Police Officer Job

Vacancy No. WO-1614-USPP-24-12423561-DE Department National Park Service
Salary $68,965.00 to $75,253.00 Grade 1 to 1
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 5/24/2024 Close Date 11/25/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
San Francisco County, CAWashington, DCNew York County, NY


Summary

The mission of the United States Park Police is to support and further the goals of the Department of Interior and the National Park Service by providing quality law enforcement, safeguarding lives, protecting our national treasures and symbols of democracy, and preserving the natural and cultural resources entrusted to us.

This is an open-continuous announcement. Please see "Next Steps" for more information.
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/uspp/become-a-uspp-officer.htm

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Open to U.S Citizens, those eligible to apply for career transition, and those eligible for special/noncompetitive hiring authorities including Public Land Corps. Applicants must have reached their 21st birthday by the date of appointment, but must not have reached their 37th birthday (the age requirement may be waived if applicants are eligible with either of the two exceptions described in the qualifications section of the announcement)

Duties

The major duties of the Police Officer include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Prevents, detects, and investigates criminal activity.
    • Critical awareness of extraordinary conditions or circumstances that indicated criminal potential or criminal activity.
    • Diligent patrol of assigned beats to reduce and deter the opportunity for the commission of crime.
    • Detect violations of the law and make apprehensions when appropriate.
    • Cooperate with and assist members of the Force, as well as other law enforcement agencies.
  • Safeguards the characteristics and facilities of the parks and other areas of responsibility.
  • Maintains and displays a professional self-assured presence and a self-confident manner; controls or contains demonstrations; maintains control over special events such as parades, festivals, and athletic events.
  • Provides service, assistance, and information to the public consistent with assigned duties.
Specialty Units are available to officers depending on competitive selection process and completion of training. The United States Park Police offers the following full-time specialized units:
  • Motorcycle Unit
  • Aviation Unit
  • Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.)
  • K-9 Unit
  • Marine Patrol Unit
  • Major Crimes Unit
  • Crime Scene Identification Unit
  • Narcotics and Vice Unit
  • Traffic Safety Unit
  • Horse Mounted Patrol
  • Intelligence and Counterterrorism Branch
  • Physical Security/ Icon Protection Unit
  • Multi-Agency Task Force positions
  • Dignitary Protection
Pay Information:

Salary will vary based on locality. Entry-level starting salary by location:

  • Washington, DC: $68,965
  • New York, NY: $71,024
  • San Francisco, CA: $75,253
You may only be selected for the duty station in which you apply. If you would like consideration for multiple duty stations, you must select each location. Duty stations can be selected in the application questionnaire under the preferences section.

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.

Internal Promotional and Reassignment Opportunities
Individuals at the rank of Private may apply for internal reassignments to specialty units with potential pay differentials. Promotional opportunities to the rank of Sergeant may be available after completing a minimum 4 years of USPP service and meeting qualification requirements. All reassignments and promotional opportunities are subject to time in service and/or qualification requirements. Rate of pay is subject to locality and specialty unit differentials. Reassignment and promotional potential are not an entitlement and not guaranteed. The earning potential by rank is:

Sergeant - Washington, DC $97,552-$158,772; New York, NY $100,465-$163,514; San Francisco, CA $106,446-$ 173,248
Lieutenant- Washington, DC $107,599 -$159,516; New York, NY $110,813-$164,280; San Francisco, CA $117,410-$174,060
Captain- Washington, DC $126,381-$179,189; New York, NY $130,156-$184,541; San Francisco, CA $137,904-$191,900

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • High School Graduate or earned General Education Development (GED)
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • You will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.
  • You will be required to pass a pre-employment medical exam. In addition, this position is subject to biennial medical exams up to age 40 and annually beyond age 40.
  • If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
  • You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required at the time of application.
  • Must be able to legally possess firearms under the Lautenberg Amendment to the 1968 Gun Control Act. You will be required to maintain firearms proficiency.
  • You must obtain and maintain a government charge card for travel purposes and may be required to travel overnight away from home.
  • You will be required to maintain a Law Enforcement Commission.
  • Meet the age requirements outlined below.
  • Must meet vision requirements.
  • Must not have any Felony Convictions.
  • Must not have any convictions of Domestic Violence.
  • Multiple misdemeanor conviction's may also be subject to disqualification.
  • Additional circumstances presented during the application process that indicate a disregard for the Public Trust, at the discretion of the Agency, may be cause for disqualification according to requirements of 5 CFR 731.202(b) and Agency Qualification Standards.
  • Achieve and maintain at least a "Secret" level security clearance.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the application cut-off date in which applying unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying 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 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. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience.

For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Applicants must have reached their 21st birthday, but not have reached their 37th birthday by the date of application to this position. These positions are covered by the special retirement provisions for Federal Law Enforcement officers and have a mandatory retirement age of 57. Two exceptions are allowed:
  1. An applicant has prior Federal service in a primary covered position sufficient to complete 20 years of service on or before the mandatory retirement age of 57; or
  2. An applicant is a qualified veterans' preference eligible, in which case the minimum eligibility age is waived and their corresponding retirement age may be higher than 57 after completing 20 years of service.
You must submit proof of your status in the Law Enforcement retirement system.

