Physical Security Specialist

Summary

This Physical Security Specialist is located within the Police Service at the VA Providence Healthcare System. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

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Duties

This position is located within the Police Service of the VA Medical Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The mission of the Police Service is to serve and protect Veterans, patients, employees, contractors, volunteers, affiliates, visitors, and others who frequent VA facilities. This is accomplished through crime prevention activities, typical law enforcement actions, emergency response capabilities, special training and tactics, weapons, and equipment and systems utilization.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Serves as a physical security consultant to leadership and Police Services staff;
• Coordinates physical security programs nationally by coordinating efforts or functions that impact multiple medical centers and sites of care;
• Evaluates risk and develops procedures and physical security measures designed to safeguard personnel, property, and operations from unauthorized access, espionage, terrorism, sabotage, damage and theft;
• Ensures security requirements and appropriate safeguards, cameras, and panic and intrusion alarms are implemented;
• Monitors and evaluating existing and planned security projects to ensure timely and quality service conforms to statutory, contractual, and technical requirements;
• Collects information and preparing reports on the facility's compliance with VA operations and regulations;
• Conducts system audits and evaluates reports of alleged security violations;
• Establishes, develops, and maintains effective working relationships with other staff offices;
• Meets and coordinates with key customers and officials to assess customer satisfaction, explain organization policy and procedure, and resolve problems that arise;
• Participates on special projects and initiatives, and performing special ad hoc assignments;
• Attends security meetings to gather and share new/changed security program information with security personnel;
• Develops documents, spreadsheets, graphs, reports and presentations using various automated systems and software packages;
• Ensures physical security surveys are followed up promptly;
• Performs related duties as required.
  
  

Work Schedule: Full-time. Tour of Duty to be determined based on the need of the facility.

Position Description Title/PD#: Physical Security Specialist/PD99798-S

• Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• This position is eligible for coverage by a Bargaining Unit, but is not currently represented.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• This position is subject to review and possible re-classification in accordance with government wide Office of Personnel Management (OPM) standards. Reviews could result in a change to lower grade.
  
  

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

The Physical Security Course (PSEC) has been revised once again into an 80-hour/two-week course that is mandated by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) for all new VA PSEC Officers within one year of assuming the position. The updated and revised curriculum is based on specific physical security findings identified in the 2019 VA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report titled "Inadequate Governance of the VA Police Program at Medical Facilities." Intense training provides students with multiple opportunities to apply learned skillsets necessary to provide reliable physical protection of the personnel and property found in a healthcare setting and other customer service-oriented environments. This course incorporates cutting-edge technology using Performance Logic (PL) to document Physical Security Surveys (PSS) and the Federal Protective Service's (FPS) Modified Infrastructure Survey Tool (MIST) to safeguard against 33 undesirable events identified by the Interagency Security Committee (ISC) standards. State-of-the-art blended learning includes classroom lectures, Student-Centered Learning Activities, two practice laboratory exercises, and one final Performance Evaluation using the MIST tool. Through it all students learn about various security technologies, crime prevention, risk analysis, predictive analysis, mitigation strategies, waivers, a review of key physical security documents such as the Physical Security and Resiliency Design Manual, governing policies, the physical security inspection process, and effective verbal/written communication. To graduate, each student must actively participate independently in a group setting and conduct a PSS using PL, a Threat Assessment using MIST, and ultimately present their final projects to the class.

Conditions of Employment:

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  
  

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

GS-11 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience. At least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. Specialized experience includes: providing physical security and assistance to groups and individuals; ensuring compliance with security procedures designed to safeguard personnel and property; applying knowledge of security and protection regulations, policies, procedures, and practices; utilizing various security equipment and devices; making recommendations to improve security processes; providing physical security consultation services to an organization. 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.
• Successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree,
• OR
• three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree,
• OR
• LL.M. in field a directly related to this position being filled (i.e., criminal law, criminal justice, etc.). This education must include courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Education must have been obtained in an accredited college, or university.
  
  NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

OR,

• Combination. Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond a master's degree) and specialized experience as described above to meet total experience requirements.
  
  NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.
  
  

Physical Demands and Work Environment: 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 both indoors and outdoors. On-site surveys, inspections, and assessments require exposure to a wide variety of working elements, both indoors and outside, and in 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.

Education



Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.

If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

he following will be communicated to applicants for VA employment in a testing designated position and will also be included in all VA vacancy announcements for such positions: All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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