Criminal Investigator (Special Agent)

About the role

Consistently ranked as among the best places to work in the Department of the Interior (DOI), and the top 10% of all agency subcomponents, the Office of Inspector General is an independent and objective unit working to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness and to prevent and detect waste, fraud and abuse within the DOI.

We offer exceptional work-life benefits, including flexible work schedules, ample training opportunities, and a comprehensive employee recognition program.

What you will do

• This position is with Office of Inspector General, Energy Investigations Unit, in Lakewood, Colorado.
• This office is responsible for conducting complex criminal, civil, and administrative investigations involving the Department's energy and mineral-related programs in support of the OIG's mission.
• As a Criminal Investigator (Special Agent) you will be responsible for Major duties include: Plans, conduct, and/or lead highly visible and/or sensitive criminal investigations involving suspected or alleged violations of the Federal criminal code and other Federal laws, rules, and regulations.
• These investigations involve criminal, civil, and regulatory violations associated with energy and mineral development activities administered and regulated by the Federal government.
• Plans and complete search warrants and arrest warrants.
• Conduct surveillance and other law enforcement activities.
• Evaluate and identify significant findings, trends, and patterns for areas at risk of criminal or fraudulent activity.
• Analyzes requests, complaints, and or allegations in relation to appropriate laws, regulations, etc. to identify potential violations and related evidence.
• Establish relationship of relevant facts supported with evidence and data.
• Perform extensive records searches.
• Conduct research and analysis of financial and accounting data.
• Questions and interview witnesses and other subjects as part of fact-finding and investigative work.
• Provide management officials with briefings and presentations.
• Writes clear and concise investigative reports documenting observations, issues and findings that are supported by evidence and data.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship is required.
• Successful completion of a background investigation.
• May be subject to initial and random drug testing.
• Initial appointments to the competitive or excepted service will be subject to satisfactory completion of a probationary or trial period, and that in the absence of agency action to retain, such appointments will terminate the day before the anniversary date of the individual's appointment (or sooner), if the certifying official determines that finalizing the appointment would not advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the OIG, and/or otherwise does not promote the efficiency of the service.
• May be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
• OGE-450, Confidential Financial Disclosure Report may be required.
• Time-in-grade requirement - Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
• Complete the Basic Criminal Investigative Training Program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, or its equivalent.
• Effective January 1, 2010, OPM must authorize any employment offers we make to current or former (within the last 5 years) political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employees in the executive branch.
• This position is a primary law enforcement position under 5 U.S.C.
• 8336 (C) (CSRS) and 5 U.S.C 8412 (D) (FERS).
• You must be no more than 37 years of age upon entry into the GS-1811 series, unless the applicant has previous service creditable under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) law enforcement provisions sufficient to enable you to retire at age 57 with 20 years of creditable service.
• Persons already in covered secondary positions or with previous approved service who apply for a primary position cannot be considered if their age at reentry into the primary position exceeds 37 years after subtracting their years of service in covered positions.
• Applicant must provide evidence of current or previous coverage that would qualify.
• This age restriction does not apply to those entitled to Veteran's Preference.
• Criminal Investigators under the 1811 occupational series are eligible for law enforcement availability pay (LEAP), not to exceed 25% of the rate of basic pay.
• Requirements Continued in Qualification Section

Education

There is no educational requirement for this position.

How you will be evaluated

Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If your resume exceeds two pages, your application will not be considered. See Required Documents section for more information.

Applicants will be evaluated based on how well they meet the qualifications as listed in this announcement.

Applicants will be evaluated based on their possession of the following competencies: Criminal Investigations Oral Communication Written Communication After the closing date of the announcement, we will review your resume per Category Rating procedures to ensure that qualification and eligibility requirements are met.

If it is determined that you meet the minimum qualification requirements, Subject Matter Expert (SME) panel will conduct a review of eligible and qualified applicants. The SME will only consider your short answer responses and resume.

Your application will then be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified based on the degree that your application demonstrates possession of: Criminal Investigations Financial and Program Knowledge With emphasis on: Experience investigating fraud, waste, abuse or mismanagement.

Experience conducting detailed research and analysis of financial and accounting data. Note: If a determination is made that qualifications and/or experience have been inflated, your score will be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities.

You are required to select eligibility and submit supporting documents.

Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further.

