• Physical Security Support: monitors and responds to alarms; traces access patterns, programming, assigns or removes user permissions, and remotely opens and secures doors during routine and emergency operations; determines when to dispatch law enforcement or other personnel to investigate; maintains radio/alarm activity records/logs to include dates, times, and results of communications and activities; prepares completed reports; issues and retrieves government issued keys and/or identification cards; and maintains accountability of Police Officer badges issued and all associated logs.
• Communications: monitors and receives routine and emergency calls from a variety of sources that need police, fire, medical or other emergency services; maintains contact with law enforcement units; monitors and directs responses to security and life safety communications, radio dispatches, telephone calls, and other emergency communication circuits; coordinates with various federal, state and local law enforcement officials for coordination of emergency situations; and operates a variety of communications equipment, telephones and computer systems to support both routine and emergency operations.
• Operations Support: performs system checks on a variety of equipment used in the dispatch center; troubleshoots systems when problems arise and resolves issues whenever possible; conducts equipment inventories and completes records and other logs; enters, updates and retrieves information from a variety of computer systems/databases; uses state and the National Crime Information Computer (NCIC) to access sensitive law enforcement information to support field operations and investigations; enters or updates regional and national records; compiles and prepares reports related to events occurring in the operation of the police control center; completes vehicle registration tasks and issues decals and permits.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: 12 hours rotating shifts from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm or 6:00 pm to 6:00 am
Position Description/PD#: Security Assistant/PD99858A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Conditions of employment

• Attendance in the 40 hour Dispatcher Course offered by the Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC) is required
• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 8/18/2023.You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience GS-05: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: receiving and compiling information from various sources relating to police and emergency incidents; taking appropriate action regarding fire alarms, intrusion, duress and hold-up alarms; operating a variety of communications equipment, such as computers, alarm processors, radio consoles, SSTV system, remote controllers, card access, time lapse video tape recorders and related peripherals; compiling and preparing reports relating to events occurring in the operation of a police operations office; monitoring security surveillance cameras and detects criminal activity in progress, suspicious behavior patterns, observes suspects, and known offenders; serving as a pseudo information desk, as visitors, patients, and employees frequently stop by the highly visible office to ask general questions about the facility.

OR,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 4 years of education above high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. (This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school.)

TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED IF YOU ARE USING EDUCATION TO QUALIFYOR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education such as: education that is less than described above, and specialized experience that is less than described above. (For GS-5 level positions, only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience.

TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED IF YOU ARE USING EDUCATION TO QUALIFY

Applicants for This Position Must be Able to Pass Certain Background Requirements as Outlined Below

Security Assistants need to be eligible to gain access to, and maintain access to, the Pennsylvania Justice Network and connected systems (CLEAN/NCIC). Users of these system may not have Significant Convictions, which are defined as:

• Conviction or under indictment for any felony
• Conviction for any misdemeanor 1 (M1) or equivalently graded crimes code classification
• Conviction and incarceration for any misdemeanors within last ten years
• Conviction for any two misdemeanors within the last ten years
• Conviction for any computer related crime, tampering with public records, or unlawful access to stored communications

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Reading Comprehension
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

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 is primarily sedentary in nature in an office environment. Most duties can be accomplished from a sitting position. The mental stress is much more demanding than the physical stress because of the split decisions that must be made as a police or fire alarm activates, telephones ringing, and radio communication requesting instructions or information. Must have a keen sense of hearing in responding to numerous audible/visual signals of wire communication receivers, and occasionally weak radio transmissions or signals. Must be able to multi-task in a stressful environment.

Work Environment: Performs duties in a temperature and humidity-controlled environment at a radio/telephone console with associated equipment. Systems and equipment are electronic in nature, emitting signals, and tones of varying degrees of intensity. The area is confining, with a normal noise level. The room is subject to being cooler than normal because of glass exterior walls, and fans to cool the SSTV Systems.

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/.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume

If you are a current or former federal employee and you do not submit appropriate SF-50s as outlined below you will be found ineligible. The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other (1)
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
• An SF-50 showing 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
• Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old

Next steps