Assistant Administrator, Field Operations

Summary Securing Travel, Protecting People – At the Transportation Security Administration, we serve in a high-stakes environment to safeguard the American way of life. In cities across the country, we secure airports, seaports, railroads, highways, and public transit systems, thus protecting our transportation infrastructure and ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce. Responsibilities This is a secondary law enforcement position. Under the authority of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (PL 107-71, November 19, 2001), you will function as a Federal Law Enforcement Officer and perform the duties and responsibilities assigned to Federal Air Marshals. The Assistant Administrator (AA), Field Operations, Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service (LE/FAMS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA) provides executive level leadership to a workforce comprised of federal law enforcement officers, professional/technical employees and other mission support personnel, overseeing the overall planning, direction and coordination of operations for a large directorate in LE/FAMS. The AA Field Operations reports to the Executive Assistant Administrator (EAA) and Deputy Executive Assistant Administrator (DEAA) and serves as a member of the EAA/DEAAs Executive staff, providing authoritative advice and recommendations related to the formulation, execution and evaluation of long-range programs and planning activities. As a member of the EAA/DEAAs Executive Council and in collaboration with other executive staff, assists the EAA/DEAA in planning, developing and coordinating all LE/FAMS activities related to aviation security and law enforcement. High-level duties include: Establishing and maintaining strategic direction, directing major law enforcement and/or security management activities, and administering related programs for a complex workforce having a unique law enforcement mission. Representing the EAA/DEAA in functional matters and responsibilities of field operations. Deploying Federal Air Marshals in accordance with TSA and LE/FAMS strategic goals and the Concept of Operations. Conducting investigative liaison activities with Federal, state, local, and foreign officials, law enforcement agencies, and critical stakeholders to support multi-lateral law enforcement and counterterrorism efforts. Conducting investigations and making arrests related to terrorism and threats to aviation security and the civil transportation system, and coordinating related investigative, surveillance detection, and tactical activities with law enforcement, Federal Security Directors, and the aviation and civil transportation industries. Establishing and maintaining liaison with executives administering associated programs in TSA, DHS, and other federal law enforcement agencies to promote best practices and implement innovative approaches for delivering optimum levels of service. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must possess U.S. Citizenship. You must complete a favorable Tier 5 Background Investigation (T5). You must pass Drug Screening, subject to random drug tests. This position requires a TS/SCI (Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information) clearance that must be completed prior to appointment. You will be subject to a 5-year periodic investigation and must be able to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI clearance. Disclosure of your financial information is required. You must carry a firearm and obtain and maintain proficiency. You must have prior experience in a primary law enforcement position. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in the wake of 9/11 to strengthen the security of the nations transportation systems while ensuring the freedom of movement for people and commerce. TSA employs a risk-based strategy to secure U.S. transportation systems, with nearly 50,000 Transportation Security Officers, each day at more than 450 airports nationwide. The agency continuously sets the standard for excellence in transportation security through its people, processes, technologies and use of intelligence to drive operations. As a member of the TSES, you may be subject to frequent changes in posts of duty and positions. Mobility is a condition of employment, so you must be prepared to accept, without objection, the judgment of your superiors concerning reassignments for operational and/or career development purposes, or for other reasons determined to be in the best interest of the Transportation Security Administration. 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. You must meet the qualification requirements of this position no later than the closing date of the job opportunity announcement. Qualifications As a basic requirement, applicants must demonstrate progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior executive level managerial capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Professional/Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications listed below. