Supervisory Intelligence Research Specialist (Division Director)

Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Intelligence located in Washington, DC.

Additional selections may be made for other organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.

Duties

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In this position, you will direct and manage subordinate supervisory staff who are, in turn, directly engaged with division personnel to provide the CBP Intelligence Enterprise (IE) and operational stakeholders with intelligence products that inform and enhance their ability to make decisions in support of CBP strategic, operational, or tactical border security operations.

This position starts at a salary of $169,279.00 (GS-15, Step 1) to $197,200.00 (GS-15, Step 10).

GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position.Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts.

Major Duties for this position include, but are not limited to:

• Directing and managing subordinate supervisory staff who are, in turn, directly engaged with division personnel to provide the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Intelligence Enterprise (IE) and operational stakeholders with intelligence products that inform and enhance their ability to make decisions in support of CBP strategic, operational, or tactical border security operations.
• Developing, accomplishing, and providing guidance and direction to the deputy director and supervisory staff regarding the assignment of division work to accomplish both short- and long-range planning goals.
• Coordinating all aspects of division participation in agency, departmental, federal, international, and intelligence community engagements.
• Directing one or multiple pieces of the intelligence cycle for CBP: planning and directing, collecting, processing, analysis and production, and dissemination.
• Working with advanced technical intelligence disciplines, including Full Motion Video (FMV), Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT), Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Including the ability to strategically leverage these technical capabilities to enhance intelligence operations and decision-making.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
• Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below)
• All pre-employment processes will be conducted in English
• You may be required to pass a background investigation
• CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures
• As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce that is dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards. Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties. Please review further details via the following link.
• 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.
• Financial Disclosure is required.
• Bargaining Unit: This position is not covered under the bargaining unit.
• This position is designated for pre-employment and random drug testing.
• The position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a TOP SECRET/SENSITIVECOMPARTMENTED INFORMATION (TS/SCI) national security clearance.
• The position is subject to mandatory unscheduled work hours and travel (CONUS/OCONUS.
• Relocation expenses may be paid in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation limits and agency policy.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for the GS-15 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Working with advanced technical intelligence disciplines, including Full Motion Video (FMV), Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT), Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to strategically leverage these technical capabilities to enhance intelligence operations and decision-making;
• Collaborating with other divisions, Intelligence Enterprise (IE) components and all stakeholders to advance the IE mission, strategy, and program cohesion, support agency priorities, and execute intelligence functions in support of agency operations;
• Supporting an agency's strategic and operational advantages in countering all homeland security threats, by identifying indicators and warnings related to terrorism and transnational organized crime networks, counter smuggling and trafficking, counterintelligence, and cyber and trade enforcement;
• Ensuring use of unique data sets during the analytical process to identify current and trending threat activity relevant to an agency's mission sets;
• Analyzing Presidential Directives, Executive Orders, Intelligence Community Directives, public law, proposed policies, and regulations affecting intelligence and/or counterintelligence programs and advising Executives on recommended IE and agency positions.

NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.

Your resume: A resume describing your job-related qualifications is required and will be used for the purpose of reviewing your qualifications and determining what training, if any, would be required when placed. A resume in English is required. It must contain your full legal name, phone number, relevant work history including a detailed description of your duties, the dates you performed those duties (MM/DD/YY), your hours worked per week, job title, as well as series, grade, and salary (if applicable). For additional required items, see the link. It is recommended that you upload your resume as a PDF instead of a Word document to ensure document quality. Ensure that your uploaded resume is not a password protected document, to include Office 365 passwords. Limit your resume to no more than two pages. The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an application that includes a resume over two pages.

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.

You must:

• Meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and
• Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 10/30/2026.

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.

Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information on the preemployment process, review the following link: Applicant Resources | CBP Careers

Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:

• Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military
• A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government
• Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university
• Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government

Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.

Supervisory Probationary Period: You may be required to serve an 18-month probationary period upon appointment.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. View information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibilityon OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this announcement.

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.

Training: This position has a training requirement. Selectee is required to attend and successfully complete paid mandatory training. Courses currently include (but are not limited to) the Intelligence Foundations Course, Systems Exploitation Training, and the CBP Intelligence Support to Operations Course. The location will be determined at the time of training assignment. Selectee will be required to successfully complete the training requirement within a year of entry on duty as a condition of employment. Failure to successfully complete the required course(s) in accordance with CBP standards and policies will result in placement into either a former or different position, demotion, or separation as determined by management and appropriate procedures.

Leadership Training: All newly appointed GS-15s are required to complete mandatory training. The training will be scheduled by the Office of Training and Development within the first 90 days of appointment. The duration of the training will include 5 weeks of in-residence training in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Note: This training may be waived if previously completed.

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 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 Assessm