Program Analyst

Summary Securing Travel, Protecting People – At the Transportation Security Administration, you will serve in a high-stakes environment to safeguard the American way of life. In cities across the country, you would secure airports, seaports, railroads, highways, and/or public transit systems, thus protecting Americas transportation infrastructure and ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce. Responsibilities This Program Analyst position is located in the Operations Support, Front Office, Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Duties include but are not limited to: Performs project type assignments. Designs project plan, establishes timelines, determines resource requirements, executes (or oversees execution of) project activities, and evaluates success of accomplishing objectives. Provides senior management officials with reports, evaluated information, budget proposals and similar products for effective direction of program operations. Research complex ongoing and projected programmatic activities. Reviews information, reconciles conflicting data, and devises new and modified methods to analyze findings. Develops, analyzes, and evaluates new or modified program/management requirements, policies, goals, or objectives for impact on existing program(s). Establishes new policies/procedures to address operational needs or makes exceptions to existing policies/procedures that may impact internal and external customers. Maintains situational awareness of emerging risk-based efforts and activities within area of assignment to maximize development and effectiveness of new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) programmatic approaches. Review and respond to intelligence reports specific to aviation security explosive and chemical threats, which is leveraged to inform R&D, threat characterization studies, and prioritization for CONUS/OCUNUS threats. Requires periodic access to TS/SCI data and engagement with strategic Intelligence Community partners in the US and abroad. Assists TSA in identifying potential threats to transportation, including specific threat materials, threat formulation, threat concealments, terrorist actors, etc. Participates in discussions, meetings, conferences and conference calls with administrative and technical personnel, other subject matter experts, and other agency officials. Interactions are to educate and advise; share information; investigate facts; present conclusions and recommendations; obtain area(s) of expertise. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National. You must have reached the minimum age (18) at the time of application. Selective Service registration is required. Must pass pre-employment drug screening AND random drug/alcohol testing. Employee must be able to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret security clearance based on a Special Background Investigation (SBI) with eligibility for Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI). If you fail to meet the conditions of employment or any other pre-employment requirements, such as missing any of the scheduled appointments, the hiring agency may rescind their tentative offer of employment. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for TSA to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions. Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change. Qualifications To qualify for the SV-J Pay Band (equivalent to GS-14), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-I Pay Band or GS-13 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such specialized experience is defined as: Establishing policies, procedures or implementation guidance for assigned program(s) to include the Intelligence Community domestically and internationally; and Creating, initiating, and executing strategic plans, (e.g., logistics, measuring results); and Interpreting policies and objectives related to transportation security programs and briefing senior leadership, inter-agency committees, and other stakeholders within the transportation security community. Credit for experience is given based on a 40-hour workweek. Part-time experience is credited on a part-time ratio, i.e., working 20 hours per week for two months equals one month of experience. No additional credit is given for overtime. National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. Resumes must include the following: Narrative description of duties with start and end dates (including the month and year) for work experience. State the number of hours worked in a position (i.e. full-time or part-time). If part-time, state the total number of hours worked per week. Performance level (i.e. band or grade) Utilizing the USAJOBS Resume Builder and completing all available fields is strongly encouraged. You must meet the qualification requirements for this position no later than the closing date of the vacancy announcement. Education Additional Information Eligibility to apply for other Federal positions: TSA is an Excepted Service agency exempt from most of Title 5 United States Code, including regulations which apply to displaced Federal employees (CTAP/ICTAP) of other agencies, and employment with TSA does not confer “Competitive Status” that generally results from selection and service in Competitive Service agencies. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established an Interchange Agreement, which allows most permanent TSA employees to apply and be considered for vacancies in Competitive Service agencies. Information from OPM on this or other Interchange Agreements is available at: www.opm.gov/ To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation as a condition of placement into this position. DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. TSA employees who are absent for the purpose of performing military duty may apply for any vacancies announced in their absence. More than one position may be filled from this announcement. If you are entering TSA employment on an appointment without time limitations, you must serve a basic trial period unless you have already met the requirement. DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including: health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays. Other benefits may include flexible work schedules; telework; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select “Benefits.” Disabled veteran leave will be available to any Federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more. Employees who transfer to TSA from an agency that allows employees to maintain an annual leave balance higher than the maximum accumulation for the appointed position will have their leave ceiling set to the maximum accumulation for the appointed position (e.g., United States duty location – 240 hours, foreign duty location – 360 hours, or TSES position – 720 hours). TSA will not make a monetary payment for any leave forfeited under these circumstances.