This position is located in the Health Resources and Services Administration, Office of Operations, Office of Administrative Management, Division of Security Services, Personnel Security Branch. The duty location for this position is in Rockville, MD and is not eligible for remote work. **Applicants please note: Additional selections may be made across the Department of Health and Human Services through this vacancy announcement.**

Duties

As a Personnel Security Specialist, you will apply the fundamentals, concepts, principles, practices, and procedures of personnel security work within the Office of Administrative Management, Division of Security Services. Your major duties and responsibilities include: Determining the sensitivity of HRSA positions and the status of eligibility of individuals selected for occupancy of those positions, which involves determining and initiating necessary investigations and determining the type of background. Conducting investigations and/or interviews when adverse information has been received about an employee because of an investigation. Participating in discussions, meetings and conferences with Agency officials, subject matter specialists, senior technical personnel, and Departmental and industry representatives to secure and provide information concerning security matters and problems; discussing recommendations, conclusions and alternatives; and developing solutions to immediate, anticipated, or potential problems involving the applicability of security regulations and procedures. Providing authoritative advice and guidance to program officials, agency personnel and others in such areas as: specific security problems, issues and/or actions; development of modified and new procedural guidance; interpretation of authorities and responsibilities; relevant regulatory and procedural information; review of documents and other materials to insure sufficiency and compliance with requirements; and other related matters. Reviewing and summarizing OPM and HHS investigative reports and referring all pertinent information to responsible Agency officials. NOTE: Do not cut and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Requirements

• U. S. Citizenship is required.
• All qualifications and time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. Federal applicants must submit an SF-50 to show status and time-in-grade.
• Males ages 18 through 25 must be registered with the Selective Service.
• PHS Commissioned Corps applicants must submit current personnel orders.
• A one year probationary period may be required.
• Employment is subject to the successful completion of the pre-appointment process (i.e., background investigation, verification of qualifications and job requirements, completion of onboarding forms, submission of required documents, etc.)

Qualifications

THESE QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET BY THE CLOSING DATE: 05/24/2024 Do not cut and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. MINIMUM QUALIFYING SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is experience that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, an applicant's one full year of specialized experience must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for successful job performance. GS-11: Applicants may meet the minimum qualifications for this grade based on one of the three methods below: EXPERIENCE: Your resume must clearly demonstrate that you have one full year of the minimum qualifying specialized experience that is comparable in difficulty and responsibility to at least the GS-09 level in the federal service. Examples of minimum qualifying specialized experience equal to the GS-09 level include performing the following types of tasks on a regular and recurring basis: Identifying and analyzing determinations of employees' eligibility for access to classified or sensitive documents/information. AND Providing responses to questions and requests that involve Federal Personnel Security and Suitability for service-related matters. EDUCATION: Have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or at least 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M. To be qualifying, the higher-level graduate education must be in a major field of study or other field of study with course work directly related to the work of this position. EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Have an equivalent combination of the above specialized experience AND higher-level graduate education that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. GS-12: To qualify for this position at the GS-12 level, your resume must clearly demonstrate that you have one full year of the minimum qualifying specialized experience comparable in difficulty and responsibility to at least the GS-11 level in the federal service. Examples of the minimum qualifying specialized experience equal to the GS-11 level include the following types of tasks performed on a regular and recurring basis: Performing Federal Personnel Security and Suitability Investigations in accordance with Federal regulations and policies. AND Evaluating Federal Personnel Security Investigations forms, security files and other information concerning personnel security matters and problems. 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; community; student; social). If such experience is on a part-time basis, you must provide the average number of hours worked per week as well as the beginning and ending dates of the experience so it can be fully credited. Applicants whose resumes clearly demonstrate the required minimum qualifying specialized experience will be evaluated based on the occupational assessment competencies listed below. A competency is defined as a measurable pattern of knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics that an individual needs to perform work roles or occupational functions. PERSONNEL SECURITY AND SAFETY - Knowledge of methods and controls of personnel, public safety, and security operations; investigation and inspection techniques; or rules, regulations, precautions, and prevention techniques for the protection of people, data, or property. DATA GATHERING AND ANALYSIS - Seeks or collects and synthesizes information from a variety of stakeholders and sources in an objective, unbiased manner to reach a conclusion, goal, or judgment, and to enable strategic and leadership decision making. PROBLEM SOLVING - Identifies problems and uses logic, judgment, and data to evaluate alternatives, and recommend solutions to achieve the desired organizational goal or outcome. COMPLIANCE - Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance. TO PREVIEW THE OCCUPATIONAL ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE, please click on the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12412058 Current status candidates must meet Time-in-Grade (TIG) by the closing date of this announcement. To allow us to verify that you meet TIG requirements, provide any of the following SF-50s: Please Note: Current year pay adjustments are not acceptable for verifying TIG (ex. 2024 general increases cannot be used to verify TIG). Competitive or Career-ladder promotion to your highest grade (this does not include 120 day temporary promotions) Regular Within Range Increase (WRI) or With In Grade (WGI) increase at your highest grade (this does not include quality step increases (QSIs). Competitive career/career-conditional appointment to your highest grade. SF-50 at your highest grade held, that is at least one year older than the announcement closing date of 05/24/2024. Not sure which SF-50 to submit? Check out our video... Go here to watch the video on the SF50s to submit in your application package.

Education

If you qualify on the basis of education in lieu of experience, you must submit a copy of your transcripts (or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed and grades) to document that you have met the education. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required prior to your starting work.

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov.

Applications can be accepted from students who expect to complete qualifying education within 9 months from the date of application. However, agencies must verify that the education was completed successfully before the applicant can be appointed.

Contacts

• Address Health Resources and Services Administration 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, MD 20857 US
• Name: AskHR HRSA Helpdesk
• Phone: (301) 443-3780
• Email: [email protected]