Investigative Technology Specialist (Foreign)

Summary This position is located in the DEA, Bangkok, Thailand Country Office. This position primary purpose is to function as a telecommunications hardware advisor to the Special Agent in Charge, Assistant Special Agent in Charge or Country Attache' and provides technical expertise to DEA personnel in the operation and use of the worldwide DEA Teleprocessing Systems (OATS), Office Automation (OA) System, and Secure Mail System (SMS). Responsibilities As an Investigative Technology Specialist your typical work assignments may include: Conducts sight surveys of DEA facilities and recommends telecommunications equipment needs associated with a DEA foreign region/office. Develop layouts, drawings, equipment inventory and operating cost statistics for each facility utilizing telecommunications equipment. Evaluates, modifies, develops, establishes, installs, and maintains telecommunications systems software/hardware packages using new and advanced communications equipment and techniques. Develops and maintains procedures and software for the reliability and integrity of the computer system data. Provides technical advice to senior management concerning telecommunications problems and questions, and in developing alternatives and options to meet requirements in a variety of physical and environmental circumstances. ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION: Length of Tour: Employees are limited to a maximum of five years of service in an overseas assignment. The initial tour of duty for this assignment is 3 (three) years. After the initial tour of duty has been completed, extensions may be granted in one-year increments up to the five-year maximum. Employees who wish to remain on an overseas assignment in excess of the five-year maximum must request a tour extension or renewal before the end of their current assignment. Employees who are approved to extend their overseas assignment beyond the five-year maximum will forfeit the right to return to an office of preference. They will be placed in an appropriate position at a DEA domestic office where a vacancy exists. At the conclusion of an overseas tour, DEA will attempt to return employees to their home location. If such a placement is not possible, employees' office of preference lists will be considered. However, employees are reminded that assignments are determined based on the needs of DEA. Bangkok, Thailand Country Office Post (Hardship) Differential* 10% Post (Cost of Living) Allowance* 10% Danger Pay Allowance: 0% Home Leave: Allowed after the initial 24 months incident to tour renewal. Housing Allowances: Housing paid for by U.S. Government, Bangkok is a furnished post. Foreign Language: None Rest & Recuperation: 2 Relocation Incentive: No Educational Allowances**: Yes, see below *Post (cost of living) allowance, post (hardship) differential, and danger pay allowance (if applicable to the advertised post) are subject to change. Detailed post (cost of living) allowance information can be found here. Detailed post (hardship) differential information can be found here. Detailed danger pay allowance information can be found here and here. Overseas Transition Preparation: Please contact DEA Family Liaison Officers Kieran Mandato ([email protected]) or N'Dorah Z. Walker ([email protected]) for Post Reports that detail living conditions for employees and their families at post. Click here for a Prospective Post Priorities Worksheet that can help you consider what is important to you and your family in the foreign PCS decision-making process. For more information regarding the foreign PCS process, please see the PCS Foreign Assignment Relocation Handbook and the Foreign Orientation Handbook. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications For more information on eligibility requirements see: DEA Employment Eligibility Applicants must meet the required qualification requirements described below by the closing date of the 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 transcripts with your application. Basic Qualification Requirements: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- electrical or electronic engineering, mathematics, physics, public utilities, statistics, computer science, telecommunications management, information systems management, business administration, industrial management, or other fields related to the position to be filled. Other Education: Communications/electronics or automatic data processing training in technical institutes or business schools above the high school level or in Armed Forces schools that included advanced instruction in addition to basic courses, may be substituted for general experience on a month-for-month basis. AND Applicants applying for the GS-12 must meet one of the following requirements: A. Have at least one full year of specialized experience that is at least equivalent to work performed at the GS-11 grade level. Specialized 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. Qualifying experience must demonstrate the following: 1) Experience in overseeing a telecommunications program that provides technical expertise, guidance, and direction that is provided for agency organizations that are distributed globally/internationally; 2) Interpreting, designing, and updating telecommunications schematics and utilizing them to maintain organizational telecommunications systems; and 3) Representing the agency and serve as a technical authority in the management of telecommunications systems, devices, and infrastructure. Applicants applying for the GS-13 must meet one of the following requirements: A. Have at least one full year of specialized experience that is at least equivalent to work performed at the GS-12 grade level. Specialized 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. Qualifying experience must demonstrate the following: 1) Provide technical advice or interpret the application of telecommunications systems and devices using general guidance or information derived through formal or informal communications with similarly aligned experts or personnel; 2) Develop policies and procedures or reviewing, modifying and adapting similar documents to support compliance, testing, and validation of telecommunications systems and devices used within the organization; and 3) Apply telecommunication theories, concepts, or unconventional practices to resolve system compatibility, networking, troubleshooting, or maintenance efforts for a field or regional office. Additional information on the position qualification requirements are located in the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Qualifications Standards Handbook. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Education See the qualifications 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. Additional Information Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire CompetencyBased Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information) Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If an applicant is currently, or has been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, applicants must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office listed in this announcement. 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. 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.