Duties This Transportation Security Specialist position is located Operations Support, Policy, Plans and Engagement (PPE), Surface Division, Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Duties include but are not limited to: * As the Principal Technical expert for the mode, serves as an Industry Engagement Manager (IEM) and Principal modal advisor to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Policy, Plans and Engagement (PPE) Assistant Administrator (AA), Deputy Assistant Administrator, and Surface Executive Division Director on industry engagement plans and programs. * Provides pipeline industry expertise through interface efforts with the senior leaders at TSA, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation, the White House and Congress. * Engages with national/international transportation providers and industry associations at the CEO, COO, VP of Government Affairs, and VP of Security and Security Director levels to develop and maintain strategic industry partnerships in order to achieve TSA's objectives. * Develops appropriate, creative security solutions and communications plans that will result in transparent information sharing, measurable risk reduction with the least negative economic impact on transportation systems. * Maintains and advances an awareness of current security threats to and vulnerabilities within the transportation sector, and an understanding of modal security programs and their impact on national transportation security and the US economy. Note: The duties are at the full SV-K performance level. Requirements Conditions of Employment * You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National. * You must have reached the minimum age (18) at the time of application. * You must complete a favorable Background Investigation (BI). * Selective Service registration is required. * Must pass pre-employment drug screening AND random drug/alcohol testing. * Employee must be able to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret security clearance based on a Special Background Investigation (SBI) with eligibility for Sensitive Compartmented Information. If you fail to meet the conditions of employment or any other pre-employment requirements, such as missing any of the scheduled appointments, the hiring agency may rescind their tentative offer of employment. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for TSA to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions. Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change. Qualifications To qualify for the SV-K Pay Band (equivalent to GS-15), applicants must have one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at the SV-J or GS-14 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such experience is defined as: * Providing solutions to leadership to resolve and mitigate surface security vulnerabilities; and * Experience working with and issuing transportation security regulations and policies; and * Developing security measures to resolve vulnerabilities, mitigate risks, and recommend security changes to surface transportation owners and operators. Credit for experience is given based on a 40-hour workweek. Part-time experience is credited on a part-time ratio, i.e., working 20 hours per week for two months equals one month of experience. No additional credit is given for overtime. National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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. 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. Resumes must include the following: * Narrative description of duties with start and end dates (including the month and year) for work experience. * State the number of hours worked in a position (i.e. full-time or part-time). If part-time, state the total number of hours worked per week. * Performance level (i.e. band or grade) Utilizing the USAJOBS Resume Builder and completing all available fields is strongly encouraged. You must meet the qualification requirements for this position no later than the closing date of the vacancy announcement. Additional information Eligibility to apply for other Federal positions: TSA is an Excepted Service agency exempt from most of Title 5 United States Code, including regulations which apply to displaced Federal employees (CTAP/ICTAP) of other agencies, and employment with TSA does not confer Competitive Status that generally results from selection and service in Competitive Service agencies. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established an Interchange Agreement, which allows most permanent TSA employees to apply and be considered for vacancies in Competitive Service agencies. Information from OPM on this or other Interchange Agreements is available at: www.opm.gov/ To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation as a condition of placement into this position. DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify , including your rights and responsibilities. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment , and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. TSA employees who are absent for the purpose of performing military duty may apply for any vacancies announced in their absence. More than one position may be filled from this announcement. If you are entering TSA employment on an appointment without time limitations, you must serve a basic trial period unless you have already met the requirement. DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including: health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays. Other benefits may include flexible work schedules; telework; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select Benefits. Disabled veteran leave will be available to any Federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more. Employees who transfer to TSA from an agency that allows employees to maintain an annual leave balance higher than the maximum accumulation for the appointed position will have their leave ceiling set to the maximum accumulation for the appointed position (e.g., United States duty location - 240 hours, foreign duty location - 360 hours, or TSES position - 720 hours). TSA will not make a monetary payment for any leave forfeited under these circumstances. How You Will Be Evaluated You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. You will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of the experience and/or related education as reflected in your resume and supporting documentation. You are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show possession of the competencies required for this position. We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If, after reviewing your resume and any supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your category placement may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Grouping procedures. Under Category Grouping, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories: * Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies as determined by the job analysis. * Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical compet