Supervisory Personnel Security Specialist
What you'd do
About the Position: This position supports the mission of the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Administration Security Division, Personnel Security Branch and is located in Falls Church, VA. This is not a virtual/remote position. You must live within or be willing to relocate within a commutable distance of the identified duty location (Falls Church, VA).
Major duties
Serve as the final adjudicative authority for suitability or fitness determinations for federal employment. Advise DHA personnel on the status of background investigations and onboarding timelines to support their staffing needs. Provide clear, accurate guidance to applicants and current personnel regarding complex security clearance requirements, fingerprinting processes, and appeal procedures. Evaluate complex cases containing derogatory information (e.g., criminal history, financial issues) and making definitive, timely "pass/fail" risk decisions to protect the agency. Prioritize and reassign casework among subordinate specialists to meet urgent, mission-critical deployment or hiring deadlines. Adapt agency Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and local policies rapidly in response to sudden changes in Office of Personnel Management (OPM) or Department of Defense (DoD) vetting mandates. Manage workflows and balance workloads across geographically separated offices to account for staffing shortages or sudden surges in investigation requests. Provide day-to-day supervision, mentorship, and performance feedback to a team of security specialists, fostering a cohesive team environment despite geographic separation. Analyze conflicting or incomplete information within National Agency Checks or Single Scope Background Investigations to determine the true nature of a security risk. Identify systemic bottlenecks or delays within the DHA personnel vetting pipeline and implementing procedural improvements to reduce overall processing and onboarding times. Formulate comprehensive personnel security policies to ensure organizational compliance with federal regulations.
What you need to qualify
Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. Current Civilian Employees of the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Current Permanent Department of Defense (DoD) Civilian Employee Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce Executive Order (E.O.) 12721 Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473 Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentality (NAFI) Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Interchange Agreement Eligible People with Disabilities, Schedule A Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible Reinstatement Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998 In order to qualify, you must meet the experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes directing personnel security programs to maintain national security compliance; developing personnel security vetting policies to standardize adjudication procedures; AND leading personnel by performing duties such as assigning tasks, reviewing work, providing technical guidance, mentoring junior staff, etc. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-13). Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted. Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-13).
Before you apply
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