Duties
The incumbent serves as a Police Officer carrying out responsibilities where most work is performed on Veterans Affairs Departmental properties.
- Protects individuals during any given situation against threats to personal safety when enforcing laws and regulations.
- Responds immediately to and engages potentially armed individuals during active threat response situations.
- Responds to highly dangerous and active crimes in progress, making independent decisions and taking immediate steps to preserve life and property.
- Mitigates opportunities for assault, illegal entry, and theft involving highly protected information, property and/or processes at facilities containing special protective methods.
- Provides patrol in vehicles, by foot and/or on a bicycle.
- Responds to calls for police assistance, irregularities, and unusual or suspicious circumstances.
- Conducts asset protection during transport.
- Writes comprehensive incident reports.
- Provides policing services in various environments where each type of jurisdiction (Exclusive, Concurrent and Proprietorial) has different enforcement rules.
- Seeks, detects, seizes, and protects evidence and witnesses at the scene of an incident.
- Detects and intervenes in criminal activity.
- Enforces traffic rules and regulations, including those related to speeding and reckless operation of vehicles while impaired or intoxicated.
- Conducts investigative contacts/stops, exercising search and arrest authority, detaining witnesses, and apprehending suspects.
- Advises individuals of their rights (such as Miranda, Weingarten, Garrity, etc.), and protecting the constitutional and civil rights of persons.
- Intervenes, when necessary, to deescalate situations and determine when and how much force must be applied.
- Conducts prisoner transports to holding facilities and courts as required.
- Conducts disaster response and recovery.
- Provides Basic Life Support (BLS) to injured personnel and coordinates additional emergency response when needed.
- Coordinates and directs search, rescue, and recovery for persons at high risk (e.g., missing or wandering patients, minors, etc.), including coordinating with local surrounding police departments to expand the search parameters.
- Investigates incidents and takes steps to mitigate further risk and resolve situations.
- Performs and provides training on drug and contraband intervention where contraband identification and knowledge is imperative.
- Intervenes, when needed, to deescalate active suicidal behavior and/or prevents suicides.
- Prepares case files and testifying in court as it pertains to enforcing laws and regulations.
Work Schedule: Panama Schedule, Rotating Shifts, Nights, Weekends and Holidays. To be determined by the organizational needs.
Position Description Title/PD#: Police Officer/PD#608-99925-A
Physical Requirements: The work requires, on a regular and recurring basis, considerable and strenuous physical exertion such as running, frequent climbing of multiple flights of stairs, and carrying items weighing over 50 pounds. It requires stamina, physical agility, dexterity, and the strength to pursue, apprehend or detain persons who are often uncooperative, assaultive, and/or armed.
Work Environment: The work involves both moderate and high risks and possible endangerment of life or serious injury that requires the exercise of safety precautions and use of personal protective equipment The work is performed in settings in which there is regular and recurring exposure to moderate to severe discomforts and unpleasantness, such as high temperatures in confined spaces, high temperatures due to mandatory protective personal equipment, or adverse weather conditions during extended periods of traffic and patrol duties. The work involves moderate risk requiring exercise of safety precautions when working around hazardous materials such as toxic gases, explosives, infectious biological materials, and others that pose a moderate risk of exposure.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Requirements
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, Academy Certificate, Transcripts, Driving Record, etc
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents).
- Effective May 7, 2025, driver’s licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Experience that provided knowledge of a body of basic laws and regulations, law enforcement operations, practices, and techniques and involved responsibility for maintaining order and protecting life and property. Creditable specialized experience may have been gained in work on a police force; through service as a military police officer; in work providing visitor protection and law enforcement in parks, forests, or other natural resource or recreational environments; in performing criminal investigative duties; or in other work that provided the required knowledge and skills. Carries firearms and other weapons, intervenes when necessary to de-escalate situations and determines when and how much force must be applied. Advises individuals of their (Miranda, Weingarten, Garrity, etc.) rights, and protects the constitutional and civil rights of persons.
GS-06 Grade Level Requirement (Full Performance Level):
- One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. The incumbent serves as a Police Officer carrying out responsibilities where most work is performed on Veterans Affairs Departmental properties, which includes any properties owned, leased, or licensed to VA. Provides policing services in a variety of jurisdictional environments where each type of jurisdiction (Exclusive, Concurrent and Proprietorial) has different enforcement rules and requires Police Officers to understand the complexities and legally apply the correct set of laws, regulations, and processes.
- Duties include, but are not limited to: Protects individuals during any given situation against threats to personal safety when enforcing laws and regulations. Responds immediately to and engages potentially armed individuals during active threat response situations. Responds to highly dangerous and active crimes in progress, making independent decisions and taking immediate steps to preserve life and property. Mitigates opportunities for assault, illegal entry, and theft involving highly protected information, property and/or processes at facilities containing special protective methods. Writes comprehensive incident reports. Detects and intervenes in criminal activity. Seeks, detects, seizes, and protects evidence and witnesses at the scene of an incident. Conducts investigative contacts/stops, exercising search and arrest authority, detaining witnesses, and apprehending suspects. Advises individuals of their rights (such as Miranda, Weingarten, Garrity, etc.), and protecting the constitutional and civil rights of persons. Conducts prisoner transports to holding facilities and courts as required. Conducts disaster response and recovery. Provides Basic Life Support (BLS) to injured personnel and coordinates additional emergency response when needed. Performs and provides training on drug and contraband intervention where contraband identification and knowledge is imperative.
