Lead Police Officer (K9 Sergeant)

Description:

This Lead Police Officer (K9 Sergeant) position is located in Police Service at the VA Boston Healthcare System (Brockton campus). This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/25/2024.

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-8 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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 as described below:

GS-8: Must possess a minimum of one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) in the federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, and in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Experience that provided 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. 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.

There is no educational substitution for the GS-8 level.

Investigation of Fitness

A character investigation may 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. Such investigations will be conducted under the security requirements of the hiring agency.

Medical Requirements

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. Agencies may establish additional, job-related physical or medical requirements provided that the specific position(s) involves the arduous or hazardous duties to which the physical requirements relate.

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. 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. Reasonable accommodation may include, but is not limited to the use of assistive devices, job modification or restructuring, provision of readers and interpreters, or adjusted work schedules.

Special Requirements: The incumbent must:

Be eligible for Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Credential and must maintain PIV credential eligibility during their services with the agency. Have a successfully required adjudicated background investigation and obtain and maintain a required security clearance. Carry firearms for safety and security as required by the VHA Police Service (PS). Be proficient in the English language. Pass an initial pre-employment medical examination and an annual medical examination to include psychological assessment. Must immediately report to the supervisor any significant medical threshold shifts in health status and/or medication requirements. Possess a valid driver's license as a condition of continued employment as a VA Police Officer. Successfully pass Police Officer Standardized Training (POST) at the Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC). Successfully pass the POST/R (refresher) training course on a recurring basis as defined by VA. Complete other mandatory training to remain knowledgeable and skilled in specialized tactics, techniques, and procedures necessary to prepare and respond to catastrophic events, terror attacks and related threats to the facility. Work uncommon tours of duty as needed, to include nights, weekends, holidays, overtime, rotating shifts, and emergency call-backs. Achieve and maintain qualification in the use of agency approved firearms as a condition of continued employment as a VA Police Officer. This includes meeting the provisions of the Gun Control Act (Lautenberg Amendment) of 1968, as amended by Public Law 104-108 and found at 18 USC, Section 992. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
Animal Husbandry Arrest Criminal Law Leadership Manages Human Resources Security Teaching Others

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work requires, on a regular and recurring basis, considerable and strenuous physical exertion such as running, frequent climbing of multiple flights of stairs, and carrying items weighing over 50 pounds. It requires stamina, physical agility, dexterity, and the strength to pursue, apprehend or detain persons who are often uncooperative, assaultive, and/or armed.

Work Environment: The work involves both moderate and high risks and possible endangerment of life or serious injury that requires the exercise of safety precautions and use of personal protective equipment The work is performed in settings in which there is regular and recurring exposure to moderate to severe discomforts and unpleasantness, such as high temperatures in confined spaces, high temperatures due to mandatory protective personal equipment, or adverse weather conditions during extended periods of traffic and patrol duties. The work involves moderate 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/.