Supervisory Intelligence Operations Center Watch Officer (Branch Chief) Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 26-OIO-DE-12829021-CLG Department Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Salary $142,488.00 to $185,234.00 Grade 14 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 11/7/2025 Close Date 11/21/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

ATF is a law enforcement agency in the U.S. Department of Justice that protects our communities from violent criminals/criminal organizations, illegal use/trafficking of firearms, illegal use/storage of explosives, acts of arson/bombings, acts of terrorism, and illegal diversion of alcohol/tobacco products. We partner with communities, industries, law enforcement, and public safety agencies to safeguard the public through information sharing, training, research, & technology. Visit www.atf.gov

This job is open to

The public

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

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from all U.S. citizens.

Duties

This position is located under the Office of Intelligence Operations, Operational Intelligence Division, Joint Support and Operations Center in Washington, District of Columbia.

The primary purpose of this position is to is to is to serves as Branch Chief of the Joint Support and Operations Center in the Office of Intelligence Operations, Operational Intelligence Division. The Joint Support and Operations Center (JSOC) provides 24/7 operational support to all ATF personnel anywhere in the world.

The major duties of the Supervisory Intelligence Operations Center Watch Officer (Branch Chief) include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Serves as Branch Chief and manages the Joint Support and Operations Center (JSOC).
  • Manages 24/7 operational support to all ATF personnel anywhere in the world.
  • Conducts and oversees complex searches and queries using a variety of law enforcement, compliance, and inspection databases or data files related to activities both internal and external to the Bureau.
  • Receives and disseminates data and information impacting enforcement, compliance, inspections and real-time operations.
  • Oversees the ATF Fugitives Program and entry/removal of ATF Fugitives in NCIC.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

Conditions of employment:

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.

MOBILITY PLAN: New employees hired pursuant to this vacancy announcement must sign a mobility agreement. The purpose of ATF's mobility policy is to enhance career development and progression, and achieve mission and business effectiveness. To accomplish these objectives, the mobility plan will facilitate the movement of employees through special short-term assignments or permanent reassignments throughout the Bureau. Applicants who decline to sign a mobility agreement, as required, will be removed from the hiring process.

The time-in-grade requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement. The qualification requirements listed below must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/21/2025 - unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

To qualify for the Supervisory Intelligence Operations Center Watch Officer (Branch Chief) (at the GS-14), you must meet the following specialized experience by the closing date of this announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience must include all of the following:
  • Providing leadership or leading a team; AND
  • Researching, collecting and analyzing data for threat and incident information; AND
  • Communicating effectively both orally and in writing to facilitate the exchange of pertinent information for decision making based on the crisis, incident, or event.
You must include your resume with hours worked per week annotated.

You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies". Experience listed as full-time will be credited at 40 hours per week.

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.

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and score 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and score 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/

Education

There is no substitution of education for experience at the grade level(s) of this announcement.

Additional information

Notice to Prospective Employees of Ethical Obligations from ATF's Human Resources Operations Division. Please click on the following link to read important information. DOJ Ethical Obligation

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.

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.

EEO Statement: Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion or national origin.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: Reasonable Accommodation requests for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on such requests are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you receive the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here. Additional information regarding Reasonable Accommodations for federal applicants can be found here.

Federal Regulations state no ATF employee, his/her spouse, or his/her minor child shall have, directly or indirectly, any financial interest, including compensated employment, stock, or proprietary interest in the alcohol, tobacco, firearms or explosives industries. You should be aware that you may be asked to relinquish any ownership of or interests in the alcohol, tobacco, firearms or explosives industries before a determination can be made whether access to ATF information, information technology systems, and/or facilities can be authorized.

Additional vacancies may be filled from this vacancy announcement.

A one year probationary period is required for new supervisors and managers.

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.

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

Please limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

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.

A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Application 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'.

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

SME Panel Review: An SME Panel will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the competencies stated below. Only the first 2 pages of your resume will be reviewed. Applicants that are found qualified will move on to the next phase of the hiring process.

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:

  • Manages and Organizes Information
  • Teaching Others
  • Managing Human Resources
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Team Building

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12829021

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/21/2025:

  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. Please limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
  2. 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 SF15 "Revised October 2013 SF-15") or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions, as listed on the SF15. You must also submit your VA letter, if applicable. 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.
  3. 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, current grade level 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.
Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof (as described above) that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(2) for CTAP or 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP/ICTAP eligible.

If you are selected for Federal employment, you will be required to fill out a Declaration of Federal Employment, OF-306, prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.

Failing to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on your application may be grounds for not hiring you, or for firing you after you begin work. Also, you may be punished by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).

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.

WE DO NOT ACCEPT HARD-COPY OR E-MAIL APPLICATION PACKAGES

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: If your contact information changes after the closing date of this vacancy announcement, you must update your profile information in MYUSAJOBS

Failure to provide the required documentation by the closing date of this announcement will result in elimination of further consideration for this position.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. You must submit a complete application package by 11:59 PM (ET) on 11/21/2025 to be considered.

You must provide documentation to support your claim for each eligibility selected. Please review the required documentation listed in the eligibilities language to ensure you submit the appropriate information. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation.

Resumes must be limited to two pages in length. Applicants with resumes longer than two pages will not be considered.You can only submit one resume; Only the resume submitted under the "Resume" "Document Type" will be used to determine your qualifications and for rating purposes.

The application process is as follows

  1. Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account.
  2. Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application."
  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. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder.
  12. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements
** Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under the Track this application link for the corresponding application.
  1. While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position.
  2. 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; therefore, it is important that you select all documents you want to use in the re-application.

Agency contact information

Camille Gunter
Phone
202-648-8631
Email
camille.gunter@atf.gov
Address
Office of Intelligence Operations
99 New York Ave., N.E.
Washington, DC 20226
US

Next steps

Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.

Your assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.

Once the Application Questionnaire and USAHire assessment results, if applicable, are received you will receive acknowledgement that your submission was successful. Candidates meeting minimum qualifications will be issued to the SME (resume review) panel for additional assessment. If it is determined you are among the most qualified candidates and your name is referred to the hiring official, you may be contacted directly for a possible interview. 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.


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