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Mission and Operation Support Specialist

Drug Enforcement Administration

Rockford, ILFull-time$56–90K/yrPosted 1 day ago

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At a glance

Compensation
$56–90K/yr
Location
Rockford, IL
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Job overview

The Mission and Operation Support Specialist is located in the DEA’s Chicago Division and supports an Outlying Office’s business operations and administrative aspects of law enforcement operations. The role provides administrative and operational support, conducts law enforcement searches and queries, gathers and analyzes data, prepares administrative documents, and provides guidance on administrative matters. Qualification paths vary by grade and may be based on experience, education, or a combination of both.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Administrative Operations, nice to haveHuman Resources Liaison, nice to haveProperty Management, nice to havePersonnel Security, nice to havePhysical Security, nice to haveLaw Enforcement Searches, nice to haveData Analysis, nice to haveAdministrative Writing, nice to have

Qualifications

One Year Specialized Experience, requiredOne Year Graduate Education, nice to haveBachelor's With Superior Academic Achievement, nice to haveEducation and Experience Combination, nice to haveMaster's or Equivalent Graduate Degree, nice to haveTwo Years Graduate Education, nice to haveLLB or JD, nice to haveTime-in-Grade Requirements, required

Benefits

Relocation Assistance

Full job description

Summary

This position is located in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Chicago Division. This position(s) primary purpose is to support the Outlying Office (OO) related to Business Operations and administrative aspects of Law Enforcement Operations.

Duties

As a Mission and Operation Support Specialist, your typical work assignments may include: Administering a variety of disparate tasks/programs in direct support of the law enforcement mission of the Outlying Office (OO). Providing administrative and operational functions in support of an office related to activities involving administrative, human resource liaison, personal property management, and personnel or physical security. Conducting complex and unique law enforcement searches and queries. Gathering and analyzing data to identify inaccuracies. Preparing various administrative documents such as reports, briefings, and correspondence. Providing authoritative guidance to an organization on administrative matters. 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. Applicants applying for the GS-07 must meet one of the following requirements: A. Must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05, and your experience includes performing at least three of the tasks below as part of your regular duties: 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) Providing administrative and operational functions in support of a group related to activities involving administrative, human resource liaison, personal property management, OR personnel or physical security; 2) Conducting routine searches and queries; 3) Assisting with gathering and analyzing data to identify inaccuracies; and, 4) Preparing various administrative documents such as reports and correspondence. OR B. Education: Completed one full academic year of graduate-level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. OR Superior Academic Achievement: Successfully completed all the requirements for a bachelor's degree and am claiming Superior Academic Achievement. In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled. Superior Academic Achievement is based on: (1) Class Standing - You must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR (2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - You must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; OR (3) Honor Society Membership - You may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/). OR C. Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages.Applicants applying for the GS-09 must meet one of the following requirements:A. Must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07, and your experience includes performing at least three of the tasks below as part of your regular duties: 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) Providing administrative and operational functions in support of an office related to activities involving administrative, human resource liaison, personal property management, OR personnel or physical security; 2) Conducting complex and unique searches and queries; 3) Gathering and analyzing data to identify inaccuracies; 4) Preparing various administrative documents such as reports, briefings, OR correspondence. B. Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. OR C. Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. Additional information on the position qualification requirements is 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 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. How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13088143 The assessment questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions which provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question in 200-words or less. You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and have not used a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot. Applicants will only be considered for the Eligibilities for which they claim in the job questionnaire AND must provide the supporting documentation. Applicants will not be considered for Eligibilities for which they did not claim, regardless of the documentation submitted with the application. All qualified Non-Competitive applicants and the best qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Agency and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP and ICTAP) candidates must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for selection priority. Candidates are considered well qualified if their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) exceed the minimum qualifications described in the announcement. Other 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 Competency Based 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 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 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. 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. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or two-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

How this job compares

Set against the 5,281 open Administrative Support jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 10, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$56–90K/yr
  • Illinois median$69–100K/yr21 salary ranges
  • US median$55–74K/yr702 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $73K, is 17% below the Illinois median midpoint ($88K) — in the middle half of Administrative Support salary ranges in Illinois.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 140 open Administrative Support jobs in Illinois and 5,281 across the US. 1% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Illinois
Experience
This posting asks for at least 1 year of experience; Administrative Support postings that state a minimum ask for 2 years at the median (1,966 postings).
Education
142 of the 5,281 open Administrative Support jobs (3%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 10, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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