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the equivalent of the GS-15 grade level in the Federal service or its equivalent with state and local government, the private sector, or non-governmental organizations. To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show in your resume that you possess the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and the Professional/Technical Qualifications (PTQs) listed below. We recommend that your resume emphasize your level of responsibilities, the scope and complexity of programs managed, and your program accomplishments, including results of your actions. Please refer to the Office of Personnel Managements website, https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals2012.pdf for additional information about ECQs. The application process used to recruit for this position is RESUME-ONLY. Therefore, evidence of each ECQ and PTQ must be CLEARLY REFLECTED in your resume. If you are a current or reinstatement eligible Career SES/TSES member or a graduate of an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) approved SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) and your ECQs have been previously certified by OPMs Qualifications Review Board, you are not required to address the ECQs. However, you MUST address all PTQs in your resume. Professional/Technical Qualifications (PTQs): 1. Demonstrated experience leading, developing, implementing, and administering comprehensive law enforcement and security management programs in a large geographically dispersed organization. 2. Demonstrated experience collaboratively working across organizational lines in implementing law enforcement and security management programs. 3. Demonstrated experience directing or managing international security or related programs and systems that impact multiple organizations, components, or agencies. 4. Demonstrated experience in aviation domain law enforcement issues and operations. Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs): ECQ 1 – LEADING CHANGE. This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment. ECQ 2 – LEADING PEOPLE. This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organizations vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts. ECQ 3 – RESULTS DRIVEN. This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks. ECQ 4 – BUSINESS ACUMEN. This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. ECQ 5 – BUILDING COALITIONS. This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals. FAILURE TO MEET OR FULLY ADDRESS EACH EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATION AND PROFESSIONAL/TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS IN THE RESUME WILL ELIMINATE A CANDIDATE FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION. CURRENT OR FORMER POLITICAL APPOINTEES: 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. LAUTENBERG AMENDMENT: This position requires the incumbent to carry a firearm. Any person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence cannot lawfully possess a firearm or ammunition (Title 18, U.S.C., Section 922(g)(9)). A misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is generally defined under the statue as any offense involving the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, committed by the defined in the statute, excludes any person whose conviction has been expunged, set aside, or pardoned, or any person whose civil rights have been restored unless the pardon, expungement or restoration of civil rights expressly prohibited the possession of firearms or ammunition. FIREARMS CERTIFICATION: This position requires the incumbent to carry a firearm. You must pass a certification at an interval required by the hiring/employing law enforcement component within TSA. Failure to do so will result in the revocation of firearm authorization and any other appropriate administrative action, up to and including removal. Education Additional Information This position is a secondary law enforcement position and, as such, provides for the continuation of law enforcement retirement coverage for those currently encumbering a covered position. Provisions for continued law enforcement retirement coverage include: Applicants currently covered by the Civil Service Retirement System who are in a primary or secondary position under 5 USC 8336(c) must transfer to this secondary law enforcement position without a break in service exceeding 3 days, in order to maintain their law enforcement retirement coverage. Applicants currently covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System in a rigorous position under 5 USC 8412 (d) must have been in that position for at least 3 years before transferring directly, without a break in service exceeding 3 days, to this secondary position. All candidates currently covered by Federal law enforcement retirement coverage as cited in this notice are subject to mandatory separation age requirements in accordance with applicable statues. DHS TSA employees may be subject to 24-hour on call duty in the event of an emergency. This service may require irregular working hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the position description. Selectee must be able to relocate to emergency sites with little advance notice and function under intense physical and mental stress. FITNESS PROGRAM: Positions filled from this announcement are subject to the Federal Air Marshal Fitness Program to include regular participation in a physical fitness program. MEDICAL STANDARDS: Selectees are required to meet the entry and recurrent medical standards of the Federal Air Marshal Medical Examination Program. The TSA, an excepted service agency, was established by Public Law 107-71, ATSA, on November 19, 2001. ATSA provides TSA with the authority to modify and develop its own human capital program, provided such modifications are consistent with 49 USC 40122. This is an excepted service position. However, there is an interchange agreement with the OPM and TSA that enables Career TSES members who have been approved by the Qualifications Review Board at OPM to qualify for Senior Executive Service (SES) positions without additional competition. You will be required to serve a probationary period of one year unless you previously completed the probationary period in a SES/TSES position. When you enter on duty, you will be required to complete a Public Financial Disclosure Report, OGE Form 278. You will need to provide this information annually. Veterans Preference does NOT apply to SES/TSES positions.