This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Police Service (PS) at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. The mission of the PS is to serve and protect Veterans, patients, employees, contractors, volunteers, affiliates, visitors, and others who frequent VA facilities.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/16/2025. 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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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. 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 and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Providing physical security and assistance to patients, employees, contractors, volunteers, affiliates, visitors, and others entering a facility or campus; ensuring compliance with security procedures designed to safeguard personnel and property; applying knowledge of security and protection regulations, policies, procedures, and practices when implementing plans; utilizing various security equipment and devices; making/sharing recommendations to improve security processes. Applicants must possess excellent communication skills. NOTE: 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. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, in a field related to Physical Security that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond one year (or 18 semester hours). NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer Skills Interpersonal Skills Personnel Security and Safety Public Safety and Security 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 full use of extremities, normal hearing, and vision to conduct on-site security surveys, inspections, and assessments. The duties require prolonged standing, walking, crouching, bending, lifting, reaching, pushing, stooping, and climbing stairs and ladders indoors and outdoors. Working Conditions: On-site surveys, inspections, and assessments require exposure to a wide variety of working elements, both indoors and outside, general and specialized office space. Clothing is subject to being soiled when checking basements, crawl space, attics and other similar areas. Wearing of safety clothing and equipment when in construction or industrial areas is required. 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/.
Major Duties: Serves as a non-uniformed Physical Security Specialist providing services on behalf of the VHA, PCS, including assisting in managing the Security Program for the Medical Center/Health Care System which ensures that individuals requiring access have been vetted Provides physical security support for Veterans Health Administration at the facility level. Assist in evaluating risk and developing procedures and physical security measures designed to safeguard personnel, property, and operations from unauthorized access, espionage, terrorism, sabotage, damage and theft. Ensures security requirements, including appropriate safeguards, cameras, panic and intrusion alarms are implemented. Monitors and evaluates existing present and planned security projects to ensure timely and quality service conforms to statutory, contractual and technical requirements. Provides input during assigned phases of the design and construction of planned Veterans Health Administration (VHA) projects concerning security engineering and electronic security systems. Works closely with senior Physical Security Specialist to gain an understanding of requirements of contracting officers to ensure VA and contractor compliance with Federal/VA security protocols during construction. Develops various physical security-related documents, spreadsheets, graphs, reports and presentations using various automated systems and software packages, including the Veterans Health Information and Technology Architecture (VistA) System, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint to enter, access and retrieve information in the medical center computer system. Maintains a Physical Security Tracking report to ensure physical security surveys are followed up promptly. Performs Law Enforcement assignments to prevent or resolve offenses. Books the accused; takes the accused before the appropriate District Court or magistrate; confers with the prosecutors; appears before the grand jury upon request; appears at preliminary hearings; and/or testifies at trial, if needed. Responds to reports of a crime in progress and/or calls for police assistance. Initiates appropriate actions to pursue and apprehend offenders who are leaving the scene of a crime or who attempts to resist arrest. Subdues individuals causing disturbances. Identifies and arrests violators based on eyewitness accounts. Takes charge at crime scenes restricting access to only those persons required to be present. Seeks, detects, and protects all evidence, victims, and witnesses. Oversees emergency, crowd, and/or civil disturbance control, including bomb threat, search procedures and proper completion of reports for each. Takes immediate action to control and evacuate the area. Provides control and leadership of emergencies until relieved by higher authority. Enforces Federal, State, county, and municipal laws and ordinances, and agency rules and regulations pertaining to the physical protection of visitors and employees; the protection of property of the U.S. government; the protection of the civil rights of all individuals while on federally owned property; and the preservation of the peaceful environment. Utilizes security services, ADP sensitive, non-critical computer system data information for police activities in accordance with agency, ADP security policies. Assures that all data remains confidential; that all hard copy data are maintained in secure files; and does not permit unauthorized personnel or others access to the ADP system or access to materials. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework based on agency policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Physical Security Specialist/PD99827S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized