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Communication Operations Specialist

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Chicago, IL Full Time
POSTED ON 3/3/2025
AVAILABLE BEFORE 3/28/2025
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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
  • One-year probationary period may be required.
  • Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov/).
  • Complete the initial online assessment and USA Hire Assessment, if required.
  • Obtain and maintain a Top-Secret Tier 5 clearance.
  • Submit to a drug test prior to your appointment and random drug testing while you occupy the position.
  • Financial disclosure report required.

Qualifications

You must demonstrate that you meet the Minimum Qualification requirements as noted below.

Minimum Qualifications:

GS-09: You qualify for the GS-09 level (starting salary $68,315.00) if you possess one of the following:

You Must Possess One Full Year Of Specialized Experience Comparable In Scope And Responsibility To The GS-07 Level In The Federal Service (obtained In Either The Public Or Private Sectors) Performing The Following Duties:

  • Operating multi-frequency communications equipment;
  • Maintaining logs of investigative communications, and
  • Monitoring security systems for threats.

OR

You have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree; or (two) 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.B. or J.D., if related at an accredited college or university. NOTE: You must submit a copy of your college transcripts (official or unofficial) to support your claim.

OR

You have a combination of specialized experience (less than one year) and graduate education (less than two years) that when combined equals 100% of the qualification requirement. NOTE: Only graduate education in excess of one year (generally 18 semester hours) may be used in this calculation. You must submit a copy of your college transcripts (official or unofficial), and your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet the experience, otherwise you will be found ineligible.

GS-11: You qualify for the GS-11 level (starting salary $82,655.00) if you possess one of the following:

You Must Possess One Full Year Of Specialized Experience Comparable In Scope And Responsibility To The GS-09 Level In The Federal Service (obtained In Either The Public Or Private Sectors) Performing The Following Duties:

  • Managing emergency communications for law enforcement;
  • Reviewing investigative data for accuracy; and
  • Implementing security procedures for office operations.

OR

You have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., if related, from an accredited college or university that provided the knowledge skills, and abilities necessary to perform this work. Note: You must submit a copy of your college transcripts (unofficial or official) to support your claim.

OR

You have a combination of specialized experience (less than one year) and graduate education (beyond 2 years of graduate education), that when combined equals 100% of the qualification requirement. Note: Only graduate education in excess of two years (generally 36 semester hours) may be used in this calculation. You must submit a copy of your college transcripts (unofficial or official) and your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet the experience to support your claim.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.

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.

Veterans' Preference: For more information on veterans' preference see: https://www.opm.gov/fedshirevets/veteran-job-seekers/#

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP/CTAP): This program applies to Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed, or employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet eligibility criteria for CTAP or ICTAP; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. Well-Qualified includes those applicants whose knowledge, skills, and abilities clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. For information on eligibility criteria and required documentation, go to: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.

Education

If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned.

Special Instructions for 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. Failure to provide such documentation with your application will result in lost consideration. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Personnel Management guidance and U.S. Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

DHS uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States.

This position will require a credit check after a conditional offer of employment has been accepted.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade and unit occur. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

The Secret Service prohibits employees from having visible body markings (including but not limited to tattoos, body art, and branding) on the head, face, neck, hand and fingers (any area below the wrist bone) (exception: a single conservative and unobtrusive tattoo in the form of a ring is authorized on one finger).

Full-time, 40-hour work week dependent upon shift work (i.e., rotating, and variable shifts), to include holidays and weekends. Workdays and shifts will vary depending on assignment and requirements (i.e., unscheduled overtime when necessary).

Read more

  • Help Help A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

Salary : $68,315 - $82,655

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