There is no educational substitution for the GS-06 level.
For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
Special Requirements: The selected police officer incumbent must:
- Be eligible for Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Credential and must maintain PIV credential eligibility during their services with the agency.
- Have a successfully required adjudicated background investigation and obtain and maintain a required security clearance.
- Carry firearms for safety and security as required by the VHA Police Service (PS).
- Be proficient in the English language.
- Pass an initial pre-employment medical examination and an annual medical examination to include psychological assessment. Must immediately report to the supervisor any significant medical threshold shifts in health status and/or medication requirements.
- Possess a valid driver's license as a condition of continued employment as a VA Police Officer.
- Successfully pass Police Officer Standardized Training (POST) at the Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC).
- Successfully pass the POST/R (refresher) training course on a recurring basis as defined by VA.
- Complete other mandatory training to remain knowledgeable and skilled in specialized tactics, techniques, and procedures necessary to prepare and respond to catastrophic events, terror attacks and related threats to the facility.
- Work uncommon tours of duty as needed, to include nights, weekends, holidays, overtime, rotating shifts, and emergency call-backs.
- Achieve and maintain qualification in the use of agency approved firearms as a condition of continued employment as a VA Police Officer. This includes meeting the provisions of the Gun Control Act (Lautenberg Amendment) of 1968, as amended by Public Law 104-108 and found at 18 USC, Section 992.
Knowledge Required by the Position
- Knowledge of the full range of police and law enforcement services including state, county and federal laws, regulations, methods and procedures that apply to the facilities depending upon their geographical location and type of jurisdiction to ensure policing compliance and to prevent and resolve offenses.
- Knowledge and skills of policing procedures to properly conduct search and seizure of evidence/contraband, pursue and apprehend persons fleeing a crime scene or attempting to resist arrest; to identify and arrest violators based on eyewitness accounts; to serve warrants and subpoenas to individuals on the property and to support dignitaries and activities specifically designated by the facility Director.
- Knowledge of firearms and tactics for deployment in emergencies to carry out policing emergency services and procedures, such as weapons and chemical agents, negotiations, building layouts, terrorist threats and counterterrorism methods, search and rescue techniques, and crowd and demonstration control.
- Knowledge of Police Service security protection operations necessary to evaluate existing crime prevention methods and recommend to supervisor changes to existing programs; and to prepare and finalize accurate law enforcement reports using the correct report formats, procedures, and terminology.
- Skills to effectively communicate the current socio-political climate and keep abreast of how it contributes to people and suspects potentially reacting antagonistically or aggressively to law enforcement personnel or activity.
- Knowledge of proactive patrolling activities to maintain law, order and a safe and secure environment based on criminal or terror trends and knowledge to deter and detect such activity, including recognizing potential gang affiliations and the risks/difficulties associated with them when interacting with witnesses, suspects and the general public.
- Skills using various automated systems and equipment located in a dispatch center, including the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) terminal, internal Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance system, National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) to guide operations to dispatch personnel and to properly enter and retrieve information on individuals and vehicles.
Education
There is no educational substitution at this grade level.
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.
If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.
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.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.
Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:
- Arrest
- Criminal Investigation
- First Response
- Interpersonal Skills
- Public Safety and Security
- Security
Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.
Investigation of Fitness
- A character investigation may be conducted on applicants selected for employment. The purpose of such an investigation is to secure evidence of the candidate's honesty, integrity, general character, and loyalty to the U.S. Government. Such investigations will be conducted under the security requirements of the hiring agency.
Medical Requirements
- The duties of these positions require moderate to arduous physical exertion and/or duties of a hazardous nature. The following medical requirements apply to all applicants: good near and distant vision, ability to distinguish basic colors, and ability to hear the conversational voice.
- Agencies may establish additional, job-related physical or medical requirements provided that the specific position(s) involves the arduous or hazardous duties to which the physical requirements relate.
- Applicants and employees must have the capacity to perform the essential functions of the position without risk to themselves or others.
- Applicants and employees must possess emotional and mental stability.
- In most instances, a specific medical condition or impairment will not automatically disqualify an applicant or employee. A medical condition or impairment is disqualifying only if the condition, for good medical reason, precludes assignment to or warrants restriction from the duties of the specific position. For some positions, the loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid.
- Reasonable accommodation shall also be considered in determining an applicant's ability to perform the duties of a position. Reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to the use of assistive devices, job modification or restructuring, provision of readers and interpreters, or adjusted work schedules.
Required Documents
Documents Accepted:
- Cover Letter
- DD-214/ Statement of Service
- Disability Letter (Schedule A)
- Disability Letter (VA)
- License
- Academy Certificate
- Driving History Report
- Other (3)
- Performance Appraisal
- Professional Certification
- Resume
- Separation Notice (RIF)
- SF-15
- SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
- Transcript
Documents Required:
Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application.Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).
You will not be contacted for additional information. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.
Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.
Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.
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
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 07/07/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12747419.
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. You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.
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.