Requirements
Conditions of employment
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
- Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
- Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
- Direct Deposit participation required.
- Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
- Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
- Pre-employment and random drug testing is required. You will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.
- You must pass a physical examination.
- This position requires carrying and using firearms.
- You are required to wear a uniform and comply with uniform standards.
- You must successfully complete an intensive 8-10 week basic training conducted at Grand Coulee.
- You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
*Additional Information/Requirements located under qualifications*
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.
This period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: 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.
Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Qualifications
Requirements Continued -
All security guard personnel hired for the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) must meet all the following mandatory Conditions of Employment for the position. If an employee cannot meet the requirements imposed by the agency, the employee will be removed from Federal service. The Conditions of Employment are as follows:
BOR Security Guard Academy: Employee must successfully complete an intensive 8-10-week basic training conducted at Grand Coulee. The training provides the employee with defensive tactic skills and knowledge in order to protect government property, employees and visitors on project lands, and fellow security team members; handgun and rifle training and qualification; hand-to-hand combat training; and planning and preparing appropriate reactions to a variety of situations in a fighting environment. These sessions and subjects require mental and physical proficiency. Each session builds on the previous instruction, and periodic tests are administered throughout the sessions. Each test must be passed to continue to the next phase of training, and failure to satisfactorily complete a training session will lead to removal from federal service.
The above-mentioned tests include both classroom instruction and a personal demonstration of his/her proficiency in the material taught, which includes at a minimum, demonstration of various falls, maneuvers and techniques of defensive tactics, including manual manipulation of various tools; i.e., expandable batons, loading, unloading and clearing malfunctions in rifles and pistols. Firearms proficiency is demonstrated by attaining a certain score in a live fire qualification environment, and by performance in individual and team tactics as demonstrated in live fire and movement drills.
If referred to the hiring manager for this position, you may be required to complete a physical ability test.
Employment Physical Training (PT) Requirements: To successfully pass the PT requirement, all 4 categories must be completed and a combined score of 100 points or higher must be achieved. Please note that the linked video should only be used as a demonstration of the proper form to complete the PT requirements. The same criteria and range of scores will be used for all ages and genders. The most current PT requirements are listed below and the scoring information for each category is available here.
- Run 1.5 miles in 15 minutes or less
- 40-yard dash (from prone position) in 9 seconds or less
- 25-75+ Sit-ups in 2 minutes
- 25-75+ Push-ups in 2 minutes
At the end of the first year of employment and every year thereafter, the employee will be required to successfully pass all segments of the Employment PT test, the requirements are listed above. If the employee does not initially pass any part of the annual test, they will be given 60 additional days to successfully pass all segments of the test. If the employee cannot pass any part of the test during the annual test, they will be removed from federal service.
This position requires carrying and using firearms. In order to be able to meet this requirement, the Lautenberg Amendment requires that incumbents may not have any convictions of domestic violence and therefore the applicant will be required to certify that they have no convictions. This information will be verified through the Public Trust Background Investigation.
Firearm Proficiency. Upon completion of the intensive basic training, the employee must meet marksmanship standards. In addition, the employee must successfully pass the annual firearms proficiency test. If the employee fails to demonstrate firearm proficiency initially or upon re-certification, they will be removed from the position.
Qualifications:
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 10/23/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted.
An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.
Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:
Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sector). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience planning, coordinating or distributing guard workload among employees in accordance with established workflow; administering training to ensure personnel are equipped to protect against threats to property and personnel; experience controlling access or patrolling restricted and limited access areas. Acceptable experience includes service in the Armed Services or Coast Guard that involved the performance of guard duties on a regular or intermittent basis.
Volunteer Experience: 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.
Competition for Security Guard positions is restricted by law to persons entitled to Veterans' preference as long as such applicants are available for appointment. You MUST upload proof of military service if you are claiming Veterans' preference. More information on Veterans' preference can be found at the following link: Applications from non-preference eligibles will be accepted, but they will not be considered if there are a sufficient number of preference eligible applicants.
Education
This position does not allow substituting education for experience.
Additional information
In addition to the per annum salary for these positions, the selectees will be paid an additional 25% of basic salary for working Sundays, 10% of basic salary for working nights and pay for working holidays. The selectees are expected to work approximately 11 hours of scheduled overtime per pay period. Payments are made in accordance with applicable Federal pay regulations.
You must obtain and maintain a government credit card for travel and purchase authority.
Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.
All DOI employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior.
Physical Demands/Work Environment:
Work is physically demanding and may require the employee to be on continuous foot patrol during a 12-hour shift. On a regular and recurring basis considerable and strenuous physical exertion such as frequent climbing of multiple flights of stairs, lifting objects over 50 pounds, crouching, or crawling in restrictive areas during patrol or apprehension activities, as a member of the SRF employee may also have to defend oneself or others against a physical attack. Employee will be required to pass annual certification, which will include physical tasks and other selected tasks relating to the performance of duties such as marksmanship. Employee must be physically and mentally prepared to respond to incidents in as rapid and efficient manner as safety permits. Training exercises and emergency responses require walking, crawling, climbing, running, etc., and occasionally carrying heavy weapons and/or related equipment throughout all areas of the facility. When performing duties, the incumbent may also be required to rappel off structures, climb ladders, and perform other strenuous activities. Work is sedentary when at a stationary post or on mobile patrol.
Performance of duties regularly involves high risk of exposure to potentially dangerous situations or unusual environmental stresses that require a range of safety and other precautions (e.g., subject to possible physical and/or terrorist attack and similar situations that cannot be controlled). Reclamation facilities and lands are often widespread and include dams, associated tunnels, galleries, powerhouses, switchyards, visitor centers, support facilities in the industrial area, administrative facilities, warehousing, engineering, and repair buildings. Security Guards are involved in these areas on a recurring basis in all weather conditions while carrying out assigned duties. The work is performed in an outdoor environment for extended periods of time, in which there is regular and recurring exposure to moderate and extreme discomforts and unpleasantness (such as high temperatures reaching as high as 120 degrees) and provides essentially no shade or other respite from the extreme heat. Despite the arduous conditions that work is performed in, officers are required to wear full duty uniforms including a heavy ballistic vest, dark clothing, and other required equipment which also compounds the stress on the body (duty belt, weapon, etc.).
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.
Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.
You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
- Problem Solving
- Public Safety and Security
- Risk Management
- Writing
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 successful completion of additional assessment(s), including a structured resume review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job. The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.
All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.
Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry.