Career Opportunities
U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Office of Inspector General
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: 09-34NJ
POSITION: Foreign Service Criminal Investigator (Special Agent), FP-1811-03/03
Salary Range:64,447.00 - 94,643.00 USD per year
Opening Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2009
CLOSING DATE: Thursday, October 14, 2010
POSITION INFORMATION: Full-Time Permanent
LOCATION: many vacancies - Washington DC Metro Area, DC
WHO MAY BE CONSIDERED:
Applications will be accepted from all groups of qualified individuals in Foreign Service,
Civil Service, current and former competitive service Federal employees, and people eligible
under special hiring authorities.
Job Summary:
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Office of Inspector General (OIG),
is recruiting for Foreign Service Special Agents, 1811 Criminal Investigators to serve in
positions located in countries where USAID is operating. The OIG's headquarters is in
Washington, D.C. OIG has field offices located in Baghdad (Iraq); Cairo (Egypt); Dakar (Senegal);
Manila (Philippines); Pretoria (South Africa); San Salvador (El Salvador); Kabul, (Afghanistan);
and Islamabad,(Pakistan). As Foreign Service Special Agent, you will be required to combine
your skills as a Criminal Investigator with the skills of a seasoned diplomat in order to
accomplish the OIG's mission of fighting fraud, waste and abuse in USAID programs and operations
throughout the world. A Foreign Service career involves uncommon commitments and occasional
hardships, as well as unique rewards and opportunities. A decision to enter this career must
involve a firm dedication to public service and a strong desire to serve in the overseas
environment. The Foreign Service strives to maintain diversity in the representation of
gender, geographic region, race, and ethnicity.
Major Duties:
Foreign Service Special Agents will plan, organize and conduct sensitive investigations
related to USAID programs and operations involving alleged violations of U.S. criminal and
civil laws and USAID regulations. The violations include but are not limited to false
statements, conflict of interest, bribery, theft, kickbacks, antitrust conspiracy, procurement
integrity, and violations under the standards of ethical conduct.
You will develop or assist in the development of proactive investigative plans for sensitive,
criminal investigations and other special investigative projects to determine the validity of
allegations, scope of illegal activity or administrative mismanagement and maintain the integrity
of Agency programs. In addition you will perform other duties such as interviewing witnesses,
interrogating subjects, obtaining statements, making arrests, executing search and seizure
warrants, and testifying before the grand jury, trial court and special hearings.
You will also utilize investigative techniques including use and development of informants,
undercover operations, searching for evidence, surveillance, financial analysis, and obtaining
evidence through the use of special investigative tools such as recording devices, technical
equipment, and subpoenas.
You will work closely with other USAID personnel, law enforcement organizations, and
professional business communities in resolving alleged violations of criminal and/or civil
law, or administrative regulations.
You will prepare reports of investigations to be used in criminal, civil, or administrative
proceedings; report investigative findings, as necessary; and assist authorities in the
development and execution of judicial and/or administrative actions.
You will provide fraud awareness training to USAID officials, contractors, grantees, and
others to educate them as to the potential for fraud, waste and abuse in Agency programs and
operations.
Qualifications:
All applicant must meet the minimum requirements of the Office of Personnel Management's
Qualification Standards Handbook.
For FP-03 level (GS-13 equivalent), you must have experience at the GS-13 level,
or equivalent, that has equipped the applicant with the ability to initiate and conduct white
collar fraud investigations, ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and conduct complex
procurement investigations, ability to communicate in writing, including preparation of
investigative reports, and the ability to communicate orally and work effectively with
individuals and/or other agencies in order to conduct investigations.
Highly desirable are applicants who possess college degrees to include classes in
finance, accounting, or law. CPA certificates or law degrees are extremely beneficial, as
is a foreign-language proficiency, particularly in French or Spanish.
You can be appointed into this position as long as you have not reached your
37th birthday.
You must meet time-in-grade restrictions by the closing date of this announcement.
Applicant must satisfactorily complete the Basic Criminal Investigative Training Program at
the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, or its equivalent.
Applicants must be citizens of the United States.
Applicants must possess a valid U.S. driver's license upon appointment.
Applicants must be at least 18 years of age at the time of appointment. This position
is covered under the special retirement provisions for law enforcement officers. Applicants
that have no prior series 1811 criminal investigator experience must meet the maximum age for
entry into a "covered position" which is the date immediately preceding the applicant's 37th
birthday and must be able to retire at the mandatory age of 57 years with 20 years of service
as an 1811 criminal investigator. In order to receive consideration, you must include
your date of birth in your application package.
Applicants must agree to work an average of two hours extra per day to meet the requirements
of law enforcement availability pay (LEAP), as described in Title 5 U.S.C. §5545a(d)(1). Upon
tenure, the applicant will no longer qualify for LEAP, but will qualify for premium pay in
the form of special differential at the current rate of 18% of salary.
Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must certify that they have registered with
the Selective Service System, or/are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service
law.
Applicants must be willing to travel to a variety of overseas posts, some of which are
classified as hardship posts.
Applicants must meet medical fitness standards which are more rigorous than those of
most other professions. They must pass a thorough medical examination, which for some
applicants may include a cardiovascular stress test.
Applicants must undergo a thorough background investigation to determine eligibility
for a Top Secret security clearance, as well as suitability for appointment into the
Foreign Service.
Applicants, depending on country of assignment, may be required to attain a certain
level of foreign language proficiency. This can be demonstrated by either language
aptitude scores or evidence of existing proficiency in a foreign language.
Applicants must be available for and willing to accept assignments throughout the
world, including assignments to Washington, D.C. They must also be willing to travel
frequently on short notice. In cases where both husband and wife are foreign affairs
agency employees, both are expected to be willing to accept assignments to a post other
than that of the tandem spouse in order to meet the needs of the Service.
In order to be eligible to receive a conditional offer of employment, applicants must
have successfully completed the application assessment stages and have been placed on
a rank-ordered list of eligible candidates. A final offer of employment is contingent
upon the candidate successfully completing the medical, security, and suitability stages.
Candidates who are offered employment are given probationary appointments as Foreign
Service Career Candidates for a period not to exceed five years.
Medical Clearance: Foreign Service pre-employment hiring policy requires that
candidates be medically cleared for worldwide assignment according to the needs of the Service.
Family members are not required to obtain medical clearances prior to a candidate's entry on
duty. However, family members must be medically cleared before they can travel at U.S.
Government expense to the assigned overseas post. Family members, who, for medical reasons,
are unable to accompany the employee on an overseas assignment, may be eligible for a separate
maintenance allowance. Medical examinations may be performed by a family doctor, in which
case USAID will reimburse the candidate. Alternatively, the examination may be conducted at
the Agency's medical facility in Washington, D.C.
Background Investigation: Eligible candidates will be asked to submit forms required for
a security clearance and suitability determination for appointment to the Foreign Service.
The clearance process considers such factors as registration for the Selective Service,
failure to repay a U.S. Government-guaranteed student loan, past problems with credit or
bankruptcy, failure to meet tax obligations, unsatisfactory employment records, violations
of the law, drug or alcohol abuse, or a less then honorable discharge from the Armed Forces.
Investigations, which usually take several months, include current and previous contacts,
supervisors and co-workers. These investigations are conducted by USAID Security personnel
in cooperation with other federal, state and local agencies.
Occupational Requirement: The duties of positions in this series require
moderate to arduous physical exertion involving walking and standing, use of firearms,
and exposure to inclement weather. Manual dexterity with comparatively free motion of
finger, wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, and knee joint is required. Arms, hands, legs, and
feet must be sufficiently intact and functioning in order that applicants may perform the
duties satisfactorily. Sufficiently good vision in each eye, with or without correction,
is required to perform the duties satisfactorily. Near vision, corrective lenses permitted,
must be sufficient to read printed material the size of typewritten characters. Hearing
loss, as measured by an audiometer, must not exceed 35 decibels at 1000, 2000, and 3000 Hz
levels.
