Investigator (Direct Hire)

Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to college graduates who completed a qualifying bachelor's or graduate degree within the previous two years. Veterans who have completed a bachelor's or graduate degree and were unable to apply within two years of receiving their degree due to military service obligation of at least 4 years, may apply within two years of their discharge from uniformed service. This announcement will be utilized to fill positions through the College Graduate Hiring Authority.

You will be performing assigned duties under the general direction of a manager or more experienced employees. Typical duties include but are not limited to:

• Receives, conducts, documents, all investigative cases.
• Incumbent is responsible for gathering information, identifying issues & allegations necessary for discovering evidence, coordinating & conducting interviews, researching standards, and reporting the findings of a thorough, complete investigation or inquiry.
• Creates, manages, and updates the electronic case management file, per established milestones, with the applicable investigative information, to include victim, witness, suspect, investigative participants, memoranda of activity and interview, and reports of investigation.
• Participates in interrelated investigations that include interagency and intergovernmental teams to ensure discrepancies, in findings, are resolved and confirms the investigation is supported by evidence sufficient to Investigations' standards.
• Prepares sworn statements, affidavits and serves administrative subpoenas and other official investigative correspondence.

Conditions of employment

• You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National.
• Successful completion of a one-year probationary period.
• You must complete and be able to hold and maintain a favorable Background Investigation (BI).
• Selective Service registration required for male applicants, unless exempt.
• Graduates may be appointed to an excepted-permanent or excepted-conditional position in the excepted service upon completion of their developmental program.
• Use of this appointing authority permits hiring without regard to veterans' preference but must follow merit system principles.
• Position requires domestic and overseas travel as necessary.
• Required to maintain all operational, policy, and legal standards required to testify before courts, juries, or judges regarding cases and/or the nature and complexities of regulations, procedures and techniques used in investigations.

If you fail to meet the conditions of employment or any other pre-employment requirements, such as missing any of the scheduled appointments, the hiring agency may rescind their tentative offer of employment.

Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for TSA to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the announcement including college graduate eligibility, specialized experience and/or education, and selective placement factor(s), as defined below.

To meet the minimum requirements for this position, you must: (1) Meet the Eligibility Requirements for College Graduates; (2) Provide a copy of transcripts for verification; AND (3) Meet the Minimum Qualification Requirements.

College Graduate Eligibility Requirements:

• Completion of all requirements for a bachelor's or graduate-level degree from a qualifying educational institution within the previous two (2) years; or
• Due to military service obligation, was precluded from applying to the Recent Graduates Program during any portion of the 2-year eligibility period described above shall have an intervening period of obligated service of at least four years in the uniformed services, the two-year eligibility begins on the date of discharge or release from uniformed service

Minimum Qualification Requirements: Applicants must meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements shown below. If qualifying based on experience, your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the specialized experience requirements. Specialized experience is defined as experience that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.


At the SV-G (GS-09) level:
Specialized Experience: Must have one full year of specialized experience at the SV-E(GS-07) pay band in the Federal Service or equivalent pay band or equivalent experience in the private or public sector that demonstrates the skills needed for this position. Experience at this level includes:
Investigative techniques and sources to develop a strategy for each separate case. OR
Agency policy enforcement, including regulatory policies and procedures in order to plan and conduct investigation activities in accordance with current laws, TSA regulations and policies.

-OR-
Substitution of Education: Completion of master's or equivalent graduate degree in an accredited or pre-accredited college or university; or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or possession of a LL.B. or J.D degree, if related. (Must submit transcripts.
-OR-
Combination of Experience and Education: Must have of a combination of education and experience as described above. (Must submit transcripts).

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 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.

Under the provisions of the College Graduate Hiring Authority, rating, ranking and veterans' preference does not apply. While veterans' preference does not apply, veterans are still encouraged to submit their documentation.

Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Those determined to be Qualified will be referred to the selecting official for consideration.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection this position. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13067336

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.

• Resume Requirements:
  1. All applicants are required to submit a resume. Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an application that includes a resume over two pages.
  2. Narrative description of duties with start and end dates (including month and year) for work experience.
  3. Number of hours worked in a position (i.e., full-time or part-time). If part-time, (i.e., less than 40 hours per week) state the total number of hours worked per week.
  4. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, provide your performance level for federal civilian positions (i.e., band or grade).
• If your resume does not contain this information, your application will be marked as insufficient, and you will not receive consideration for this position.
• Do NOT include photographs (or links to social media such as LinkedIn), inappropriate content, classified information, nor personal information such as age, gender, religion, social security number, etc. on your resume.
• Utilizing the USAJOBS Resume Builder and completing all available fields is strongly encouraged.

Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education visit NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.

• Transcript(s): unofficial copies are sufficient with the application; however, if selected, official transcripts will be required. If your official or unofficial transcripts do not provide the information listed below, include additional official academic documentation that meets the requirements. Official or unofficial Transcripts MUST include:
  • Student's Name
  • Name of the School
  • Specific Degree or Certificate Program
  • Current and Cumulative GPA/academic standing
  • Past and current coursework
  • Degree Conferment Date - if your transcript does not reflect your degree conferment date, you must provide official educational supporting documentation that includes your degree conferment/graduation date.
  • Evidence of meeting the "qualifications" through substitution of education if not by specialized experience as outlined in the announcement.

Detail Documentation - Eligible applicants who wish to qualify for this position based upon experience obtained while serving on a detail with TSA must submit signed copies of the corresponding TSA form 1160, Terms And Conditions For Temporary Internal Assignment -Detail, or an SF-52, Request for Personnel Action, as supporting documentation along with their application otherwise the experience cannot be credited. If you do not submit required documentation described in this job opportunity announcement, your application will be deemed incomplete and you will be ineligible for further consideration for this vacancy. You must meet the qualification requirements for this position no later than the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

Veterans' preference does not apply to selections made using the College Graduate Hiring Authority.

If you would like to submit your military records for proof of service and veteran status, please submit the following:

• Submit a DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. If currently on active duty you must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted. The SF-15 Application may be provided but is not required.

If you are a federal government surplus or displaced employee, please submit the following:

• Surplus or displaced employees eligible for RPL priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.

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