This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Police Service (PS). The mission of the Police Officer is to serve and protect Veterans, patients, employees, contractors, volunteers, affiliates, visitors, and others who frequent VA facilities. Safety and security are paramount to ensuring that the VA successfully serve and honor the men and women who are America's Veterans.

Duties

Duties of this position are: 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. Protects Veterans, volunteers, and others on Departmental property, U.S. officials, other individuals, and him or herself during any given situation against threats to personal safety when force becomes necessary to enforce laws and regulations. Carries firearms and other weapons, intervenes when necessary to deescalate 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. Conducts investigations, apprehensions, or detention of individuals suspected or convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the US, protection, and transport of U.S. officials. Conducts investigations with a nexus to VA, prisoner transports, patient search and recovery, life-saving efforts, disaster response and recovery, asset protection during transit, training, and other matters. Identifies and preserves evidence, writes comprehensive incident reports, prepares case files, and testifies in court as it pertains to enforcing laws and regulations. Provides patrol in vehicles, on foot, and/or on a bicycle. Detects and intervenes in criminal activity; responds to calls for police assistance, irregularities, and unusual or suspicious circumstances. Investigates incidents and takes steps to mitigate further risk and resolve situations. Provides emergency response coordination as needed. Operates specialized vehicles and equipment in support of law enforcement and security operations. Determines whether situations are criminal or civil and takes appropriate steps for each. Determines the level of crime committed (petty offense, misdemeanor, or felony, Federal or State statute); and takes applicable enforcement action. Enforces traffic rules and regulations, including those related to speeding and reckless operation of vehicles while impaired or intoxicated. Uses independent judgment in cases where policy is not clear. Initiates investigative contacts/stops, exercises search and arrest authority, detains witnesses, and apprehends suspects. Seeks, detects, seizes, and protects evidence and witnesses at the scene of an incident. Detains witnesses and suspects, makes arrests, and performs booking procedures. Interviews witnesses and other persons involved, determines whether facts warrant an arrest or lesser action. Executes arrest warrants issued by federal and local courts. Coordinates or transports arrested parties to holding facilities and courts as required. Controls facility access via Entry Control Point (ECP) and Traffic Control Points (TCP) during emergency operations. Identifies persons requiring assistance or medical aid while on-patrol, performs on-scene assessments, and determines the level of aid or emergency response required. Provides Basic Life Support (BLS) to injured personnel and coordinates additional emergency response when needed. Functions as the first line of defense during violent crimes in progress, terror attacks, potential threats to personnel or VA properties, and general crimes at all classification levels including, petty offenses, misdemeanor, and felonies using appropriate levels of force. Reacts to neutralize threats, secure resources, and mitigate further risk to personnel, and property. Protects high-value VA assets, personnel and materials and ensures continuity of operations. Proactively executes daily Random Anti-terrorism Measures (RAM) and supplemental anti-terrorism measures during increased threat conditions. Implements high-risk vehicle and personnel screening operations during increased threat conditions as needed. Assures criminal or anti-terror measures are met to protect U.S. officials, Veterans and other personnel, facilities and critical assets impacting the VA's continuity of operations. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Rotating shifts to include weekends and holidays Compressed/Flexible: May be available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Senior Police Officer/PD99926S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/07/2023 Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. This is an Internal VA Announcement, You MUST Submit SF-50s as Outlined Below or you Will be Found Ineligible SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility): Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade. Examples of appropriate SF-50's include: Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old." Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: For this Senior Police Officer, GS-7 position, must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level in the Federal service (or equivalent pay band), that provided a 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. Specialized experience includes conducting investigations, apprehensions and detentions of persons suspected or convicted of criminal violations; maintaining order to protect life and property; taking initial complaints; interviewing witnesses; securing a crime scene and conducting limited searches; responding to emergency situations; gathering information and preparing reports; conducting routine patrol, traffic control, and traffic accident investigations. Note: 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. Experience as a security guard or corrections officer is generally not qualifying. Note: You must provide detailed information of your experience performed. Information such as "I was a Patrolman", "I was a Police Officer for a number of years," or "I enforced Federal, State, county, and laws" is insufficient to determine your qualifications. Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:ArrestCriminal InvestigationFirst ResponseInterpersonal SkillsPublic Safety and SecuritySecurity 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; religions; 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. Note: 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. Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion such as long periods of standing, walking, driving, bending, stooping, reaching, crawling, and similar activities. Employees engage in such exertions when responding to alarms, pursuing suspects, or participating in weapons or other kinds of training activities, climbing stairs in office buildings, or walking foot patrols in and around large buildings. In some positions, the work may regularly involve lifting and carrying of heavy objects of 23 kilograms (50 pounds) or less, such as weapons. Some positions may require common physical characteristics and abilities in agility and dexterity and the strength to pursue, apprehend, and detain uncooperative suspects. 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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Contacts

• Address Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center 1111 East End Boulevard Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 US
• Name: Heather Shipp
• Phone: (302) 333-6713
• Email: [email protected]