This position is located within the Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Office of Law Enforcement (OLE), West Coast Division (WCD) with 2 vacancies in Seattle, Washington and 1 vacancy in Vancouver, Washington. This position is also announced under vacancy number NMFS-OLE-24-12474650-ST, which is open to Status Candidates. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both.

Duties

As a Criminal Investigator, you will perform the following duties: Conducts investigations that may result in criminal or civil/administrative prosecution and criminal or civil/administrative penalties, providing support, learning, and receiving on the job training. Develop additional knowledge, skills, and abilities in conducting complex domestic and international investigations. Support to the conduction of complex investigations of national or international scope, uncovering and documenting the illegal commercialization and destruction of protected wildlife resources. Learn and develop through selected assignments a full range of investigative techniques such as surveillance and use of undercover operations, and coordinate investigative efforts with other Federal, State, and local Tribal agencies. Conduct arrests, searches, and seizures in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, pertinent laws, regulations, directives and court decisions; comply with all existing policies, procedures, and guidelines pertaining to use, display, safety, and maintenance of firearms and intermediate weapons. Note: The duties are at the full ZA-4 performance level and the ZA-2 and ZA-3 is the developmental grade level leading to such performance.

Requirements

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy EDUCATION: There is no positive education requirement for this position. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. To qualify at the ZA-2 or GS-09 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-2 or GS-07 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Assisting in collecting and evaluating investigative data; Assisting in conducting arrests, searches, or seizures in accordance with U.S. laws; and Assisting with preparing written investigative reports from evidence gathered. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: A Master' or equivalent graduate degree or two years of graduate education leading to such a degree, LL.B. or J.D., if related. OR COMBINATIONS OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of related graduate level education and specialized experience as described above. NOTE: You must attach a copy of your transcripts for verification. To qualify at the ZA-3 (GS-11):SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-2 (GS-9) in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Collecting and evaluating investigative data; Conducting arrests, searches, or seizures in accordance with U.S. laws; and Preparing written investigative reports from evidence gathered. OR SUBSTITUTION FOR EDUCATION: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. Examples of degree programs include Criminal Justice and/or Administration; Law and Society; Forensics; Public Safety and/or Administration; Homeland Security; Law Enforcement; Justice Administration; Organizational Security and Management; Criminology; Cyber Security. (NOTE: You must attach a copy of your transcripts for verification). OR COMBINATIONS OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience for which both education and experience are acceptable. NOTE: You must attach a copy of your transcripts for verification. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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. IOR: Medical Requirements The duties of positions in this series require moderate to arduous physical exertion involving walking and standing, use of firearms, and exposure to inclement weather. Manual dexterity with comparatively free motion of finger, wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, and knee joints is required. Arms, hands, legs, and feet must be sufficiently intact and functioning in order that applicants may perform the duties satisfactorily. Sufficiently good vision in each eye, with or without correction, is required to perform the duties satisfactorily. Near vision, corrective lenses permitted, must be sufficient to read printed material the size of typewritten characters. Hearing loss, as measured by an audiometer, must not exceed 35 decibels at 1000, 2000, and 3000 Hz levels. Since the duties of these positions are exacting and responsible, and involve activities under trying conditions, applicants must possess emotional and mental stability. Any physical condition that would cause the applicant to be a hazard to himself/herself, or others is disqualifying. Conditions of employment: Maximum Entry Age: This position is a covered primary law enforcement position under Title 5 U.S.C 3307 Maximum Entry Age, the special retirement provisions for Federal Law Enforcement Officer (LEO). Candidates without previous LEO service must be under age 37. Those with current or prior federal LEO coverage will be considered only if they can demonstrate that they will have completed 20 years of covered service by mandatory retirement age of 57. This requirement is waived for Veterans; please see link below: https://www.chcoc.gov/content/change-maximumentry-agerequirements-veterans%E2%80%99- preference-eligibles. If you have current or prior Federal Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) coverage you must submit appropriate SF-50s that shows period of coverage. Failure to provide proof of Federal LEO coverage may result in removal from consideration. Incumbent must maintain requirements to qualify for LEO retirement coverage (5 USC 8336(c) and 5 USC 8412(d)). Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP): Incumbent is subject to work unscheduled duty hours and must be available for unscheduled duty based upon the needs of the agency. Therefore, the incumbent is eligible for Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) of an additional 25% and is subject to the provisions of the LEAP Act of 1994. Drug Testing Requirement: This position is subject to random and pre-employment drug testing. Firearms Requirement: You will be required to carry a firearm while performing duties of this position. Maintaining firearm proficiency is also mandatory. Training Requirements: Incumbent must successfully complete all training courses outlined by agency. Security Clearance: The incumbent of this critical sensitive position will be subject to a Tier 5 background investigation and maintain eligibility for a Top-Secret clearance, but local security access will be limited to Secret level only. Medical Requirements: See link for additional information. OLE Medical Standards: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/medical-standards-sworn-personnel Driver License Requirement: A valid state driver's license is required as you will be required to operate a Federal motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Lautenberg Amendment: This position is covered by the 1996 Lautenberg Amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968. A person convicted of a misdemeanor or felony crime of domestic violence is not eligible for the position. False or fraudulent information provided by candidates is criminally punishable by fine or imprisonment (Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1001). Mobility Agreement: This position may require the incumbent to be reassigned to a different geographic location. Accordingly, the incumbent will be required to sign a mobility agreement, which will remain in effect while assigned to this position as a criminal investigator. Inclement Weather: The duties of this position require exposure to inclement weather.

Education

College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

Note: Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation by the closing date of the announcement will result in lost consideration. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: OPM Foreign Education Evaluation.

Contacts

• Address NOAA Office of Human Capital Services OHCS 1315 East West Hwy SSMC4 Silver Spring, MD 20910 US
• Name: Applicant Inquiries
• Email: [email protected]