Summary This position is located in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness (OSP), Operations and National Security Services (ONSS). The mission of ONSS is to serve as the Department's representative in regards to national security operations/engagements with all agencies. The incumbent serves as a primary VA spokesperson for overall coordination and top-level negotiations with federal agencies and foreign governments officials. Responsibilities Duties include but not limited to: Develop, coordinate, and execute VA policies and procedures on COMSEC. Review and coordinate a variety of projects that include telecommunications equipment systems that use COMSEC. Responsible for conducting semi-annual inspections and special occasion COMSEC account NSA inventories and spot checks. Represent the VA on government policy study groups, interagency, and ad-hoc committees in the area of COMSEC in order to manage transitory issues or to advise on regulatory changes Participate as the VA technical expert in meetings, conferences, and other events that concern specific issues on the usage of COMSEC as it relates to telecommunications projects and programs. Provide accountability of all COMSEC keying materials and Controlled Cryptographic Items (CCI) supporting Local element (LE) users and VA. Administers, maintains, and manages NSA COMSEC account assigned to VA. Draft and review Memorandums of Agreements (MOA) and work directly with VA Special Security Officer (SSO) with all Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) Accreditations to support the establishment of LE entities. Subject matter expert for composing, reviewing and having final release authority of messages conscripted IAW National Security Agency 3-16 Policy Manual, and VA COMSEC regulations to support COMSEC operations. Responsible for ensuring all COMSEC keying and equipment requirements are met to support VA. Supports and monitors destruction of keying material and equipment as required by NSA. Plans, coordinates, and provides cryptological moderation to support VA. Directly support and train Alternate COMSEC Account Managers (ACAM), Client Platform Security Officers (CPSO), Client Platform Administrators (CPA), Device Local Type One Registration Authority (DLT1RA), Product Requests (PR), Type One Token Security Officers (TSO), and COMSEC authorized users. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: May be available Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/13/2025. 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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade. 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-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: evaluating, analyzing, developing, managing, or improving communications systems, procedures, and requirements that demonstrated knowledge of current developments and trends in communications concepts and technology. OR, Education: To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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. OR, 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Critical Thinking Emergency Management Project Management Quality Management Stakeholder Management Technical Competence Technical Credibility Technical Problem Solving Telecommunications 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; religions; 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. 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 is primarily sedentary and involves few physical demands. The incumbent may be asked to dispose of classified material in groups weighing less than 20 pounds. The work is performed in a typical office setting. Some travel may be required. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.