Department of Veterans Affairs

Security Assistant

Madison, Wisconsin Full time

Security Assistant

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Madison, Wisconsin

Salary Range: $40736 - $52957 Per Year

Job Summary: Performs alarm and access monitoring, tracing access patterns, programming, assigning or removing user permissions, updating databases, remotely opening and securing doors during routine and emergency operations and generating a variety of reports as needed. Assesses on-scene behavior and determines when it is appropriate to dispatch law enforcement or other personnel to investigate. Responsible for responding to alarms monitoring fire, access, intrusion, duress/panic, medical emergencies.

Major Duties:

  • Performs alarm and access monitoring, tracing access patterns, programming, assigning or removing user permissions, updating databases, remotely opening and securing doors during routine and emergency operations and generating a variety of reports as needed. Assesses on-scene behavior and determines when it is appropriate to dispatch law enforcement or other personnel to investigate. Responsible for responding to alarm systems monitoring fire, access, intrusion, duress/panic, medical emergencies, psychiatric emergencies, medical assist teams, etc.; and emergency digital paging system. Monitors emergency weather alerts and transmits warnings system wide when appropriate. Maintains radio/alarm activity records/logs to include dates, times, and results of communications and activities and prepares completed reports. Performs and documents emergency callbacks when necessary. Tracks critical information and reports findings to the supervisor. - Implements policies, procedures, and methods for identifying and protecting information, personnel, property, facilities, operations, or material. - Operates an established vehicle registration and visitor management program and parking registration and/or photo identification equipment. - Issues and retrieves government issued keys and/or identification cards. Reviews requests for and issues passes and identification documents. Maintains accurate key inventory and accountability database. - Maintains accountability of Police Officer badges issued and all associated logs. - Performs administrative (non-criminal) investigations of lost keys, passes, and PIV cards for rapid assessment and documentation of any compromised access to VA property and termination of off access permissions. The position monitors and receives routine and emergency calls from a variety of sources that need police, fire, medical or other emergency services. Determines the nature and location of the emergency; prioritizes events and commits police resources appropriately; determines what notifications are necessary based upon event type, makes such notifications and coordinates follow-up communications. Receives and process emergency calls, maintains contact with law enforcement units on assignment, maintains status and location of Police Officers and coordinates communication between agencies as needed. Answers non­emergency calls for assistance. Monitors and directs responses to security and life safety communications, radio dispatches, telephone calls, and other emergency communication circuits. Receives and compiles information from various sources related to police and emergency incidents, taking appropriate actions regarding intrusion, duress, and hold-up alarms. Directs response and/or modifies responsible personnel depending on the type of incident or request. Coordinates with various federal, state and local law enforcement officials for coordination of emergency situations. Responsible for the orderly flow of communications between the police dispatch center, agency leadership and the work force. Operates a variety of communications and security equipment, such as computers, multi-frequency radios, multi-line telephone system, and other related peripherals. Operates a variety of communications equipment, telephones and computer systems to support both routine and emergency operations. - 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. Performs monthly alarm checks, submits reports documenting the operational status of each circuit tested. Initiates work orders for malfunctioning circuits and equipment. - Enters, updates and retrieves information from a variety of computer systems and sensitive databases. Uses state and the National Crime Information Computer (NCIC) to access sensitive law enforcement information to support field operations and investigations. Queries for items such as criminal histories, arrest warrants, drivers record, vehicle registration, stolen property, firearms, etc. Enters or updates regional and national records and/or messages to support recovery of stolen property or missing/endangered persons. 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: 2-2-3 Shift Pattern 6:00pm to 6:00am Telework: Not authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Security Assistant/PD99858S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/13/2026. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: One (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 level in the Federal service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of a Security Assistant, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. Specialized experience includes: knowledge of security or law enforcement objectives and programs; carrying out support tasks related to law enforcement and security administration; monitoring and responding to physical alarm systems and security cameras; dispatching officers; monitoring computers for video surveillance; and maintaining reports and logs. NOTE: 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. OR~EDUCATION: Have successfully completed (4) years of education above the high school level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time undergraduate 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. OR~ COMBINATION: Possess equivalent combinations of successfully completed post high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e. beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required. Must be available to work during flexible hours(weekends, holidays, day shift, and night shift 24 hours, 365 days per year. Position is 24/7 and applicant must be able to respond to work upon requested for emergencies. Employee may be called upon to work past their regular tour of duty due to shift work. 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. Physical Requirements: The work is typically sedentary in nature. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts; etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. Working on off-tours, rotating shifts or regular overtime may be required. The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, meeting and training rooms. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated 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. 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/12895051. 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, 03/13/2026. 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: 2026-03-13