Documents you must provide

• All documentation, applicable to you, must be submitted by the closing date of this announcement.
• Failure to submit the required documents will disqualify you from further consideration for this position.
• Resume (required) - Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages.
• If your resume exceeds two pages, your application will not be considered.
• The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text.
• Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible.
• All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression.
• Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
• For more information, click here.
• Your resume must sufficiently describe how your experience fully meets the specialized experience requirements as stated in this announcement for each grade level(s) you are applying (see "Qualifications" section).
• Your resume must also support your responses to the assessment questionnaire.
• Credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience.
• We cannot assume you have performed the duties and gained the experience required for this position regardless of your employment history or academic career.
• We strongly recommend you use the USA Jobs Online Resume Builder USA Jobs online Resume Builder to submit a resume.
• If you choose to use your own formatted resume, you must ensure it contains all of the following for each experience/position listed: job title, name of employer, beginning and ending dates of employment (month/day/year format), hours worked per week, detailed description of duties performed, and if a Federal position, series and grade or equivalent.
• We will not access web pages linked to your resume to determine your qualifications.
• Do not include a photograph or video of yourself or any sensitive information.
• SF-50 Notification of Personnel Action - If you are a current or former Federal employee, you must provide the most current Notification of Personnel Action (Form SF-50) that verifies career/career-conditional status (box 24 must show "1" or "2" and box 34 must show "1"), title, series and grade (do not submit an Award SF-50).
• Also provide the SF-50 that reflects the highest grade level held on a permanent basis or the full performance level of your current position, whichever is higher.
• Candidates applying under an interchange agreement must also provide an SF-50 or equivalent document showing interchange eligibility.
• Failure to do so will result in an ineligible rating.
• Performance Appraisal and Awards - While not required, due weight will be given to appraisals and awards submitted during the interview/selection process conducted by the hiring manager.
• Such documents will not be used in determining if you meet the experience requirements.
• CTAP/ICTAP Eligibility - Such as a RIF separation notice, certificate of expected separation, SF-50 Notification of Personnel Action stating you were separated by RIF, OR a letter from your agency documenting your priority consideration status.
• Veteran's Documentation for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) and Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW): DD-214, SF-15, and VA Letter, or certification of discharge or release from active duty within 120 days.
• You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.).
• For active duty service members, a "certification" is any written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions within 120 days after the certification is submitted with your application package.
• The certification letter should be on the letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates, including the expected discharge or release date, and (2) the character of service.
• If selected for this position, you must provide a copy of your terminal leave documentation, if applicable.
• Interchange Agreements - In order to be eligible based on an OPM approved interchange agreement, you must submit the most current Notification of Personnel Action (Form SF-50) or equivalent personnel action that shows that you are eligible under the interchange agreement; AND any other required documents as outlined in interchange agreement for your agency.
• For a list of current interchange agreements, visit *** Continued in How to Apply

What to expect next

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account. All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page.

The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated.

For information on what each Application Status means, visit: *** Once the online questionnaire is received you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. After the closing date of the announcement, we will review your resume to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements.

You will be notified by email of your rating and/or referral of your resume to the hiring official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. You will be informed of the outcome via e-mail.

We expect to make a selection within 45 to 60 days of the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

Additional information

Applicants must meet initial and periodic suitability determinations based on favorable background investigations and updates.

Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for the Selective Service. Additional selections may be made from this vacancy announcement.

Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP/CTAP): These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed.

To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: ***

Military Spouse - If applying using the Military Spouse Noncompetitive Appointment Authority (5 U.S.C.

3330d) and you are a spouse of a member of the armed forces on active duty, the spouse of a 100 percent disabled member of the armed forces, and/or the spouse of a deceased member of the armed forces you must submit acceptable documentation of your appointment eligibility which may include the following: A copy of the service member's permanent change of station orders, the specific location to which the member is assigned, reassigned, or transferred to permanent change of station orders, and the effective date of the permanent change of station; and Verification of the marriage to the service member if not listed on orders (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage); Verification of the member's 100 percent disability; and/or Verification of the member's death while on active duty.

BLM: Under the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) two groups of individuals are eligible to apply under this announcement: current and/or former employees serving or who have served under time-limited competitive appointments at land management agencies. - Current appointees: 1) must have been hired under competitive examining procedures to a time-limited appointment with a land management agency; 2) must have served under one or more time-limited appointment(s) by a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of 2 or more years; and 3) must have performed at an acceptable level during each period of service (Performance Appraisal Required). - Former appointees: 1) must have been hired under competitive examining procedures to a time-limited appointment with a land management agency; 2) must have served under one or more time-limited appointment(s) by a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of 2 or more years; 3) must have separated for reasons other than misconduct or performance; and 4) must have performed at an acceptable level through the service period (Performance Appraisal Required).