To qualify for this position at the SP-01 grade level, you must possess all of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: You must have at least two years of progressively responsible experience that demonstrates the ability to learn and apply detailed and complex regulations and procedures that involve making sound judgment based on the application of directions, regulations, or laws. Examples of qualifying examples include, but are not limited to: Work on a police force, service as a military police officer, specialized military experience, security guards, physical security, visitor protection and law enforcement in parks, forest, or other natural resources or recreational environments, and/or criminal investigations; qualifying experience not immediately related to law enforcement may include, but is not limited to supervisory/managerial experience or personal work related experience that demonstrates the ability to independently manage critical tasks. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of 60 credits hours/2 years of higher education. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a COMBINATION of education and experience as described above. You must include transcripts.

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.

After determination of your minimum qualifications you may be selected to continue with additional assessments as outlined in the "How You Will be Evaluated" section.

After determination of your minimum qualifications, you may be selected to continue with the following assessment process:

WRITTEN EXAMINATION
  • Applicants must successfully pass a written examination and Job Compatibility Analysis (JCA). The POST exam is a standardized test measuring competency in arithmetic, reading comprehension, grammar, and incident report writing. Applicants must score 70% or better on the written examination to continue in the hiring process.
***Applicants requiring special testing accommodations must indicate so at the time of application to ensure that the test facilitators have ample time to accommodate such requests****PHYSICAL EFFICIENCY BATTERY (PEB)
  • Applicants must perform a sit and reach, a bench press, an agility run, as well as a 1.5-mile run. Applicants must pass each event with a 70% or better. Applicants who fail any component of the test will not proceed to the next step in the hiring process and will result in removal from the hiring process.
FORMS SCREENING REVIEW and BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION PREPARATION
  • Selected applicants will be interviewed in person by a USPP background investigator. During this process, the applicant shall provide any additional information requested by their investigator in a timely manner. Failure to do so may result in removal from the hiring process.
  • Applicants are required to bring all documents that are listed in the Personal Qualification Statement (PQS) and ensure they have the appropriate copies of supporting documents available to leave with the assigned investigator. An applicant will be removed from the process if he/she fails to provide all requested documents at the Forms Screening, no exceptions.
PASS A QUALIFICATION REVIEW PANEL
  • The Qualification Review is an in-person interview conducted by a panel of Force officials. Applicants are evaluated on their responses to qualification and scenario questions. Applicants must score 70% or better to continue in the hiring process.
MEDICAL REVIEW
  • Applicants that successfully complete the Qualification Review will be sent to a medical evaluation conducted by a Physician selected by the United States Park Police. Specific instructions will be provided to the invited applicants at that time.
Applicants that pass all assessments will be referred to the selecting official for consideration in selections for the Police Officer, SP-0083-01.

SELECTIONS FOR HIRE

Selected applicants will be subjected to a urinalysis/drug screening prior to being officially hired. The drug screening must be passed successfully.

PLEASE NOTE: All Processing, to include the Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB), Written Examination, the Forms Screening Review, and the Panel Interview may be held in Washington, DC, San Francisco, CA, New York, NY, or Atlanta, GA.

It is the applicant's responsibility to report to the test location on time and at his/her expense. Applicants must notify the United States Park Police point of contact if they require reasonable accommodation in the test room and specify the nature of the accommodation at the time of application.

Education

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

Physical Demands: The physical demands of this position require that all candidates pass an extensive physical examination, take a physical performance test, and meet the age requirements promulgated under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 3307. The incumbent must possess the psychomotor skills required to drive a vehicle in normal and emergency situations; fire a weapon accurately under extremely varied conditions; maintain agility, endurance and strength; and show dexterity in self-defense and apprehension (e.g. safely taking a person into custody with a minimum of force).

Working Conditions: The incumbent will be expected to work alone in areas where there is a probability that a person may be armed while attempting to commit a crime, and in an attempt to evade arrest, the situation may lead to an assault on the officer.

Benefit Information: Working for the U.S. Park Police offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health insurance benefits, premium pay, and eligibility for retirement with 20 years of service at age 50, or 25 years of service at any age.

