Criminal Investigator

Clarification from the agency

This announcement is ONLY open to federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee eligible under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Veterans in the Local Commuting Area.

As a Criminal Investigator, GS-13 you will perform the following duties:

• Conducts complex criminal, civil, and administrative investigations requiring an expert level of planning and multi-jurisdictional coordination;
• Investigates individuals, businesses, criminal organizations, criminal conspiracies, and terrorist or terrorist organizations representing a significant threat to public safety and national security;
• Obtains evidence through traditional and non-traditional investigative techniques, such as electronic surveillance and monitoring, interrogation, polygraph examinations, physical surveillance, controlled deliveries, documentary searches, and cultivation and use of paid informants;
• Prepares affidavits for court-approved search and seizure warrants and electronic intercepts (e.g., non-consensual wiretaps, pen registers and other communication devices) believed to be used for terrorist or criminal activities; and
• Utilizes a variety of law enforcement databases to conduct mandatory e-searches on subjects under investigation.

Organizational Location: These positions are located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations at 245 duty locations throughout the country to include the Headquarters National Capitol Region.

Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Buffalo, New York; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan; El Paso, Texas; Honolulu, Hawaii; Houston, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Las Vegas, Nevada; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans, Louisiana; New York, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; Saint Paul, Minnesota; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; San Francisco, California; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Seattle, Washington; Tampa, Florida; Washington, District of Columbia

 

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation.
• You must successfully pass a drug screen.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must certify registration with Selective Service.
• Requirements by Closing Date: Unless otherwise noted, you must meet all requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
• Time in Grade: Current Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade in the Federal service. Time in grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
• Probationary Period: This is a full-time permanent position (Career/Career-Conditional appointment). Upon appointment to this position, you may be required to serve a one-year probationary period.
• Motor Vehicle Operation: You must possess a valid automobile driver's license at the time of appointment.
• This position requires the selectee to carry a firearm. Any person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence cannot lawfully possess a firearm or ammunition (Title 18, U.S.C. Section 022 (g)(9)).
• Convictions of misdemeanor crime of domestic violence are disqualifying.
• Work Conditions: Job requires physical strength and stamina due to long periods of surveillance, restraining suspects, and carrying heavy equipment. Environment includes work indoors/outdoors in a potentially dangerous and stressful situations.
• If referred for a polygraph, you would be required to travel at your expense to take a polygraph exam.
• Travel: You will be required to travel frequently and on short notice.
• Medical Requirements: You must be physically, emotionally, and mentally able to perform the duties of the position. You must comply with ICE's policies, procedures and applicable law related to such medical and fitness standards.
• The date immediately preceding an individual's 37th birthday is the last day to be referred for selection consideration (certain exclusions apply).
• You will be required to live within 50 miles of your duty station.
• You will be required to testify at court. Law enforcement officers and agents must be able to testify without concern of impeachment.
• ICE Criminal Investigators may use deadly force when necessary, in accordance with the law and agency policy.
• You will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment Physical Fitness Test (PFT).

Qualifications

Please limit your resume to 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.
Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

You qualify for the GS-13 grade level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-12 grade level or equivalent performing duties such as:

• Handling criminal investigations involving substantial difficulty where circumstantial evidence is used or indirect perpetrators are pursued;
• Complications because the subjects were prominent figures or operated their illegal activities under cover of legal ones; AND
• Follow up on the entire chain of separate investigative matters stemming from original assignments; and a web of multi-jurisdictional problems.

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

Firearms Requirement: You will be required to carry a firearm while performing duties of this position. Maintaining firearm proficiency is also mandatory. You must satisfactorily complete (or have previously completed) the firearms component of the Criminal Investigation Training Program at Glynco, Georgia. Any person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence cannot lawfully possess a firearm or ammunition. Candidates under consideration will be required to certify whether they have ever been convicted of such an offense. False or fraudulent information provided by candidates is criminally punishable by fine or imprisonment.

Work Conditions: This job requires physical strength and stamina to perform such activities as conducting long periods of surveillance, pursuing and restraining suspects, and carrying heavy equipment to be uses in investigative efforts. These activities require considerable physical exertion, such as running, stooping, bending, climbing, lifting and carrying heavy objects. The environment involves work indoors and outdoors in a variety of potentially dangerous and stressful situations, as well as exposure to physical attack, including the use of lethal weapons.

Polygraph: ICE has designated this position for polygraph testing, which you may be required to submit to and successfully complete as a pre-employment requirement. If referred for polygraph testing, you will be required to travel to a testing location at your own expense. If you previously had an unsuccessful ICE administered polygraph examination within the last 365 days, ICE will use those results, which will eliminate you from continuing in the 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.

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.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

 

How you will be evaluated

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

 

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Criminal Investigation
• Criminal Law
• Legal, Government and Jurisprudence
• Oral Communication
• Seizure
• Writing

Based on your responses, you will receive a score from the Assessment Questionnaire between 70 and 100.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview.

Interviews may be required for this position. Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration.

Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards in merit promotion selection decisions in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3).

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, the veteran must 1) be a preference eligible; or 2) be a veteran separated after 3 or more years of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement. (Note: Veteran's preference does not apply under Merit Promotion procedures. View VEOA information on Feds Hire Vets).

Federal Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP,ICTAP,RPL) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP,ICTAP,RPL eligible. View information about Eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement. To be considered well qualified under CTAP, ICTAP, RPL you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement.

Pursuant to Executive Order 12564, and the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan, ICE is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and, therefore, personnel in safety- or security-sensitive positions (testing designated positions) are subject to random drug testing. Moreover, other drug testing of employees (e.g., reasonable suspicion drug test) may be conducted in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. All applicants tentatively selected for employment at ICE are subject to pre-employment drug testing and a final offer of employment is contingent upon a negative drug test result.

 

 

1. 2-Page Resume showing relevant experience, education and training. Work experience must include: job title, duties, employer's name, employer's telephone number, employer's address, starting and ending dates (MM/YY), hours worked per week, and indicate whether or not we may contact your current supervisor. Please limit your resume to 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. In describing your experience on your resume, please be clear and specific. We will not make assumption regarding your experience. Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. (for more information, see the How do I write a resume for a federal Job-Two-Page Resume Limit).
2. Are you a current or former federal employee? Submit a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action that demonstrates your eligibility for consideration, e.g., length of time you have been in your current grade; your highest grade held; your current promotion potential and proof of permanent appointment if applying based on an interchange agreement. Examples of appropriate SF-50s include promotions, within-grade increases, and accessions.
3. Are you a veteran? You must provide acceptable documentation of your preference or appointment eligibility. The member 4 copy of your DD214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty," is preferable. If claiming 10 point preference, you will need to submit a Standard Form (SF-15), "Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference." If applying based on eligibility under the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act, you must submit certification from the Armed Forces that you will be discharged or released from active duty within 120 days from the date on the certification. This must indicate your dates of service, your rank, and confirm that you will be separated under honorable conditions. View more veterans' information.
4. Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Interagency Career Transition Plan (ICTAP)? If so, submit a copy of your agency notice, a copy of your most recent performance rating, and a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting your current position, grade level, and duty location.
5. Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee? Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment: Position title, type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee), agency and beginning and ending dates of appointment.
6. You may be asked to provide a copy of your recent performance appraisal and/or incentive awards.

Failure to submit required documents will result in disqualification for this vacancy.

 

Next steps

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The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.