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Joining the Secret Service, Office of Human Resources, HR Research and Assessment Division will allow you to participate in research, development, implementation, and maintenance of effective competency-based assessments for selection, promotion, career development, and organizational effectiveness to support the establishment and maintenance of a quality workforce. For more information on the Secret Service click here.
Learn more about this agency04/01/2022 to 04/14/2022
$89,834 - $138,868 per year
GS 12 - 13
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Not required
No
Permanent
Full-time
Competitive
14
No
Yes
HUM-KY185-22-DE
646530900
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
•[Remove this bullet if there is not a corresponding merit promotion (MP) announcement. If there is, insert link to MP JOA in box below] Status candidates may also apply at the link below.
The selectee will serve as a Personnel Research Psychologist in the HR Research and Assessment Division. Typical work assignments include:
Apply for this exciting opportunity to impact the Secret Service mission by strengthening its ability to recruit, develop, and retain a highly specialized and dedicated workforce to fulfill mission critical requirements. This Personnel Research Psychologist position starts at a salary of $89,834 (GS-12 step 1), with promotion potential to $164,102 (GS-14 step 10).
Conditions of Employment:
If selected for this position, you will be required to:
Basic Education Requirement: Degree: major or equivalent in psychology for all specializations except clinical psychology and counseling psychology. These two specializations have additional educational requirements, as stated below:
• Clinical psychology: For positions at grades GS-11 and above, satisfactory completion of all the requirements for the doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) directly related to full professional work in clinical psychology is required.
• Counseling psychology: For positions at grades GS-9 and above, satisfactory completion of 2 full academic years of graduate study directly related to professional work in counseling psychology, or satisfactory completion in an accredited educational institution of all the requirements for a master's degree directly related to counseling psychology is required.
In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, you must also meet the following minimum qualification requirements.
You qualify for the GS-12 level (starting salary $89,834) if you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level performing duties such as: identifying, analyzing and addressing issues in the field of human resources management and development; assisting team leads in conducting research, demonstrating knowledge of test theory, psychometric methodology and statistics; preparing, planning, and coordinating surveys that extract specific information as it relates to attitudes, job skills, knowledge, abilities, and alternate forms of social/occupational organizations; and assist team leaders in developing special-purpose tests.
You qualify for the GS-13 level (starting salary $106,823) if you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level performing duties such as: conducting research to address issues related to employment selection or promotion; developing and validating tests for selection or promotion; demonstrating and applying knowledge to test theory, psychometric methodology, statistics, logic and innovative research methods; writing technical reports documenting research findings; planning, and coordinating surveys; providing guidance and advice to senior level personnel research management and staff; and analyzing data using qualitative and quantitative statistical techniques.
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.
Qualifications Must Be Met: The qualification requirements listed above must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:
1. Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF), and appropriate Quality Ranking Factors (QRF) as determined by the job analysis.
2. Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPF’s and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
3. Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview.
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.
Interview Requirement: Interviews may be required for this position. Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration.
Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific, professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. This position is considered to be scientific/professional. Other 10-point preference eligibles and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. For information on veterans' preference, please click here.
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the Federal government, you are not ICTAP eligible. View information about ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under ICTAP, you must be placed in the Well-Qualified category for this position, as described above. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement.
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.
See Qualifications Section.
Building on a Tradition of Excellence and Meeting the Challenges of the Future The Secret Service is a premier law enforcement organization with two critical national security missions: protect our nation's leaders and to conduct criminal investigations. Our team members continue a tradition of excellence - whether investigating financial crime or protecting national and visiting foreign leaders. In the Secret Service, we serve the country with duty, loyalty, justice, integrity and courage.
In the Secret Service, we:
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.
E-Verify Statement: DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
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.
This position will require a credit check after initial job qualifications have been determined.
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.
View common definitions of terms found in this announcement.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the duties of the position. If you meet the minimum qualifications, a score will automatically be calculated based on your answers to the vacancy specific questions to place you in one of three categories. All answers provided in the online process must be substantiated by your resume. Upon review, your resume and/or supporting documents need to support your answer choices and reflect the one year of specialized experience requirement, in order to be considered. If the one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the next lower grade level cannot be identified in your resume, you will be considered not qualified. The competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job are:
In addition to addressing the vacancy specific questions, you must also submit the following documentation:
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.
This position is being advertised via SecretServiceHire which is an automated staffing system. To begin your online application, click Apply Online and log in to your existing USAJOBS account or follow the prompts to create a USAJOBS account. Your application packet must include a completed assessment questionnaire, a resume, and any applicable and or required supporting documentation. Please see the Required Documents section for additional information. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English. Instructions outlining the application process can be found at http://www.secretservice.gov/join/apply/. If you cannot apply online, you may contact the Talent and Employee Acquisition Management Division, Administrative, Professional and Technical Staffing Branch at hrsupport@usss.dhs.gov OR by calling (202) 406-6420 between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:30 pm EST (excluding Federal holidays) prior to the closing date of this announcement to receive assistance. The Secret Service provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.
Applications and supporting documentation will not be accepted by mail or email. The address below is for inquiries only. You may apply more than once, but the most recent application is the only one that will be used. You must submit your resume, your online questionnaire, and any supporting documents by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of this announcement. It is your responsibility to verify that any information entered or uploaded is received and is accurate. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. Determining your eligibility and qualifications is dependent on the supporting documentation and information provided, which may impact your referral for further consideration. If a document is not legible, you will not be able to view it in your application.
Once your complete application is received we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications. Candidates who meet minimum qualification requirements will be evaluated in a pre-certificate structured interview process. Candidates who are deemed best-qualified based on the results of the pre-certificate structured interview will be referred to thehiring manager for further consideration. Best-qualified applicants who are referred for further consideration may be subject to a 2nd interview. We expect to make a selection within 45 days of the closing date of this announcement. If you are selected, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation. We will notify you by email after each of these steps has been completed. Your status will also be updated on USAJOBS throughout the process. You may check the status of your application for this position by going to www.usajobs.gov. Click on the "My USAJOBS" tab, enter your user id and password, and click on "My Applications". You will also receive an email notification regarding your application status. For more information on applying for Federal employment, please click here.
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/646530900. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling on those who want to help protect American interests and secure our Nation. DHS Components work collectively to prevent terrorism; secure borders and our transportation systems; protect the President and other dignitaries; enforce and administer immigration laws; safeguard cyberspace; and ensure resilience to disasters. We achieve these vital missions through a diverse workforce spanning hundreds of occupations. Make an impact; join DHS.
