PSYCHOLOGIST

Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to: All U.S. Citizens; Retained Grade Preference (RGP) eligibles, and Military Reserve and National Guard Technician eligibles may also apply.

As a PSYCHOLOGIST you will be responsible for the following duties:

1. Independently conducts high-volume psychological evaluations (averaging at least 150 annually) for national security and suitability purposes, utilizing clinical interviews and behavioral health records to identify potential security, counterintelligence (CI), or insider risk concerns.
2.Consults and communicates directly with other psychologists, personnel security adjudicators, attorneys and supervisors on psychological conditions and behaviors of concern which may be relevant to personnel security.
3. Reviews reports created by the evaluating health care professional to ensure these reports meet adjudicative readiness, communicating directly with medical professionals to collaboratively resolve ambiguities or lack of specificity in received work products.
4. Creates concise and informative reports for personnel security professionals, insider risk professionals, and security leadership based on an expert level knowledge of psychological principles.
5. Reviews work products of allied professionals, such as personnel security specialists and consulting and embedded psychologists for technical accuracy and professional sufficiency; works with leadership to rectify defects and ensure contract compliance.
6. Provides trainings, research presentations, or orientations to work groups within Trust Decision Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, Department of War and other United Stated Government and professional agencies, alone or in coordination with personnel security specialists.
7. Provides professional support to ensure branch-wide productivity of adjudicators, psychologists and other branch members meet Trust Decision (Adjudications) and DCSA standards

Conditions of employment

• Must be a US citizen
• Selective Service Requirement: Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. For more information http://www.sss.gov
• Resume and supporting documents received by 11:59PM EST will be considered
• This is a Drug Testing designated position
• Position is a (DCIPS) position in the Excepted Service under U.S.C. 1601
• Work Schedule: Full Time
• Overtime: Occasionally
• Tour of Duty: Flexible
• PCS (Permanent Change of Station): May be authorized
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Exempt
• Financial Disclosure: Not Required
• Telework Eligibility: Supervisors may approve situational telework on a case-by-case, temporary basis for limited situations.
• If selected, the incumbent must obtain and maintain appropriate security clearance as indicated in job announcement.
• Must be a licensed clinical psychologist in a US state or territory. A Ph.D or Psy.D in Clinical or Counseling Psychology from an APA-approved program is preferred. Forensic assessment experience is highly desirable.

Qualifications

This position has a Basic Requirement for the 0180:

Degree: major or equivalent in psychology for all specializations except clinical psychology and counseling psychology. These two specializations have additional educational requirements, as stated below:

• Clinical psychology: For positions at grades GS-11 and above, satisfactory completion of all the requirements for the doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) directly related to full professional work in clinical psychology is required.
• Counseling psychology: For positions at grades GS-9 and above, satisfactory completion of 2 full academic years of graduate study directly related to professional work in counseling psychology, or satisfactory completion in an accredited educational institution of all the requirements for a master's degree directly related to counseling psychology is required.

*NOTE: Failure to provide transcripts will result in you being rated ineligible for this position.

The experience described in your resume will be evaluated and screened from the Office of Personnel Management's (OPMs) basic qualifications requirements. See: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0100/psychology-series-0180/ for OPM qualification standards, competencies and specialized experience needed to perform the duties of the position as described in the MAJOR DUTIES and QUALIFICATIONS sections of this announcement by 09/17/2026

Applicant must have directly applicable experience that demonstrates the possession of the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies necessary for immediate success in the position. Qualifying experience may have been acquired in any public or private sector job, but will clearly demonstrate past experience in the application of the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to successfully perform the duties of the position.

You must have specialized experience sufficient to demonstrate that you have acquired all the competencies necessary to perform at a level equivalent in difficulty, responsibility, and complexity to the next lower grade GS/GG-12 in the Federal service and are prepared to take on greater responsibility.
Generally, this would include one year or more of such specialized experience.

Specialized experience for this position includes: Extensive familiarity with psycho-pharmacology and other psychological treatments; Working knowledge of psychopathology including personality disorders and substance use disorders; Providing briefings on psychologically relevant topics to a variety of audiences, including senior leaders; Conducting, supervising or reviewing psychological evaluations for security purposes or other forensic/clinical evaluations.

Specifically you will be evaluated on the following competencies:
1. Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance in various contexts, mental processes, or the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

2. Planning and Evaluating - Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.

3. Reasoning - Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions.

How you will be evaluated

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

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), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the SME Resume Panel review.

Application Questionnaire: Applicants must complete a screen out questionnaire as part of the application process. Applicants identified as meeting the basic education requirement and minimum qualifications for the position may move on to the SME Resume Panel review.

EXCEPTED SERVICE PILOT REVIEW: Once the application process is complete, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. All applicants who meet the basic qualification requirements will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for consideration.

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.

Competencies: Communication, Interpersonal Skills, Teamwork, Problem Solving, and Attention to Detail

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Top ranked candidates will be referred to the selecting official for further review and consideration.

A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified'.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

All eligibility and qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc.). Your complete application includes your COMPLETE resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

The following documents are REQUIRED:

1. Your resume:

• IMPORTANT UPDATE: Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. The resume and required supporting documentation should provide the minimum qualifications and relevant experience for the announced position. Must include the work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed. If multiple resumes are submitted by an applicant, only the last resume submitted will be reviewed for qualifications and referred for selection consideration, if eligible. The resume must not be more than 5MB and should be saved and uploaded as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. Page margins should be 0.5 inches, and font styles must be legible. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text. We recommend using a font like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans.
• Additional guidance on writing a federal resume can be found at: USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job? The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
• If you submit more than one copy of your resume, only the most recent version will be reviewed. The latest timestamp will be used to determine which version of your resume is "most recent."
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you will not be considered for this vacancy.
• Narrative responses in the assessment questionnaire do not replace content in your resume or vise a versa. Experience must be described in both places for qualification determinations.
• Resumes should NOT include: Classified information/SSN/Photo of yourself/personal information (gender, religion, affiliation etc., Encrypted digitally signed docs). Resumes with this prohibited information will be automatically ineligible for consideration.
• For qualifications determinations your resume must contain the dates of employment (i.e., Month/Year to present. Hours per Week).
• If your resume does not clearly outline details for each position as noted, you may be deemed "not referred" for this position.
• Additional guidance on writing a federal resume can be found at: USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job? The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

2. Transcripts:

• This position has a degree or education requirement so you are required to submit a copy of your transcript. We accept unofficial transcripts, as long as they contain your name, the name of the school, the date and degree that was awarded, and the list of classes and credits earned.
• College transcript (s), required if qualifying based on education. We accept unofficial transcripts, as long as they contain your name, the name of the school, the date and degree that was awarded, and the list of classes and credits earned.

3. SF50:

• All current and former civilian Federal employees must submit a copy of your MOST RECENT SF50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing your tenure, grade and step, salary, and type of position occupied (i.e., Excepted or Competitive); or similar Notification of Personnel Action documentation, i.e., Transcript of Service, Form 1150, etc. Failure to provide latest SF50 may result in you being rated ineligible for this position.

4. Veteran's Documents:

• If applying using veteran's preference or under a Veteran's hiring authority you must submit the following documents: DD214 showing character of service, SF-15 Form and VA letter showing final percentage, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty.

PLEASE REVIEW THE BELOW LINK FOR OTHER SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS needed for proof of eligibility:
https://www.dla.mil/Portals/104/Documents/Careers/downloads/DODCustomersRequiredSupportingDocumentation.pdf

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