Senior Police Officer

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/18/2024. 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-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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 (or equivalent pay band) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization, that provided a knowledge of a body of basic laws and regulations, law enforcement operations, practices, and techniques and involved responsibility for maintaining order and protecting life and property. Specialized experience includes conducting investigations, apprehensions and detentions of persons suspected or convicted of criminal violations; maintaining order to protect life and property; taking initial complaints; interviewing witnesses; securing a crime scene and conducting limited searches; responding to emergency situations; gathering information and preparing reports; conducting routine patrol, traffic control, and traffic accident investigations. Note: Creditable specialized experience may have been gained in work on a police force; through service as a military police officer; in work providing visitor protection and law enforcement in parks, forests, or other natural resource or recreational environments; in performing criminal investigative duties; or in other work that provided the required knowledge and skills. Experience as a security guard or corrections officer is generally not qualifying. Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week. Driver’s License Requirement: Applicants must possess a valid, unrestricted State driver’s license, have a safe driving record, and demonstrate that he or she is medically qualified to operate the appropriate motor vehicle safely. Applicants are required to pass agency Government Vehicle Drivers physical examination. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your driver’s license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you may be required to provide a copy of your valid state-issued driver’s license. Firearm Requirement: VA Police Officers are required to carry agency-approved firearms while on duty on VA property. Officers must achieve and maintain qualification/certification with the agency-approved firearms as condition of gaining and continuing employment as a Police Officer. Applicants must be able to possess firearms under the terms of the Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9). POLICE OFFICER CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: New VA Police Officers are required to attend an 8-10 week course at the VA Law Enforcement Training Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Satisfactory completion of this course is a condition of continued employment. A medical examination is required. The duties of these positions require moderate to arduous physical exertion and/or duties of a hazardous nature. The following medical requirements apply to all applicants: good near and distant vision, ability to distinguish basic colors, and ability to hear the conversational voice. Applicants and employees must have the capacity to perform the essential functions of the position without risk to themselves or others. Applicants and employees must possess emotional and mental stability. A psychological examination is required. In most instances, a specific medical condition or impairment will not automatically disqualify an applicant or employee. A medical condition or impairment is disqualifying only if the condition, for good medical reason, precludes assignment to or warrants restriction from the duties of the specific position. For some positions, the loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid. Reasonable accommodation shall also be considered in determining an applicant’s ability to perform the duties of a position. A character investigation will be conducted on applicants selected for employment. The purpose of such an investigation is to secure evidence of the candidate’s honesty, integrity, general character, and loyalty to the U.S. Government. As a condition of employment, must qualify to be issued a firearm and semi-annually with assigned firearm, annually with an expandable Straight Baton (MEB), maintain a valid State or Commonwealth Driver’s License and pass annual physical and psychosocial assessments. Applicants must be able to possess firearms under the terms of the Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9). Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion, long hours of standing, walking, driving and similar activities. The incumbent must respond to alarms, pursue suspects, participate in training activities, climb stairs and walk during assigned foot patrols in and around large building, campus, and other physical settings. Agility, dexterity and strength are needed to pursue, apprehend and detain uncooperative suspects. Incumbents must be physically able to lift or carry injured or hurt persons, evacuate persons to safety during storms, disasters, fires or other emergencies. The incumbent is expected to maintain a high standard of physical fitness and hand and eye coordination to maintain his or her semi-annual qualification with his/her assigned firearm and annual qualification with his/her assigned departmental issued intermediate weapons. Work Environment: The work environment regularly involves high risks with exposure to potentially dangerous situations or unusual environmental stress which require a range of safety and other precautions (e.g., subject to possible physical attack or crowd conditions or similar situations where conditions cannot be controlled.)The work is performed in settings in which there is regular and recurring exposure to moderate discomforts and unpleasantness, such as high levels of noise in industrial settings, high temperatures in confined spaces, or severe weather conditions during extended periods of traffic and patrol duties. The employee may be required to use protective clothing or gear such as masks, gowns, coats, boots, goggles, bullet resistant vests or shields. The work involves moderate to high risk requiring exercise of safety precautions when working around hazardous materials such as toxic gases, explosives, infectious biological materials, and others that pose a moderate risk of exposure. 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/.
This position will serve as a Senior Police Officer at the Lexington VA Medical Center in Lexington, KY, ensuring a safe and secure environment across all VA Administrations with various settings, including a variety of jurisdictional environments. In this capacity, you will direct, coordinate and perform supervisory and non-supervisory policing law enforcement assignments and projects.