Security Assistant

Security Assistant

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Omaha, Nebraska

Salary Range: $41143 - $66255 Per Year

Job Summary: This position serves as a Security Assistant in the Personnel Security Unit to perform security-related functions in support of a Network Personnel Suitability and Credentialing Program. The incumbent serves as an Assistant to the Personnel Security Specialist. Work assigned is of a very confidential and highly sensitive nature.

Major Duties:

• Major duties include but are not limited to: Review position risk sensitivity levels as full assistant to the Personnel Security Specialist. 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. Initiates, reviews and releases appointees background investigations in the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) system or in conjunction with the VA-Adjudication Center (VA-AC). Regularly monitors the status of specific pending items, compiles data to produce reports, follows up to determine status and records results. Maintains logs of current employees who are in public trust positions and ensures reinvestigations are initiated, reviewed and released using NBIS within the required timeframe as per policy. As needed, works with applicants who may be experiencing difficulties with completion of electronic forms related to the background screening process. Takes and transmits electronic fingerprints for appointees or when the FBI returns fingerprints unclassifiable for various reasons. 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) scheduled by OPM, requests by OPM for additional information, receipt/disposition of results of both Special Agreement Checks (SAC's) and National Agency Check with Inquiry (T1's) or higher, to include interim reports or pending completion reports, assignment for adjudication and final disposition of the investigation. Responsible for assisting in the execution of personnel security-related functions as they relate to VA Subjects in Veterans Affairs Centralized Adjudication and Background Investigation System (VA-CABS). Support the programming of PIV cards after being manufactured. Performs administrative tasks associated with the authorization and issuance of the PIV card, a standardized identification badge designed to increase security related with physical access to Federal facilities and networks and logical access to computer systems. Maintains required files related to the suitability process in accordance with OPM/agency guidelines. 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: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Security Assistant/PD99952S, PD99654S, and PD99653S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/06/2026. 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 by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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. This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Possessing and maintaining a valid state issued driver's license. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-05: Specialized Experience: 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 include applying regulations, policies, procedures, or principles; providing guidance to customers; and entering employee information via various computer databases.. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have four (4) years of education above high school. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first two years of college-level education. GS-06: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-05) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience include applying regulations, policies, procedures, or principles; providing technical advice and guidance to customers; entering, extracting, and evaluating employee information via various computer databases; and maintaining databases from a variety of sources. GS-07: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-06) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience include applying regulations, policies, procedures, principles and/or concepts that govern the personnel security; providing technical advice and guidance to customers; entering, extracting, and evaluating employee information via various computer databases; dealing with highly charged emotional situations; and maintaining databases from a variety of sources. 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/. Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items such as papers, small boxes, or books. Work Environment: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, meeting and training rooms, or libraries. The work area is adequately lit, heated, and ventilated.

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/12896297. 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, 03/06/2026. 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

Application Deadline: 2026-03-06