involved responsibility for maintaining order and protecting life and property. Creditable specialized experience may have been gained in work on a police force; through service as a military police officer; in work providing visitor protection and law enforcement in parks, forests, or other natural resource or recreational environments; in performing criminal investigative duties; or in other work that provided the required knowledge and skills.

Experience as a security guard or corrections officer is generally NOT qualifying.

Examples of qualifying specialized experience for this position include: Maintaining order to protect life and property; Taking initial complaints; Interviewing witnesses; Securing a crime scene and conducting limited searches; Responding to emergency situations; Gathering information and preparing reports; Conducting routine patrol, traffic control, and traffic accident investigations.

NOTE: You must provide detailed information of your experience performed. Information such as "I was a Patrolman", "I was a Police Officer for a number of years," or "I enforced Federal, State, county, and laws" is insufficient to determine your qualifications. Experience must be fully documented in your resume and must include job title, duties, month & year start/end dates AND hours worked per week.

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ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR POLICE OFFICER POSITION:1. Applicants must possess a current, valid State driver's license, have a safe driving record, and demonstrate that he or she is medically qualified to operate the appropriate motor vehicle safely.2. Applicants are required to successfully complete a comprehensive medical and psychological examination prior to entering on duty to determine fitness for duty as a Police Officer.3. Applicants must undergo a background investigation, which may include the administration of a polygraph examination.4. Applicants are required to undergo and successfully pass a pre-employment drug screening test and must submit to random drug testing after employment.5. New VA Police Officers are required to attend an 8-week course at the VA Law Enforcement Training Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Satisfactory completion of this course is a condition of continued employment.6. VA Police Officers may be expected to continue irregular duty hours either at the Medical Center, local police offices, or at court especially during investigations of serious criminal incidents. This type of working schedule may negatively affect or burden family responsibilities.7. VA Police Officers encounter people experiencing extreme poverty and personal hardship, such as separation from family who are difficult, hostile or distressed. Investigators also may witness drownings, vehicle accidents, and other tragedies. VA Police Officers are occasionally exposed to people who carry infectious diseases.

IMPORTANT NOTES: (1) As a condition of employment, must qualify to be issued a firearm and semi-annually with assigned firearm, annually with an expandable Straight Baton (MEB), maintain a valid State or Commonwealth Driver's License and pass annual physical and psychosocial assessment.

There is no educational substitution

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.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment Financial disclosure not required.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.