Technical Information Specialist

TOUGH WORK. VITAL MISSION. Challenge yourself! You have the power to help combat drug trafficking. Be a part of DEA! It's tough work, but a vital mission. Whatever your background or expertise, your work at DEA will be tremendously rewarding because it will have a daily impact on national security and the quality of life of all Americans. This position is located in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), El Paso Intelligence Division, El Paso, Texas.

Duties

As a Technical Information Specialist, your typical work assignments may include:

• Responds to a full range of complex or difficult inquiries (for ex: pipeline, convey; jet way, inquiries concerning people, vehicles and businesses, and Air and Maritime Watch). Requests are received from DEA, FBI, ICE state and local law enforcement officers as well as other federal law enforcement personnel in national and international and law enforcement agencies.
• Work is carried out in an environment of continual change, where information and information sources are rapidly expanding, much of the subject matter is in flux, and the technology is undergoing major change. May convey findings through written and oral reports, abstracts, summaries, charts, graphs, or other products.
• Organizes and coordinates assignments that involve complex and novel or obscure problems and/or special requirements. Uses initiative and resourcefulness to deviate from or extend accepted methods techniques and practices. Resolves important issues when precedents do not apply. Identifies areas for improvement in established methods. Develops and shares new information source that fill in specific gaps, draw conclusions, and notes trends in terrorist threat activities such as geographic, targets, terrorist groups and individuals.
• Performs detailed analysis and evaluations of request. Inputs extract and manage data stored in a multi- dimensional database system; provides data upon request to Executive Management and the substantive units for analysis. Prepares reports, analyses, and other documents related to information and research efforts.
• Applies knowledge of a wide range of techniques, methods, sources and procedures within the functional information area and subject matter knowledge requiring extended specialized experience. Modifies standard information practices, precedents and techniques, adapts automated systems, or makes significant departures from previous approaches to similar problems to solve a variety of information organization, access and dissemination problems.
• Presents findings and recommendations on complex issues or problems impacting well-established programs, projects of limited scope, or facets of larger, complex projects and programs.

Conditions of Employment:
Overtime may be required.
Incumbent is required to work a rotating twenty-four hour shift schedule.

Physical Demands/Work Environment:
Lifting is limited to boxes of paper (approx. 40 pounds) lifted from the floor to head height.
Workplace can be stressful with periods of intense activity to support urgent law enforcement activities.

Salary

• $72,553 - $113,047/year

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov/).
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: http://www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/.
• Incumbent is subject to random drug testing.
• Selectee may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Employment is subject to the successful completion of a background investigation. Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.

Qualifications Applicants must meet all of the required qualification requirements described below by the closing of this announcement. If you are qualifying based on education or if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript with your application.

Basic Requirements:

A full 4-year course of study that meets all the requirements for a bachelor's degree with a major study in the subject-matter field for the position to be filled; OR four years of experience that provided a knowledge of the basic principles, theories, practices, techniques, and terminology of a discipline or subject-matter field; and understanding of the standard methods, procedures, and techniques of research and analysis in the subject-matter field; and where appropriate, ability to read and comprehend non-technical material in one or more foreign languages. Such experience must be equivalent to that which would have been gained through a 4-year college curriculum.

OR

GS-11: one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 Federal grade level in performing such duties as responding to information requests or records checks using fragmented information from other federal agencies, state and local enforcement, etc., and extracting information from requesters; conducting searches in government and public source databases and independently analyzing and interpreting the information retrieved; and conducting reviews of intelligence data.

OR

3 full years of progressively higher level education or doctor degree (Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent) related to the position.

OR a combination of both, experience and education.

GS-12: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 Federal grade level in performing such duties as analyzing specialized or technical information from a wide variety of sources, independently advising on common program and/or administrative problems and issues, and determining the credibility, value and significance of information.

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.

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. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date of this job opportunity announcement. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant experience as it relates to this job opportunity announcement. Be clear and specific when describing your work history, human resources cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Your application will be rated based on your resume. Education See the qualification section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: www.naces.org/members.php. If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Other Information

For reasonable accommodation at the Drug Enforcement Administration, please contact the Human Resources office listed in this announcement.

Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment under Merit Promotion procedures, the veteran must be a preference eligible or a veteran separated after 3 years or more of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions.

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.

Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to similar positions in any Division/Office listed in this announcement. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.

Recruitment and/or Relocation Incentives may be considered and approved under conditions specified provided the agency has determined that the position is likely to be difficult to fill in the absence of an incentive and funding for such an incentive is available.

If eligible, telework and/or remote work agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. Please note that any approved remote work arrangement is subject to the locality pay area of the alternative telework worksite.

Required Documents

All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to our automated system by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

1. Resume showing applicant's name, email address, relevant work/volunteer experience, education and training. Include the start and end dates (from month/year to month/year), work schedule (e.g. part or full time), the number of hours per week worked/volunteered, job title and description of duties performed.
2. Transcripts, if applicable and you are qualifying based on education. See the Qualification and Education sections of this announcement for more information. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.
3. SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action), if applicable: SF-50(s) must show the effective date, position title, series, grade, salary, tenure, competitive status, position occupied, full promotion potential, and name of agency. Multiple SF-50s may be needed to show all required information. Award SF-50s often do not show the required information. To verify the time in grade requirement, applicants must submit a SF-50 verifying the highest grade held for at least 52 weeks. Examples include, promotions with an effective date greater than one year, within grade increases demonstrating the highest grade held for at least 52 weeks or appointments/conversion of appointments with an effective date greater than one year.
4. ICTAP/CTAP - Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable. This includes copies of your agency notice (e.g. Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal), most recent performance rating and more recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting current position, grade level and duty location.
5. Veteran Documentation, if applicable.

• Veterans who are preference eligible OR who have been separated from the Armed Forces under honorable conditions (honorable or general discharge) after 3 or more years of continuous active service may apply under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA). You must submit a DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member Copy 4 preferred) showing the dates you served as well as your type of discharge and qualifying service campaign medals OR if you are still on active duty, you MUST submit a certification on letterhead from your military branch which contains your military service dates, expected date of discharge or release, and the character of service to show that your military service was performed under honorable conditions. The expected date of discharge or release must be no later than 120 days after the certification is submitted for consideration for this job announcement. Current Federal employees applying under the VEOA must submit a qualifying SF-50 to show time-in-grade requirements.
• If you are applying as a preference eligible with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more, you must submit the documentation required by the SF-15 (Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference) to support your claim (e.g., DD-214, official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs). For applicants claiming 10-point derived veterans' preference (i.e., spouses, widows/widowers or mothers of veterans), a completed SF-15 must be submitted with the application with all required supporting documents listed on the form.
• For more veterans' preference information, visit the USAJOBS Help Center.

1. Non-competitive or special hiring authority eligibility documentation, if applicable. Examples of such authorities include: Schedule A individuals with disabilities, returning Peace Corps or AmeriCorp VISTA volunteer, Fulbright/Gilman/CLS alumni, etc.
2. ICTAP/CTAP documentation, if applicable. This includes copies of your agency notice, most recent Performance Rating and more recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting current position, grade level, and duty location.
3. Current or Former Land Management Employee documentation, if applicable. Visit the Forest Service's site for required documentation.
4. Other Qualification Documentation (e.g. certificates, certifications, etc.), if applicable. See the Qualification section of this announcement for more information.

How to Apply

Prepare your application in USAJOBS

During the application process you can review, edit, delete, and update your information. We'll automatically save your progress as you go, so you won't lose any changes. You have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement to complete the application process.

STEP 1: Select the "Apply" button and follow the instructions to register or sign into USAJOBS.
STEP 2: Submit your resume. Please see the Required Documents section for specific information that should be outlined in your resume.
STEP 3: Complete the online assessment questions.
STEP 4: Submit all required documentation applicable to you, as listed in the Required Documents section.

Alternate Application Procedures: If applying online poses an extreme hardship, you may request alternate application procedures to submit your application package. Contact the Human Resources office listed on the announcement between the business hours of 8:15 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET at least 2 working days prior to the closing date of this announcement. The application package for alternate application procedures must be submitted and received in the Human Resources office no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the closing date of this announcement. Paper applications and information sent by mail will not be accepted.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Learn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits