Clarification from the agency

Current Smithsonian Institution Internal Employees/Agency Employees Only may apply including current Smithsonian Institution employees with Federal career/career-conditional status or eligibility. More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

As a Personnel Security Specialist, you will perform a full range of tasks related to administering regulations, directives, policies, and procedures for both the personnel security suitability and identity management programs.

In this position, you will:

• Receive and review background investigation reports upon completion by the investigative service provider.
• Apply Office of Personnel Management (OPM) suitability adjudicative standards and expert judgment to assess investigative sufficiency and make sound determinations for moderate to major cases involving substantial issues.
• Make decisions on cases with moderate to major issues, identifying potential sources of derogatory information disclosed during pre-employment checks or through background investigations.
• Maintain contact with representatives from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) to monitor ongoing investigations, stay informed about policy changes, and track developments in the field of personnel security.
• Use federal personnel security data repositories (e.g., NBIS, NP2 Portal, CVS, and e-QIP) to initiate and track investigations, determine reciprocity, and retrieve or update information.
• Interpret and clarify policies, standards, and procedures for employees and management at all levels regarding background investigations, suitability adjudications, and position risk/sensitivity.

The major duties listed above represent the higher grade level of GS-11.

Conditions of employment

• Requires career/career-conditional status or eligibility.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website.

Qualifications

Grade 09: You qualify for this position if you possess one year of specialized experience at the GS-07 level.  For this position specialized experience as defined as experience 1) initiating and adjudicating suitability background investigations; 2) reviewing submitted documents for accuracy; 3) organizing documents required to finalize security credentialing and adjudication process; and 4) documenting movement of security packages through background process.

OR You qualify with Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree; 

OR   2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; 

OR LL.B. or J.D., if related 

OR You may qualify by a combination of experience and education.  

Grade 11: This specialized experience is defined as 1) initiating and adjudicating suitability background investigations; 2) reviewing submitted documents for accuracy; 3) organizing documents required to finalize security credentialing and adjudication process; 4) documenting movement of security packages through background process; and 5) Maintaining ongoing relationships with Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA)  and other federal agencies to monitor investigations, stay current on personnel security policies, and exchange best practices relevant to institutional security programs.

OR You qualify with Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree;

OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree;

OR LL.M., if related;

OR You may qualify by a combination of experience and education.  

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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

In an effort to streamline our hiring process, SI employees whose current position of record is in the same job series (0080) and who are in a Federal competitive as this advertised position, are not required to submit a transcript with your application package. However, if selected, you will be required to provide a copy of your transcript before your start date in the position.

Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above. The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

1. Knowledge, in personnel security administration concepts, principles,
   and practices sufficient to adjudicate intermediate to complex background investigations.

2. Ability, to use institutional and federal systems to perform background checks, process documents, and record the movement of security packages from receipt to close.

3. Knowledge, in the application of federal and institutional policies and procedures associated with processing security adjudications for individuals seeking any level of access to the institution.

4. Ability, to coordinate program reporting and assessment of security administration operations.
   
   

5. Ability, to coordinate and liaison with institutional personnel or individuals externally to adjudicate the security process for individuals seeking various levels of access.

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.