Since the duties of these positions are arduous and responsible, involving activities
under challenging conditions, applicants must possess emotional and mental stability.
Any physical condition that would cause the applicant to be a hazard to themselves, or
others, is disqualifying.
Tenure and Promotion
Foreign Service career candidates will be considered for tenure by a Tenuring Board
after they have acquired a minimum of two years' overseas experience in the Service.
Each career candidate is afforded two opportunities to receive tenure based on the Board's
review of the employee's written performance evaluations which are prepared by a supervisor
at least once a year. A career candidate who fails to perform satisfactorily may be
separated at any time during their probationary period. Any employee who remains untenured
after two reviews will be separated from the Agency at the end of the five-year probationary
appointment. The appointment status of a career candidate who receives tenure will be
changed from probationary to career.
Foreign Service employees will first be stationed in Washington, DC. Each year, employees
will be given the opportunity to bid for available positions overseas. The OIG will try to
accommodate employees' personal preferences; however, program needs of the OIG, individual
career development needs, and the need for assignment continuity will also be determining
factors in making assignments overseas.
Performance is evaluated in writing annually by a supervisor. After one year in grade,
the Special Agent is eligible to compete annually for promotion with other Special Agents
at the same grade. Due to the limited number of yearly promotions available, panels
select candidates based on published criteria and quality performance. In general, persons
with good performance will receive a within-grade increase annually up through step 10 and
biennially from step 10 through step 14 if they have not received an equivalent increase
during that period.
How You Will Be Evaluated:
You will be evaluated to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications required.
You are required to submit the following: (1) a two-to-three page narrative autobiography,
and (2) respond to the five (5) KSAs (see below).
A two-to three page, typed (double-spaced) narrative autobiography to include the
following:
(a) Personal background;
(a) Personal interests, hobbies and travel;
(a) Professional experience which was not included in
the employment application; and,
(a) Motivation for applying for a Foreign Service
Special Agent career.
You will be evaluated to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications required;
and on the extent that your application shows that you possess the knowledges, skills,
and abilities associated with this position as defined below. When describing your
knowledge, skills, and abilities, please be sure to give examples and explain how often
you used these skills, the complexity of the knowledge you possessed, the level of the
people you interacted with, the sensitivity of the issues you handled, etc.
Please limit your KSAs responses to one per page. The following are the KSAs:
1. Knowledge and experience in planning, coordinating and conducting,
complex and sensitive investigations involving contract and procurement fraud, assistance
agreements, and employee misconduct relative to agency operations and programs.
2. Demonstrated experience in the application of U.S. criminal
laws (Title 18 and 15 U.S.C.), Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and Evidence and related
constitutional and statutory authorities in the investigation of financial and contract-related
crimes and employee integrity matters.
3. Knowledge and experience in the application of criminal,
civil and administrative investigative tools and techniques and modern detection methods
and equipment.
4. Knowledge and experience communicating effectively, orally
and in writing, reporting fact clearly, concisely and accurately on investigative matters.
5. Ability to maintain effective working relationships with
individual and/or groups at all levels of government, the public and private sector.
Benefits:
1. Travel at Government expense of employees and their authorized
dependents to and from posts of assignment in the United States and abroad.
2. Basic orientation at time of entrance on duty and subsequent
in-service professional training before the first overseas assignment.
3. Group life insurance and health benefits programs.
4. Accrual of annual leave ranging from 13 to 26 working
days a year, depending on length of service.
5. Accrual of sick leave at thirteen working days per year.
6. Locality pay authorized under certain circumstances.
7. Generous pension and Thrift Savings Plan similar to 401K benefits.
Benefits when assigned overseas
1. Travel expenses of employee and their authorized dependents to and
from posts abroad, including shipment of personal effects.
