Transportation Security Specialist

Summary Securing Travel, Protecting People - At the Transportation Security Administration, you will serve in a high-stakes environment to safeguard the American way of life. In cities across the country, you would secure airports, seaports, railroads, highways, and/or public transit systems, thus protecting America's transportation infrastructure and ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce. Responsibilities This Transportation Security Specialist position is located in the Transportation Security Operations Center (TSOC), Flight Operations Branch, Flight Operations Division, Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Duties include but are not limited to: Monitors and collects data on all transportation security incidents and fuses the operational information from stakeholders with real-time open-source intelligence affecting all modes of transportation; they subsequently make risk/threat assessments. Maintains knowledge of TSA airport operations and applicable TSA security policies and procedures, enabling accurate and cogent accumulation of information related to reported security events; asks well informed questions related to reported multi-modal security incidents, analyzes potential outcomes, and acquires data and information relevant to senior decision makers. Maintains knowledge of watch floor operational policy, procedures, directives, SOPs, quick reference checklists, and event specific checklists to ensure compliance with applicable agency authorities and mission goals and objectives. Analyzes the characterizations of the training events to make recommendations for internal resource deployment and overall understanding of pertinent guidance material and nature of events. Communicates with management for making characterizations inputs on potential/emerging threats so that TSOC leadership can make appropriate threat assessments to the appropriate. The major duties described above reflect the full performance level of this position. Typically, the lower pay bands (G & H Band) perform the same duties, but will receive more guidance and training; and/or projects/work assignments may be less complex. Emergency Essential Position: This position is designated as an Emergency Essential (EE) position. This designation requires the employee to remain in a duty status if an emergency arises. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National. You must have reached the minimum age (18) at the time of application. Selective Service registration is required. You must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret Clearance. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: Must pass pre-employment drug screening AND random drug/alcohol testing. You must complete a favorable Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI). Incumbent is required to work full-time on a rotating 24-hour schedule, 7 days per week and may be required to work rotating shifts or shifts outside of the standard workday/workweek on short notice to include weekends and holidays. The incumbent will be on call 24 hours per day to cover emergency response needs. Incumbent may be required to carry a paging device and/or mobile phone at all times. If you fail to meet the conditions of employment or any other pre-employment requirements, such as missing any of the scheduled appointments, the hiring agency may rescind their tentative offer of employment. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for TSA to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions. Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change. Qualifications To qualify for the SV-G pay band (equivalent to GS-11), you must meet one of the qualification requirements (A, B, OR C) outlined below: A. Education: 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree; OR B. Experience: 3 years of general experience, 1 year of which was equivalent to at least at the SV-F or GS-9 in the Federal service performing duties such as: Analyzing problems to identify significant factors, gathering pertinent data, and recognizing solutions; Planning and organizing work; and Communicating effectively orally and in writing; OR C. Combining of Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade level, and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. GRADUATE EDUCATION: Education at the graduate level in an accredited college or university in the amounts indicated above meets the requirements for this position. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the one year of full-time study requirement. To qualify for the SV-H Pay Band (equivalent to GS-12), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-G Pay Band or GS-11 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such specialized experience is defined as: Working in an operations/incident command center monitoring message traffic from internal and external stakeholders; AND Using WebEOC in the formulation and documentation of security incident reporting. To qualify for the SV-I Pay Band (equivalent to GS-13), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-H Pay Band or GS-12 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such specialized experience is defined as: Assessing and managing security incident communications crossing organizational boundaries, international boundaries or multi-modal transportation sectors; AND Preparing and disseminating security incident reports and initial recommendations for response to internal components and/or other agencies. Credit for experience is given based on a 40-hour workweek. Part-time experience is credited on a part-time ratio, i.e., working 20 hours per week for two months equals one month of experience. No additional credit is given for overtime. National Service Experience (i.e., 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 Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. Resumes must include the following: Narrative description of duties with start and end dates (including the month and year) for work experience. State the number of hours worked in a position (i.e. full-time or part-time). If part-time, state the total number of hours worked per week. Performance level (i.e. band or grade) Utilizing the USAJOBS Resume Builder and completing all available fields is strongly encouraged. You must meet the qualification requirements for this position no later than the closing date of the vacancy announcement. Education For positions requiring positive education requirements, or if you are using education to meet all or part of the qualification requirements, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or an itemized list of college courses from an accredited college or university, which includes equivalent information from the transcript (course title, semester/quarter hours, and grade/degree earned) in your resume. The information must be provided with the application by the closing date of the announcement. If selected, the applicant must supply a transcript or certification of degree. Additional Information Eligibility to apply for other Federal positions: TSA is an Excepted Service agency exempt from most of Title 5 United States Code, including regulations which apply to displaced Federal employees (CTAP/ICTAP) of other agencies, and employment with TSA does not confer "Competitive Status" that generally results from selection and service in Competitive Service agencies. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established an Interchange Agreement, which allows most permanent TSA employees to apply and be considered for vacancies in Competitive Service agencies. Information from OPM on this or other Interchange Agreements is available at: www.opm.gov/ To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation as a condition of placement into this position. DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306 Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. TSA employees who are absent for the purpose of performing military duty may apply for any vacancies announced in their absence. More than one position may be filled from this announcement. If you are entering TSA employment on an appointment without time limitations, you must serve a basic trial period unless you have already met the requirement. DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including: health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays. Other benefits may include flexible work schedules; telework; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select "Benefits." Disabled veteran leave will be available to any Federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more. Employees who transfer to TSA from an agency that allows employees to maintain an annual leave balance higher than the maximum accumulation for the appointed position will have their leave ceiling set to the maximum accumulation for the appointed position (e.g., United States duty location - 240 hours, foreign duty location - 360 hours, or TSES position - 720 hours). TSA will not make a monetary payment for any leave forfeited under these circumstances.