Lead Police Officer

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Seattle, Washington

Salary Range: $75734 - $98460 Per Year

Job Summary: You will serve as the Lead Police Officer with the Police Service of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System located in Seattle, Washington. The incumbent provides security and assistance to Veterans, patients, employees, contractors, volunteers, affiliates, visitors, and others who frequent VA facilities daily.

Major Duties:

Serves as a Federal Police Officer with full law enforcement and investigative authority as defined within 38 USC 902, VA Directives, Handbooks, and other operational guidance. Leads on investigations and personally conducts investigations, apprehensions, or detention of individuals suspected or convicted of offenses against the criminal laws of the U.S. Conducts investigations with a nexus to VA, prisoner transport, patient search and recovery, life-saving efforts, disaster response and recovery, asset protection during transit, training, and other matters. Receives and reviews reports from staff making revisions as needed before forwarding to the supervisor for final review. Prepares and maintains reports and records. Identifies and preserves evidence, writes comprehensive incident reports, prepares case files, and testifies in court as it pertains to enforcing laws and regulations. Provides patrol in vehicles, by foot and/or on a bicycle. Detects and intervenes in criminal activity. Responds to calls for police assistance, irregularities, and unusual or suspicious circumstances. Investigates incidents and takes steps to mitigate further risk and resolve situations. Provides emergency response coordination as needed. Performs drug and contraband intervention techniques and provides training to those areas where contraband identification and knowledge is imperative for the staff. Leads a team of Police Officers and other administrative staff. Directs day-to-day lead policing operations and non-lead policing assignments. Works in collaboration with the Police Supervisor carrying out PS's overall mission where most of the work is performed on Departmental property. This includes any properties owned, leased, or licensed when consistent with Federal law, regulation, VA policy and operational guidance. Provides input on performance rating and any disciplinary action of PS employees. Resolves simple, informal complaints of employees and refers others to the supervisor. Supports the goals of equal employment opportunity. Provides guidance to employees regarding specific assignments and ensures available written instructions, reference materials and supplies are present. Coaches and mentors current and new employees to ensure employees obtain the necessary training to be productive. Provides on-the-job training to new employees in accordance with established procedures and practices. Other duties may be assigned. Work Schedule: 12 hour shifts, based on needs of the service Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Lead Police Officer/PD41639A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 11/13/2025. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows 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. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience that provided knowledge of a body of basic laws and regulations, law enforcement operations, practices, and techniques and involved responsibility for maintaining order and protecting life and property. Creditable specialized experience may have been gained in work on a police force; through service as a military police officer; in work providing visitor protection and law enforcement in parks, forests, or other natural resource or recreational environments; in performing criminal investigative duties; or in other work that provided the required knowledge and skills. Applicants whose qualifying experience was acquired through Active Military Service must have one of these Qualifying Specialties listed on their DD-214 to receive credit. ARMY: 1) 95B. 2) 95C. 3) 31A. 4) 31B. 5) 31D. MARINE CORPS: 1) 5803. 2) 5805. 3) 5811. 4) 5812. 5) 5813. 6) 5814. 7) 5821. AIR FORCE: 1) 08111-114. 2) 81110. 3) 81170. 4) 81172. 5) 81130. 6) 81150. 7) 81112. 8) 81132. 9) 81152. 10) 81199. 11) 3P1-4. 12) 3P011. 13) 3P031. 14) 3P051. 15) 3P071. 16) 3P091. 17) 75011. 18) 75031. 19) 75051. 20) 75071. 21) 75091. NAVY: 1) 9545. 2) 0000MA. COAST GUARD: No code. Driver's License Requirement: Applicants must possess a valid, unrestricted State driver's license, have a safe driving record, and demonstrate that he or she is medically qualified to operate the appropriate motor vehicle safely. Applicants are required to pass agency Government Vehicle Drivers physical examination. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your driver's license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you may be required to provide a copy of your valid state-issued driver's license. Firearm Requirement: VA Police Officers are required to carry agency-approved firearms while on duty on VA property. Officers must achieve and maintain qualification/certification with the agency-approved firearms as condition of gaining and continuing employment as a Police Officer. Applicants must be able to possess firearms under the terms of the Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9). POLICE OFFICER CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT 1. New VA Police Officers are required to attend an 8-10 week course at the VA Law Enforcement Training Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Satisfactory completion of this course is a condition of continued employment. 2. A medical examination is required. The duties of these positions require moderate to arduous physical exertion and/or duties of a hazardous nature. The following medical requirements apply to all applicants: good near and distant vision, ability to distinguish basic colors, and ability to hear the conversational voice. 3. Applicants and employees must have the capacity to perform the essential functions of the position without risk to themselves or others. Applicants and employees must possess emotional and mental stability. A psychological examination is required. In most instances, a specific medical condition or impairment will not automatically disqualify an applicant or employee. A medical condition or impairment is disqualifying only if the condition, for good medical reason, precludes assignment to or warrants restriction from the duties of the specific position. For some positions, the loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid. Reasonable accommodation shall also be considered in determining an applicant's ability to perform the duties of a position. 4. A character investigation will be conducted on applicants selected for employment. The purpose of such an investigation is to secure evidence of the candidate's honesty, integrity, general character, and loyalty to the U.S. Government. 5. As a condition of employment, must qualify to be issued a firearm and semi-annually with assigned firearm, annually with an expandable Straight Baton (MEB), maintain a valid State or Commonwealth Driver's License and pass annual physical and psychosocial assessments. Applicants must be able to possess firearms under the terms of the Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Arrest Criminal Law Leadership Manages Human Resources Security Teaching Others 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 requires, on a regular and recurring basis, considerable and strenuous physical exertion such as running, climbing of multiple flights of stairs, and occasionally carrying items weighing over 50 pounds. The work requires stamina, physical agility, dexterity, and the strength to pursue, apprehend, or detain persons who are often uncooperative, assaultive, and/or armed. 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 to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 11/13/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12830014. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Application Deadline: 2025-11-13