  • Sick Leave - Employees earn 104 hours of sick leave per year that accrues without limit. Sick leave not utilized at the time of retirement will be added to the annuitant's length of service when calculating their retirement benefit. 12 weeks of paid parental leave is also granted to eligible employees.
  • Annual Leave - Employees earn annual leave at the following rates: 13 days per year for the first three years of service, 20 days after three years of service, and 26 days every year after 15 years of service. Employees may carry over a maximum of 240 hours (30 days) of annual leave from one calendar year to the next;
  • Overtime - Officers working overtime are eligible to earn monetary pay or compensatory time at a rate of 1.5 times their derived hourly pay;
  • Premium Pay - Officers working the hours between 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM are eligible to earn Night Differential at a rate of 10% of theirderived hourly pay. Sunday premium is earned at a rate of 25% of their derived hourly pay;
  • Retirement - The Federal Law Enforcement Retirement System offered by the United States Park Police is a special variant of the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) offered to most U.S. government employees. Law Enforcement FERS is a three-part retirement program:
    • 1) A defined-benefit plan (annuity) calculated by applying the average of the highest three years of earnings (high-3) to the employee's length of service. Police annuitants receive 1.7% of their high-3 for the first 20 years of their service, and 1% for each additional year. This translates to 34% of the high-3 for police officers retiring after 20 years of service, and 39% if retiring after 25 years.
    • 2) Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a defined-contribution pension (savings account). Employees may contribute up to the IRS maximum, and the agency will match any contributions up to 5% of base salary.
    • 3) Access to social security. As United States Park Police Officers are able (and required) to retire before they are eligible to apply for social security, a FERS supplement is paid to compensate until age 62.

Benefits

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.

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 additional assessments required for this position. 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', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

  • Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position
  • Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job
  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Oral Communication
  • Writing

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 successful completion of additional assessments including written examination, physical efficiency battery (PEB), forms screening review, background investigation, qualification review panel, medical review, and drug testing.

The assessments include a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general 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 all assessments.

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/25/2024:

  1. Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, dates specified in month and year format, and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade.
  2. Complete All Required Assessments.
  3. Other Supporting Documents, if applicable, such as:
    • Veterans Preference Documentation:
      • If you are a Discharged, Non-Disabled Veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character of discharge (Member 4 copy), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions, as listed on the SF15. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives.
      • If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, & 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
      • If you are a Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, or Mother or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit all additional proof required by the SF15, and if applicable, a completed SF15. You may request a copy of your Department of Veterans Affairs letter from www.ebenefits.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000 to establish proof of disability.
  4. College transcripts, if qualifying based on education.
  5. Documentation for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration if you are a displaced Federal employee within the local commuting area. You must include: 1) Proof you are a displaced Federal employee, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be rated well-qualified or above 85 on the rating criteria for this position.

Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - you must remove your image from any badges, licenses, etc.

Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

To apply for this position: You must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/25/2024. WE DO NOT ACCEPT HARD-COPY OR E-MAIL APPLICATION PACKAGES.

  1. Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account.
  2. Prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Apply."
  3. Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS.
  4. Select documents you want included in this application.
  5. Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed.
  6. Select if you want to include your demographic information.
  7. After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site."
  8. Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application.
  9. Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown.
    • Upload any missing required documents or optional documents.
  10. Review and Submit Application.
  11. While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position.
  12. You can review or revise your application at any point during the open period of the announcement.
    • To update an application, you should log into your USAJOBS account and select "+" next to the job title for this position. Select "Update Application" for this job.
    • Note: When you click Update Application, you will be prompted to re-select your documents from USAJOBS. Documents submitted with the first application will no longer be associated with the applicant record. So it is important that you select all documents you want to use in the re-application.
  13. To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to EO 14043, that requirement does not currently apply.
If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document that you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application. Click the following link for more information, https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information.

Please note: The eligibility section of the application process is designed to allow you to choose how you wish to be considered for this vacancy announcement. You will ONLY be considered for the appointment eligibilities that you select. You must provide the supporting documentation to support your claim. Please review the list of documentation provided in the eligibilities language to ensure you provide the appropriate information. You may choose more than one eligibility.

Agency contact information

Washington Office

Address

United States Park Police
1100 Ohio Drive S.W.
Washington, DC 20024
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once the Occupational Questionnaire is received you will receive acknowledgement that your submission was successful. You will be notified of the status of your Application Package at the time candidates are referred for consideration, and when the selection process is complete.

Throughout this process, you may receive emails from USPP_Officer_Recruitment@nps.gov. Please ensure to adjust your email settings to allow emails from this email address and review your inbox and junk mailbox.A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) and/or United States Park Police is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Standing Register Open Continuous Information: The intent of this announcement is to establish multiple applicant lists for the US Park Police to conduct pre-employment testing on a regular and recurring basis. Cutoffs will be used to manage large applicant pools for this announcement. Consideration will be given to candidates in sequential order within each group as depicted below as each group is exhausted. Qualifications must be met for those applications submitted by the cut-off date. Applications will be considered for the following cut-off dates:

Cut-Off Dates:

  • Cut-Off 1: July 27, 2024
  • Cut-Off 2: September 27, 2024
  • Cut-Off 3: November 27, 2024
All applications will be reviewed for minimum qualifications. Eligible candidates will be placed on applicant lists for further assessment by the U.S. Park Police. You must submit your application by one of the indicated cut-off dates listed above. You may not edit or update your application once it has been submitted. Once all vacancies are filled, this announcement may close without further notice.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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