Security Assistant

Security Assistant

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Salary Range: $41560 - $66927 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is organizationally located in the VISN Human Resources Management's Personnel Security and Credentialing (PIV) Share Services Unit (SSU), at the VAMC Lebanon campus, reporting to the Unit Supervisor. The purpose of the position is to perform administrative/clerical support work supporting SSU personnel security programs. The incumbent's assignments include collecting, organizing, and tracking information in support of the SSU's Personnel Security Specialist.

Major Duties:

• The Personnel Security Assistant performs work related to the collection, organization and/or tracking of information in support of the Personnel Security Program. The Personnel Security Program includes the processes of initiating, reviewing, and approving background cases for release to the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) in compliance with policies relating to completion of suitability investigations for Federal employees and others requiring background investigations for non-sensitive and public trust positions. Review position risk sensitivity levels as full assistant to the Personnel Security Specialist. Assemble position descriptions and functional statements for the Personnel Security Specialist for review. Track electronically the level assigned and the appropriate background investigation needed. For pre-employment processes, serves as the initial point of contact for new appointees including but not limited to paid or without compensation employees, volunteers, students, residents, and contractors. Reviews information submitted by the requesting office to validate level of background required, enters appointee information into a local data base tracking system and refers appointee for fingerprinting. Initiates, reviews and releases appointees background investigations in the DCSA National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) system or in conjunction with the Personnel Security and Adjudication Center (PSAC). Regularly monitors the status of specific pending items, compiles data to produce reports, follows up to determine status and records results. Reports are produced on a regular basis (weekly) to keep top level management apprised of the status of the Suitability/Security Program and for performance management/performance improvement initiatives. Maintains logs of current employees who are in public trust positions and ensures reinvestigations are initiated, reviewed and released using eAPP within the required timeframe as per policy. Works closely with the PSAC to monitor the progress of investigations when applicable. As needed, works with applicants who may be experiencing difficulties with completion of electronic forms related to the background screening process. Also works with Recruitment and Staffing to assure required background documents are complete and accurate as per policy (OF-306, SF-85, SF-85P, etc.). Takes and transmits electronic fingerprints for appointees or when the FBI returns fingerprints unclassifiable for various reasons. Only in rare instances when there is machine malfunction, manually takes fingerprints for the purpose of background investigations from DCSA.. Enters appropriate data in required databases related to an appointee's suitability from a wide variety of sources, i.e., fingerprint/badge log, notification(s) of investigation(s), requests for additional information, receipt/disposition of In conjunction with the Personnel Security Specialist and/or lead/supervisor, presents training/briefings for supervisors, managers, and employees related to various aspects of the Personnel Security Program. Performs other duties as assigned. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Security Assistant / PD99952S 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 by the closing date of this announcement, 03/23/2026. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-5 Qualifications: Specialized Experience GS-5: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: training, leading, coordinating or supervising others in related duties such as: Performing standard and non-standard assignments involving different and unrelated processes or methods in varying sequence; possess extensive knowledge of rules, operations, or business practices; Follows accepted practices in resolving non-recurring problems and meeting deadlines; completed products are evaluated for effectiveness in meeting goals; extensive guidelines in the form of instructions, manuals, and regulations are applied. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed 4 years above high school. Successfully completed education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite is creditable at GS-5 for all positions except Reporting Stenographer, GS-5. 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 Required). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 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. GS-6 Qualifications: Specialized Experience GS-6: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: training, leading, coordinating or supervising others in related duties such as: Review position risk sensitivity levels as full assistant to the Personnel Security Specialist. Assemble position descriptions and functional statements for the Personnel Security Specialist for review. Track electronically the level assigned and the appropriate background investigation needed. For pre-employment processes, serves as the initial point of contact for new appointees including but not limited to paid or without compensation employees, volunteers, students, residents, and contractors. Reviews information submitted by the requesting office to validate level of background required, enters appointee information into a local data base tracking system and refers appointee for fingerprinting. Initiates, reviews and releases appointees background investigations in the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency's eApp system or in conjunction with the Personnel Security and Adjudications Center (PSAC). GS-7 Qualifications: Specialized Experience GS-7: 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: training, leading, coordinating or supervising others in related duties such as: Review position risk sensitivity levels as full assistant to the Personnel Security Specialist. Assemble position descriptions and functional statements for the Personnel Security Specialist for review. Track electronically the level assigned and the appropriate background investigation needed. For pre-employment processes, serves as the initial point of contact for new appointees including but not limited to paid or without compensation employees, volunteers, students, residents, and contractors. Reviews information submitted by the requesting office to validate level of background required, enters appointee information into a local data base tracking system and refers appointee for fingerprinting. Initiates, reviews and releases appointees background investigations in the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency's eApp system or in conjunction with the Personnel Security and Adjudications Center (PSAC). 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: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online questionnaire and submission of the required documentation specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12911934. The application process is as follows: 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. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 03/23/2026. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. NOTE: Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. 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.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-23