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Transportation Security Officers are responsible for providing security and protection of travelers across all transportation sectors in a courteous and professional manner. Their duties may also extend to securing high-profile events, important figures and/or anything that includes or impacts our transportation systems. Learn more about the Transportation Security Officer (TSO) role on the TSA Careers Website.
Learn more about this agency03/02/2023 to 04/27/2023
$21.30 - $30.42 per hour
SV D
No
No
Occasional travel - A minimum of three (3) weeks of travel in a full-time duty status may be required to complete TSA’s New Hire training. New Hire training and travel requirements vary by duty location and may require up to six (6) weeks of full-time duty status travel. This training will occur away from the employee’s airport of record. Employees will be paid for compensable hours and reimbursed for authorized travel expenses per TSA Travel Policy. While employed with TSA, other occasional travel may be required.
No
Permanent
Part-Time
Excepted
E
No
Yes
PHL-F19-P001
616436500
For more information on working at Philadelphia International Airport, please Click Here.
Salary Information: The salary range listed above includes locality pay of 27.84% and a retention incentive of 10% of adjusted pay that is unique to this duty location. In order to recruit and retain highly qualified employees at this location, TSA has approved the payment of a bi-weekly retention incentive. The current starting hourly rate for this position is $21.30; beginning on July 2, 2023 the new hourly pay will be $21.56.The continuation of the incentive portion of this hourly rate is contingent upon annual approval and funding.
Sign-on Bonus: The Transportation Security Administration is currently offering a sign-on bonus of up to $2,000 for this duty location;half of the bonus after onboarding and the other half to be received after one year of service. The amount of the airport’s sign-on bonus is subject to change or elimination based on operational needs, however, any applicable sign-on bonus amount will be communicated and agreed upon during the final job offer process.
On July 2, 2023, TSA is converting to a new compensation plan. Under this new plan, Transportation Security Officer (TSO) salaries will become significantly more competitive with the implementation of a three-rung, D, E, and F band career ladder. For additional information, please click here.
Hiring: TSA may apply a gender-specific (male or female) hiring preference to fill TSO positions in order to meet security mission and same gender pat-down job-related requirements. At airport locations where it is necessary to apply the hiring preference, candidates of the needed gender will be provided preference in the scheduling of the computer based aptitude test, airport assessments, processing and selection.
DHS components work collectively to prevent terrorism, secure borders, enforce and administer immigration laws, safeguard cyberspace and ensure resilience to disasters.
Securing Travel, Protecting People-At the TSA, you will serve in a high-stakes environment to safeguard the American way of life. Across the nation, you will be on the front line of the DHS’s TSA team as they secure airports, seaports, railroads, highways, and public transit systems, thus protecting our transportation infrastructure and ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce.
Realistic Job Preview: The Realistic Job Preview gives you an honest, objective and vivid portrait of what it means to work as a Transportation Security Officer (TSO) and provides employee testimonies about both the good and the challenging aspects of being a TSO. To view the video, please Click Here.
Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) provide security and protection of air travelers, airports and aircraft in a courteous and professional manner. This includes:
NOTE: Employees occupying frontline positions, i.e., individuals occupying positions that involve contact with the traveling public on a regular and recurring basis, may be required to wear TSA approved and issued personal protective equipment (PPE). This requirement is in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic and comply with Executive Order 13991 and TSA’s Pandemic and Emerging Infectious Disease and Workforce Protection Plan. PPE includes TSA issued surgical masks, face shields, and nitrile gloves. At TSA, the health and safety of our employees is a top priority.
The requirements listed above must be met at the time of application submission.
Other Requirements:
Applicants must meet these qualifications in order to be further evaluated in the TSO hiring process:
National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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.
No moving, relocation or pre-employment travel expenses will be paid for this position, or while in application for this position. This position is not a law enforcement position and therefore, is not covered by Law Enforcement Availability Pay or Law Enforcement Retirement. Per the President's 2014 Fair Employment memo, TSA policy is to not adversely consider a candidate based on unemployment or financial difficulty through no fault of their own. For more information on the Fair Employment policy, see “Additional Resources” here.
TSA is an excepted service agency. Employment with TSA does not confer the "Competitive Status" that generally results from selection and service in Competitive Service agencies. However, permanent employees who have at least one year of continuous service with TSA will be eligible to apply for positions in other Federal agencies under the OPM-DHS Interchange Agreement.
Reasonable Accommodation: Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact HC ServeU Customer Care at HC-ServeU@tsa.dhs.gov.
Bargaining Unit Status: This position is in the bargaining unit for which the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the exclusive representative.
Reemployed Annuitants: Since the TSO position is permanent, it does not meet the eligibility requirement for a salary offset waiver under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2010. Therefore, former Federal or Postal Service employees who are receiving a civilian retirement annuity may have their salary reduced by the amount of their pension, which could result in a biweekly net pay as low as zero dollars ($0.00) or a debt owed to the Federal Government.
