CUSTOMS LIQUIDATOR (DRAWBACK)

Clarification from the agency

Current Department of Homeland Security employees who are currently working in a permanent competitive service position; Career Transition Assistance Plan DHS Employees.

The selection will be made, and oversight of this position will be maintained by the Field Office below, but the physical location of this position will remain in the duty location chosen.

This position starts at a salary of $74,678.00 (GS-11, Step 1) to $116,362.00 (GS-12, Step 10) with promotion potential to $116,362.00 (GS-12 Step 10).

Salary listed reflects the rest of U.S. scale and will be adjusted to meet the locality pay of the duty location upon selection.

GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position.Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts.

In this position, you will strengthen the Department's ability to perform homeland security functions by becoming a valuable member of a team of commercial, inspection, entry, liquidation, and Customs Officer employees.

Typical duties include:

• Reviewing drawback claims and supporting documentation, e.g., certificates of delivery, certificates of manufacture, and proof of exportation to ensure compliance with all drawback laws and regulations, and with trade agreements
• Participating in the review of company records on-site to establish if goods meet eligibility requirements, and to verify the adequacy of a company's drawback system.
• Examining the manufacturing process, and various records to determine eligible quantities of goods, to trace imported merchandise through to exportation, to ensure use complies with applicable laws and regulations, and, for Unused Merchandise claims, to ensure imported goods are neither used in the United States nor commercially interchangeable.
• Assisting in the reviews of claimants' requests for drawback privileges including Accelerated Payment, Exporters Summary Procedure, Waiver of Prior Notice, and use of substitution under 1313(j)(2); this includes determining bond sufficiency under supervision.
• Responding to basic, repetitive questions regarding reporting requirements, and calculation methods. Presents limited portions regarding basic factual situations in outreach efforts to explain drawback eligibility and requirements to potential, first-time or established drawback claimants; and to inform exporters, importers, customs brokers, and foreign trade officials about new or revised programs.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
• Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below)
• All pre-employment processes will be conducted in English
• You may be required to pass a background investigation
• CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures.
• As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce that is dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards. Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties. Please review further details via the following link.
• 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.
• Bargaining Unit: This is a bargaining unit covered position, represented under the National Treasury Employees Unions - NTEU. For local chapter contact information see Chapter Websites - National Treasury Employees Union - NTEU

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for the GS-11 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Reviewing and processing drawback claims and supporting documentation.
• Applying customs laws, regulations, and procedures, interpreting customs requirements or similar experience involving determinations of rates of duty.
• Classifying of merchandise, entry requirements, manufacturing records, export documentation, and accounting & inventory records.
• Reviewing and making decisions independently on drawback claims of more than average difficulty and complexity.
• Participating in public outreach programs, which involve presenting seminars and providing guidance to claimant.

GS-12: You qualify at the GS-12 level if you possess one year of specialized experience that equipped you with the skills needed to perform the job duties. Examples include experience in

• Reviewing and deciding complex drawback claims and supporting documents to ensure compliance with all laws, regulations and trade agreements.
• Performing compliance reviews of records to establish if goods meet eligibility requirements for drawback, and to verify the adequacy of a company's drawback system.
• Reviewing and making determinations concerning claimants' request for drawback privileges including Accelerated Payment, Exporters Summary Procedure, Waiver of Prior Notice, and use of substitution under 1313(j)(2); this includes determining bond sufficiency.
• Participating in public outreach programs, which involve presenting seminars and providing detailed guidance to claimants

Education Substitution: GS-11: You may substitute a Ph.D., an equivalent doctoral degree, or three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a qualifying field for experience at the GS-11 grade level or an LL.M., if related. Such education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise three years of graduate study. If that information is not available, use 54 semester or 81 quarter hours

There is no education substitution for the GS-12 grade 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; 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.

You must:

• Meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and
• Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 07/17/2026.

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.

Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information on the preemployment process, review the following link: Applicant Resources | CBP Careers

Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:

• Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military
• A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government
• Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university
• Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government

Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.

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

How you will be evaluated

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

Applicants will only be considered for the Eligibilities for which they claim in the job questionnaire AND must provide the supporting documentation. Applicants will not be considered for Eligibilities for which they did not claim, regardless of the documentation submitted with the application. https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12998551

After CBP completes its hiring, the resumes of the remaining candidates referred for selection consideration may be shared with other DHS Components. During the application process, you may choose to opt-in if you would like your name, application material, and assessment results to be shared. There is no guarantee of further consideration, and you can continue to explore other job opportunity announcements.

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 (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics). The USA Hire Assessment will be used to assess the following general competencies:

• Reasoning
• Decision Making
• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be contacted for an interview. As a part of the interview process, additional selection criteria may be administered by the hiring manager. Preview https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12998551

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 the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

• Your resume: A resume describing your job-related qualifications is required and will be used for the purpose of reviewing your qualifications and determining what training, if any, would be required when placed. A resume in English is required. It must contain your full legal name, address, phone number, complete work history including a detailed description of your duties, the dates you performed those duties (MM/DD/YY), your hours worked per week, job title, as well as series, grade, and salary (if applicable). For additional required items, see the link. *Note- It is recommended that you upload your resume as a PDF instead of a Word document to ensure document quality. Ensure that your uploaded resume is not a password protected document, to include Office 365 passwords. Your resume must only be two pages or less and uploaded under the document type - Resume. No additional document types will be reviewed as part of your resume, only the most recently uploaded version of your resume will be reviewed.
• Your responses to the job questionnaire: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12998551
• Your responses to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment
• Are you a current or former federal employee? ALL CURRENT AND FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES MUST SUBMIT THE MOST RECENT COPY OF THEIR SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing competitive status: Tenure 1 or 2 in Block 24 and Position Occupied 1 in Block 34. Additionally, applicants should also submit a SF-50 reflecting the highest grade held on a permanent basis in the competitive service or the full performance level of your current position, whichever is higher, AND an SF-50 to support having met the time-in-grade requirement of having served 52 weeks at the grade level (or equivalent) below the grade level(s) for this position. Current CBP Employees are encouraged, but not required, to submit an SF-50(s) for CBP experience; however, additional SF-50(s) are required when using federal experience outside of CBP to receive credit towards the requirements above. Examples of appropriate SF-50s include promotions, within-grade increases, and accessions.
• Are you qualifying based on education? Submit a copy of your college transcript (unofficial is acceptable at this time; however, official copies will be required prior to entrance on duty) or a list of coursework with hours completed provided from the institution. Do notsubmit transcripts as a PDF Portfolio. Education must be from an institution accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Education obtained from a foreign university or college is not creditable unless it has been evaluated by an organization that specializes in interpretation of education credentials. Note: If submitting documentation of an evaluation, transcripts are still required. For a listing of some accrediting agencies see NACES | Credentials Evaluations Provided by NACES Members. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications for more information.
• Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP)? You must submit a separation notice; your most recent SF-50 (noting your current position, grade level and duty location); a copy of your most recent performance rating; an agency certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has been terminated; an OPM notification that your disability annuity has been terminated; or a Military Department of National Guard Bureau notification that you are retired under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456.
• Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee? Submit a copy of your initial and termination SF-50s, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment.
• If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, submit documentation to support your request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found here.
• You may be asked to provide a copy of your recent performance appraisal and/or incentive awards.
• Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards in merit promotion selection decisions in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3).

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