Security Assistant Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 25R-SA-312978-MPA-OHR Department Smithsonian Institution
Salary $46,148.00 to $66,872.00 Grade 05 to 06
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 8/26/2025 Close Date 9/2/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo.  TThis position is located in the Personnel Security Branch, Talent Management Division, Office of Human Resources (OHR), Under Secretary for Finance and Administration, Smithsonian Institution (SI).

More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

Duties

You will serve as a Security Assistant for the Personnel Security and ID Office (PSIO). You will assist with operating the Institution’s personnel security and identity management programs by completing day-to-day activities required to expedite preemployment background checks and investigation submissions.

In this position, you will also:

  • Perform ID Office functions in accordance with ID Management and Personnel Security Program policies and directives to fulfill requirements for preemployment background checks, credential issuance, and/or system access.
  • Utilize the Institution’s credentialing and badge issuance systems to enroll new applicants, perform inquiries, create and update database files, take applicant photos, capture and submit fingerprints, and issue credentials/badges.
  • Process all credential/badge renewals and replacements.
  • Receive and ensure required preemployment background check and investigation forms are properly completed.
  • Review forms to detect errors and omissions, return forms as needed, and follow up to obtain missing or corrected information.
  • Monitor and track eQIP applications to ensure timely completion by applicants.
  • Perform technical and quality reviews of completed eQIP applications to ensure they meet OPM standards and are ready for release to the investigative service provider (ISP).
  • Review eQIP applications returned or rejected by the ISP, determine necessary actions, and ensure corrections are made and resubmitted.

The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-06. 

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
  • May need to complete a Probationary Period
  • Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
  • Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website.

Qualifications

To qualify for GS-05: You must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS -04 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes 1) Assisting with the intake and review of background investigation forms to ensure completeness and accuracy; 2) providing customer service to applicants and staff regarding personnel security procedures and credentialing requirements; and 3) monitor and manage the personnel security mailbox, eQIP help line, and other resource accounts, responding to inquiries and resolving issues efficiently.

OR

You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: a bachelor's degree or four (4) years of education above high school in any field of study from an accredited college or university.

OR

A combination of education and experience equivalent to that described above.

To qualify for GS-06: You must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS -05 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes 1) Assisting with the intake and review of background investigation forms to ensure completeness and accuracy; 2) providing customer service to applicants and staff regarding personnel security procedures and credentialing requirements; and 3) monitor and manage the personnel security mailbox, eQIP help line, and other resource accounts, responding to complex inquiries and resolving issues efficiently; and 4) conducting preliminary reviews of cases and identifying minor suitability issues for referral to senior staff.


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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Education

  Basic Education is not required at this grade level. 

Additional information

  • This position is not included in the bargaining unit.

Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position.  However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.

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.

Benefits

The Federal Government offers a comprehensive benefits package. 

Please see Benefits at https://www.si.edu/OHR/benefits for a complete description.

Flexible Spending Accounts - https://www.fsafeds.com/
Health Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp
Leave - http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp
Life Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp
Long Term Care Insurance - http://www.ltcfeds.com
Retirement Program - https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above.  The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

  1. Knowledge of Credentialing Systems and ID Management Tools
  2. Knowledge of Personnel Security
  3. Ability to communicate accurately and professionally
  4. Ability to apply Suitability and Credentialing Standards to Background Investigations

BASIS OF RATING:  Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. If, after the Human Resources Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA):  If you are applying for a VEOA appointment, you must be a veteran and must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service. ("Active Service" under this law means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.) A veteran who is released under honorable conditions shortly before completing a 3-year tour is also eligible.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities:  The following links contain information on the eligibility requirements to be considered under a noncompetitive appointing authority:

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

Your application package should include the following documents:

  • Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position.

    For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.

  • Current and former employees MUST submit a copy of their Standard Form (SF)-50, “Notice of Personnel Action,” that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position title, series, grade, step, salary, type of service (competitive or excepted in block 34), and tenure (1 or 2 in block 24). Please provide a SF-50 that shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade level.  Examples of appropriate SF50s include: Appointments, Reassignments, Within-grade/range increases or Promotion actions.  NOTE: Pay adjustments and award SF-50s do not include the length of time in your current position, therefore, they are NOT acceptable SF-50’s on their own. You may need to provide more than one SF-50. Failure to provide the appropriate SF-50(s) may prevent you from receiving consideration for this position.  

  • Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
  • Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.
  • Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy) if you are requesting a special appointment authority, such as VRA or VEOA
  • Proof of severe disability if you are requesting special placement consideration.
  • Proof of eligibility for a military spouse appointment, such as a permanent change station military order.
  • Proof of eligibility for any other special appointing authority not specifically mentioned here.

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

Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page.
Please Note:

  • You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you).
  • You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process;
  • The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
  • If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.

Agency contact information

HR Specialist
Phone
202-633-6370
TDD
202-633-6409
Fax
202-633-6401
Email
lastnamefirstinitial@si.edu
Address
SMITHSONIAN
Office of Human Resources
POB 23772, 600 Maryland Avenue, MRC 517
Capital Gallery
Washington, District of Columbia 20013-7012
United States

Next steps

At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt.
The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process. You may also check your application status by logging into www.usajobs.gov and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing vacancy.info@si.edu; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed.

Additional Information:

  • Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at www.sihr.si.edu/jobs.cfm.
  • The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses.
  • The Smithsonian Institution is an equal opportunity employer. Additional information can be found on our website at (www.si.edu/oeesd).


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


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