TSO Dress and Appearance Responsibilities: TSOs are required to adhere to the Personal Appearance Standard that requires a neat, clean and professional appearance while on duty or while wearing a uniform. This includes adherence to policies on accessories and grooming. For example, with the exception of 1/4 inch stud-type earrings, body and/or tongue piercing may not be visible to the public. In addition, tattoos of any kind on the head, face, and exposed areas of the neck must be covered at all times and not visible to the general public. TSA issued and approved items such as turtlenecks or dickies may be used to cover tattoos on the lower neck.
Work Schedules for Part-time Positions: Specific work shifts and schedules will be determined by the airport.
Maintaining Employment: All TSOs must maintain the standard level of certification and fitness for duty, to include:
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
If you meet the minimum qualifications, you may be invited to take a Computer Based Test (CBT) to confirm English language proficiency and evaluate x-ray interpretation aptitude. Upon passing the CBT, you will be eligible to be scheduled for additional assessments, which include: (1) a structured interview to determine, among other qualities, your decision making skill and your ability to work with teams and the general public; (2) a drug screening; and, (3) a job related medical evaluation that includes a color vision test, vision exam, hearing exam, and adequate joint mobility exam (in part to determine the physical potential to repeatedly lift and/or carry up to 50 pounds, to stand for prolonged periods (e.g. 3-4 hours) of time without a break, and to walk up to three miles during a shift). Upon passing these assessments, you will be subject to a pre-hire background investigation. Based upon passing the pre-hire background investigation and a qualitative evaluation of the criteria above, you will be placed in one of the following categories:
Best Qualified: Applicants demonstrating a superior level of all evaluation criteria.
Highly Qualified: Applicants demonstrating a more than satisfactory level of the evaluation criteria.
Qualified: Applicants demonstrating minimal or basic satisfactory qualifications, with general knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Veterans' Preference: TSA will provide employment preference to eligible veterans by applying veterans' preference as defined in the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (PL 107-71) and to those eligible under the provisions of Title 5, United States Code (USC), Section 2108. Learn more about TSA’s commitment to providing employment opportunities for qualified, eligible veterans.
Open to All U.S. Citizens and U.S. Nationals
For further information concerning U.S. citizenship, please Click Here.
For more information on TSO medical requirements, please Click Here.
For more information on TSO eligibility standards and background requirements, please Click Here.
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Applications will be accepted online until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard/Daylight Time on the closing date of the job opportunity announcement (JOA). However, if a sufficient number of applications are received, the announcement may be closed before the published application deadline. Therefore, applicants are strongly encouraged to promptly apply online and in advance of the announcement closing date. Application Steps: To submit your application online:
We strongly encourage you to apply online. If you are unable to apply online, please contact the HC ServeU Customer Care before the closing of this announcement for alternative options on how to apply. Please email your question or concern to HC-ServeU@tsa.dhs.gov. An "Employment Packet" will be sent to you via mail which must be completed and returned no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard/Daylight Time on the closing date of the JOA. An email address unique to you is required to apply even if you are submitting a paper application.
Please note: If you have previously applied to a TSO JOA, you must utilize your existing USAJOBS account when applying to other TSO vacancies. If you need assistance accessing your existing USAJOBS account, please contact USAJOBS via the Contact Us link. Upon each submission of an application for a TSO vacancy, you must update your profile and demographic information, answer each application question, re-submit any applicable documentation, and select Finish at the end of the application. Otherwise, the application will be considered incomplete and will not be processed. Applicants must each use their own, individual email address when applying to a TSO job opportunity announcement. Email addresses are used as unique identifiers in the www.usajobs.gov system, so if you apply using the same email address as another TSA applicant, then all of the applications for each candidate who shares that account will be adversely impacted.
This JOA is being used to fill positions at this airport location only. If you are interested in a different airport location, you will need to apply to a JOA for that specific location when advertised. Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities concerning, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.
Due to the extensive pre-employment screening process, we are actively recruiting to fill current and future Transportation Security Officers within TSA. If you are interested in a career with TSA as a Transportation Security Officer, we encourage you to apply to this announcement. TSA encourages women, minorities and veterans to apply for an exciting career as a Transportation Security Officer with TSA.
After applying, you will be notified of your status by e-mail. You will also receive instruction on how to monitor your application status on-line via the TSA Candidate Portal. Because some systems may re-direct TSA emails away from your Inbox, please be sure to also check your junk and spam email folders on a regular basis for emails that may contain important information regarding your application status and specific instructions about the hiring process.
In order to help prevent these important messages from being automatically removed from your inbox, you may also want to consider adding the following two e-mail addresses to your contact list: 1) no-reply@tsa.dhs.gov, and 2) HC-ServeU@tsa.dhs.gov.
To render a final decision regarding your qualification for selection, several assessments are required, each of which may vary in length of time to schedule and successfully complete, and several of which may be dependent on you for submitting information as requested.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/616436500. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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