2. Government quarters or housing allowance.
3. Cost of living allowance at posts where the cost of living is
substantially higher than in Washington, D.C.
4. Salary differential, which is taxable, ranging from 5 percent to
20 percent of base pay at posts where there are unusual hardships.
5. Accrual of home leave at a rate of fifteen working days per year
served abroad.
6. Paid round-trip transportation to a rest and recuperation area for
employees and authorized dependents who are assigned to designated hardship posts.
7. Educational allowance for dependents under certain circumstances.
8. Limited coverage for emergency medical expenses of employees and
authorized dependents.
How To Apply:
Mailed applications must be postmarked by the closing date and received within
five (5) working days of that date.
Hand delivered application packages must be received in IG/M/HC no later than
4:30 p.m. eastern standard time of the closing date of the announcement.
Faxed application packages must be received in IG/M/HC no later than 11:59 p.m.
eastern standard time of the closing date of the announcement.
Emailed application packages must be sent to
recruitmentoig@usaid.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. eastern standard time of the
closing date of the announcement
It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that his/her application
is complete. The personnel office will not be responsible for soliciting additional
information from applicants.
Your application package must include the following:
1. Optional Application for Federal Employment (OF-612), or a Resume.
Applications must include the following:
Vacancy announcement number; title and grade(s) of the job for which they
are applying;
Full name, social security number, day and evening phone numbers, mailing address,
country of citizenship. If applicable, reinstatement eligibility to Federal service
and highest Federal civilian grade ever held on a permanent basis.
Name, city and state of high school and colleges/universities attended with
date(s) of diploma. For college include major and type and date of degree(s).
Job titles, salaries, employer's name and addresses, supervisor's name and
phone number (indicate if we may contact your current and former supervisors), starting
and ending dates, hours per week and any unpaid or non-paid work experience that relates
to this vacancy.
2. All applicants must prepare a concise narrative addressing
each knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs). Responses must be separate from the
application form.
3. Response to the two-three page, typed (double spaced)
narrative autobiography. Please provide a narrative for the following; (a) personal
background; (b) personal interests, hobbies and travel; (c) professional experience
which was not included in the employment application; (d) motivation for applying for
a Foreign Service Inspector career.
4. If a particular level of education/certification is
required or you are asking us to qualify you based on education, you must submit a copy
of your college transcript. Credit for college education will be given if it was
obtained through an accredited university.
5. Status candidates and reinstatement eligibles (current
or former government employees) must provide a copy of the last or most recent SF-50,
'Notice of Personnel Action' which indicates proof of competitive status (reflecting
career, career-conditional or reinstatement eligibility.
6. Candidates eligible for other non-competitive appointments
must present appropriate documentation reflecting their eligibility.
7. All current Federal employees should provide a copy of
their current performance appraisal (must be within 18 months from the closing date of
the announcement).
8. If you are a federal employee seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility,
you must include a copy of the agency notice, a copy of your most recent performance rating
and a copy of your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location.
You must clearly annotate your application package to reflect that you are applying as a
CTAP or ICTAP eligible.
Application mailed using government postage or through an internal federal government
mail system will not be considered.
Contact Information:
Keyonna Washington
Phone: (202)712-4189
Fax: (202)216-3392
Email: recruitmentoig@usaid.gov
Or write:
U.S. Agency for International Development
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Room 8.07A
Washington, DC 20523-8700
US
Fax: (202)216-3392
What To Expect Next:
Once your complete application is received we will conduct an evaluation of your
qualifications and determine your ranking. The qualified candidates will be referred to
the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview. You will be notified
of the outcome.
EEO Policy Statement: http://www.usajobs.gov/eeo
Reasonable Accommodation Policy Statement: http://www.usajobs.gov/raps
Veterans Information: http://www.usajobs.gov/vi
Legal and Regulatory Guidance: http://www.usajobs.gov/lrg
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