Physical Security Specialist Job in Providence, RI

Summary

This job is open to

• The public

  U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

• Internal to an agency

  Current federal employees of this agency.

Duties

This position is located within the Police Service of the VA Medical Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The mission of the Police Service is to serve and protect Veterans, patients, employees, contractors, volunteers, affiliates, visitors, and others who frequent VA facilities. This is accomplished through crime prevention activities, typical law enforcement actions, emergency response capabilities, special training and tactics, weapons, and equipment and systems utilization.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Serves as a physical security consultant to leadership and Police Services staff;
• Coordinates physical security programs nationally by coordinating efforts or functions that impact multiple medical centers and sites of care;
• Evaluates risk and develops procedures and physical security measures designed to safeguard personnel, property, and operations from unauthorized access, espionage, terrorism, sabotage, damage and theft;
• Ensures security requirements and appropriate safeguards, cameras, and panic and intrusion alarms are implemented;
• Monitors and evaluating existing and planned security projects to ensure timely and quality service conforms to statutory, contractual, and technical requirements;
• Collects information and preparing reports on the facility's compliance with VA operations and regulations;
• Conducts system audits and evaluates reports of alleged security violations;
• Establishes, develops, and maintains effective working relationships with other staff offices;
• Meets and coordinates with key customers and officials to assess customer satisfaction, explain organization policy and procedure, and resolve problems that arise;
• Participates on special projects and initiatives, and performing special ad hoc assignments;
• Attends security meetings to gather and share new/changed security program information with security personnel;
• Develops documents, spreadsheets, graphs, reports and presentations using various automated systems and software packages;
• Ensures physical security surveys are followed up promptly;
• Performs related duties as required.

• Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• This position is eligible for coverage by a Bargaining Unit, but is not currently represented.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• This position is subject to review and possible re-classification in accordance with government wide Office of Personnel Management (OPM) standards. Reviews could result in a change to lower grade.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

The Physical Security Course (PSEC) has been revised once again into an 80-hour/two-week course that is mandated by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) for all new VA PSEC Officers within one year of assuming the position. The updated and revised curriculum is based on specific physical security findings identified in the 2019 VA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report titled "Inadequate Governance of the VA Police Program at Medical Facilities." Intense training provides students with multiple opportunities to apply learned skillsets necessary to provide reliable physical protection of the personnel and property found in a healthcare setting and other customer service-oriented environments. This course incorporates cutting-edge technology using Performance Logic (PL) to document Physical Security Surveys (PSS) and the Federal Protective Service's (FPS) Modified Infrastructure Survey Tool (MIST) to safeguard against 33 undesirable events identified by the Interagency Security Committee (ISC) standards. State-of-the-art blended learning includes classroom lectures, Student-Centered Learning Activities, two practice laboratory exercises, and one final Performance Evaluation using the MIST tool. Through it all students learn about various security technologies, crime prevention, risk analysis, predictive analysis, mitigation strategies, waivers, a review of key physical security documents such as the Physical Security and Resiliency Design Manual, governing policies, the physical security inspection process, and effective verbal/written communication. To graduate, each student must actively participate independently in a group setting and conduct a PSS using PL, a Threat Assessment using MIST, and ultimately present their final projects to the class.

Conditions of Employment:

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

How You Will Be Evaluated

Required Documents

How to Apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online.

To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 02/28/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12693858.

1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.

2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Next steps

After the vacancy announcement closes, applicants are evaluated to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email.