Department: Department of Agriculture
Location(s): Ogden, Utah
Salary Range: $129258 - $197200 Per Year
Job Summary: This position is located in region 4 with the USDA Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations: This position serves as the Regional Special Agent in Charge (SAC). As the top line officer for Law Enforcement and Investigations (LEI) in the Region. For additional information about the duties of these positions, please contact SM.FS.LEI_RECRUIT@USDA.GOV
Major Duties:
Qualifications: In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary. Medical Requirements - The duties of positions in this series require moderate to arduous physical exertion involving walking and standing, use of firearms, and exposure to inclement weather. Manual dexterity with comparatively free motion of finger, wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, and knee joints is required. Arms, hands, legs, and feet must be sufficiently intact and functioning in order that applicants may perform the duties satisfactorily. Sufficiently good vision in each eye, with or without correction, is required to perform the duties satisfactorily. Near vision, corrective lenses permitted, must be sufficient to read printed material the size of typewritten characters. Hearing loss, as measured by an audiometer, must not exceed 35 decibels at 1000, 2000, and 3000 Hz levels. Since the duties of these positions are exacting and responsible, and involve activities under trying conditions, applicants must possess emotional and mental stability. Any physical condition that would cause the applicant to be a hazard to himself/herself, or others is disqualifying. Due to the requirements of this position, applicants must have prior law enforcement experience that included the following activities: enforcement of criminal laws of the United States through investigation, apprehension, or detection of individuals suspected or convicted of offenses against these criminal laws. This experience must be reflected in the resume. NOTE: To be eligible for Secondary Law Enforcement Coverage, you must 1) move directly from a federal Primary/Rigorous position; 2) complete 3 years of service in a primary/rigorous position, and 3) must be continuously employed in a secondary position(s) since moving from a primary/rigorous position. Selective Placement Factor: Must have at least three years of service in positions that have been approved for Rigorous or Primary Law Enforcement retirement coverage. Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GS-14: You must have one-year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level. Specialized experience is defined as a 3 or more of the following: 1. Planning, directing, and coordinating complex criminal investigations and associated administrative support functions, ensuring investigative operations are strategically aligned with mission priorities and cross-jurisdictional requirements. 2. Providing direction and expert guidance to subordinate staff on complex and sensitive criminal investigations and/or administrative activities, while maintaining national or regional reporting systems to ensure timely notification and coordination among law enforcement units. 3. Overseeing and conducting follow-up on investigative and administrative processes; formulating, implementing, and evaluating policies, programs, plans, standards, and procedures necessary to execute a comprehensive, integrated law-enforcement program. 4. Conducting difficult, complex, and highly sensitive investigations requiring the development of new or substantially modified investigative methods, coordinating multiple jurisdictions and investigative teams, and developing detailed implementation plans and monitoring progress to completion. 5. Analyzing and evaluating investigative data and materials involving complex allegations, novel issues, or high-risk problem areas, and providing authoritative advice and innovative recommendations to prevent, resolve, or mitigate operational problems and reduce conflicts. For the GS-15: You must have one-year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 level. Specialized experience is defined as a 3 or more of hte following: 1. Independently planning, coordinating, and directing policy, planning, managerial, operational, and administrative activities, applying expert, in-depth knowledge of investigative and administrative support operations; leading and overseeing criminal investigations and associated administrative functions to ensure mission alignment and operational effectiveness. 2. Providing direction and expert guidance to subordinate staff on complex and sensitive criminal investigations and/or administrative support activities, while maintaining national and regional reporting systems to ensure timely incident notification and coordinated response among law-enforcement units. 3. Overseeing follow-up on investigative and administrative processes, serving as a liaison to Federal, State, local, and departmental law-enforcement agencies, and formulating and recommending policies and procedures that enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and integration of investigative and administrative programs. 4. Conducting or leading interdisciplinary teams on complex special projects and directing and managing the activities of subordinate staff to achieve program goals, meet performance standards, and ensure consistent application of investigative and administrative policies. 5. Ensuring compliance with a wide range of Departmental, Federal, and organizational requirements, and developing internal administrative controls, guidance, and procedures that strengthen program accountability, operational integrity, and organizational performance. 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. TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
How to Apply: Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process. Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Mountain Time Zone, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing. Resumes must not exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc. Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account to check your application status. You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).
Application Deadline: 2026-05-08