What does a Foreign Service Specialist do?

Diplomatic Security Special Agent

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
United States Department of State

An Equal Opportunity Employer

Announcement No: SA-04-01
Opening Date: May 17, 2004
CLOSED

Position Title: FOREIGN SERVICE DIPLOMATIC SECURITY SPECIAL AGENT

Grade and Starting Range:
FP-06; $35,332 - $48,908 per annum

Salary Range: Plus 25% Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP)
Additional Benefits: Tax-Free Housing Overseas; Tax-Free Educational Allowance Overseas, etc. (See "Benefits Package" for more information.)

Number of Vacancies: The Department of State is developing a rank-order List of Eligible Hires to fill a limited number of Foreign Service Special Agent (SA) vacancies. The specific number to be hired will depend on the needs of the Foreign Service.

Area of Consideration: All Sources.

Location: All assignments until tenure will be directed by the Department and future assignments will be made according to the needs of the service. Assignments may be to any of 260 Foreign Service posts abroad or to domestic posts in major cities within the United States and Puerto Rico at a Diplomatic Security Field Office, Resident Office, or at Bureau of Diplomatic Security headquarters in Washington, DC. Initial training and orientation will be held in Washington, DC and at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick, GA.

SPECIAL NOTICES

As part of a pilot program being conducted along with this Vacancy Announcement, all applicants are urged to complete an online examination intended to measure aptitudes, abilities and knowledge. This examination is being used for pilot purposes only and will not be used for selections under this announcement. To access this examination, please CLICK HERE. In addition to completing the examination/ questionnaire, applicants must submit all application documents and material listed on page 9 under "Procedures for Applying."

Those persons who applied under the previous Special Agent Vacancy Announcement, number SA-03-01 (which closed on October 10, 2003) are NOT eligible to apply for one year following the closing of that Vacancy Announcement. Therefore they are not eligible to apply until the next Vacancy Announcement which opens after October 10, 2004.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Special Agents (SA) of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) are sworn Federal law enforcement officers who are responsible for the security of Foreign Service personnel, property and sensitive information throughout the world. A substantial portion of a DS Special Agent's career is spent living and working abroad. DS Special Agents are also responsible for the protection of the Secretary of State, certain foreign dignitaries during their visits to the U.S., and others as designated by the Secretary of State. Major activities include protective services, management of security programs for Foreign Service posts, criminal investigations, and background investigations, in addition to administrative, training, and liaison functions.

THE DIPLOMATIC SECURITY SPECIAL AGENT CAREER

The Department of State is seeking Diplomatic Security Special Agents to serve in the Foreign Service domestically and at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide. Candidates must agree to live and to serve at any U.S. diplomatic or consular post abroad for a significant portion of their career, and in Washington, DC or domestic field offices such as Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, or San Francisco according to the needs of the service. As members of a diplomatic team, Special Agents not only help to accomplish the mission of the Department of State but also represent the United States to the people of other nations. The Foreign Service is more than a job - it's a career. A career in the Foreign Service involves uncommon commitments and occasional hardships along with unique rewards and opportunities. A decision to enter this career must involve unusual motivation and a firm dedication to public service.

In addition to living and serving in the United States, as with all Foreign Service positions, living and serving overseas is mandatory. Many overseas posts are in small or remote countries where harsh climates, health hazards, and other discomforts exist, and where American-style amenities frequently are unavailable. However, careers in the Foreign Service offer special rewards including the pride and satisfaction of representing the United States and protecting U. S. interests at home and abroad.

Diplomatic Security Special Agents, depending upon assignment, are responsible for Department of State security policies, provision of a range of security services, management of security operations, supervision of subordinate staff, and the actual performance of some, or all, of the following functions:

• Conducting protective security services for the Secretary of State, other U.S. government officials, and visiting foreign dignitaries.
• Administering and managing U.S. diplomatic mission security programs at overseas posts to include protection of personnel, facilities, and sensitive information along with the U. S. Marine Security Guard and contract local security guard programs.
• Conducting investigations to include criminal investigations, personnel investigations, counterintelligence and counter-terrorism inquiries, and investigative work in preparing for court appearances.
• Conducting or implementing projects or programs involved with the safeguarding of classified and sensitive information and materials as derived from Presidential Directives or Executive Orders.
• Assessing security threats against U.S. interests and diplomatic installations and personnel abroad as well as investigating hostile intelligence attempts to subvert U.S. personnel and interests overseas.
• Managing or implementing security-related aspects of new office building construction; developing and implementing counter-terrorist access controls for existing and new buildings.
• Conducting, administering, and managing security-related training and training assistance programs for U.S. foreign affairs agencies' personnel, and police security officials of designated foreign governments.

All Special Agents must complete approximately six months of initial training at the Diplomatic Security Training Center in the Washington, DC area and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick, Georgia. The training program develops and tests proficiency in job-related subjects that include criminal law, federal court procedures, use of firearms, physical fitness, personal defensive tactics, driving skills, emergency medical procedures, protective security techniques and criminal investigations. Proficiency is measured through a series of scored practical exercises as well as written subject matter-specific and comprehensive written examinations. Failure to successfully complete any aspect of this training is grounds for separation. Special Agents normally will be assigned to one of eight domestic Field Offices or possibly to a small Resident Agent Office. Needs of the service sometimes require that domestic assignments be shortened for re-assignment to a Regional Security Office at an overseas post.

The needs of the service will always have a significant bearing upon personnel assignments; that is especially true in a Special Agent's initial assignments. While it is possible that a Special Agent may serve in domestic positions for the initial two tours of duty, it is equally possible that the needs of the service may require assignment abroad much earlier than expected. After Special Agents have gained several years of experience and are tenured, they have a greater opportunity to express their preference for an onward assignment in either domestic or overseas positions. Special Agents are expected to serve a substantial portion of their careers living and working abroad.

Domestically, Special Agents may be assigned to provide protective services for the Secretary of State, and other U.S. officials or visiting foreign dignitaries. Domestic Special Agent duties can entail long hours and extended periods of travel, including overseas travel. Domestic assignments also involve criminal investigations related primarily to the enforcement of statutes protecting the integrity of U.S. passports and entry visa documents. Special Agents may also conduct background investigations for individuals desiring employment with the Department of State or updating the security clearances of Department of State employees. Throughout their careers, Special Agents can expect to work substantial overtime and occasional irregular schedules that require duty on weekends and holidays.

Overseas, Special Agents serve as security program managers at U.S. diplomatic or consular posts. At Foreign Service posts, Diplomatic Security Special Agents are referred to as Regional Security Officers and are responsible for the administration of a broad range of security services to protect Foreign Service personnel, facilities, operations, and information against hostile intelligence, criminal, and terrorist activities. The Bureau of Diplomatic Security also conducts overseas investigations for the Department of State and other federal agencies. Diplomatic Security Regional Security Officers are assigned responsibilities on a regional basis and often serve Foreign Service posts in several countries, which may require frequent travel.

INITIAL SALARY AND SALARY INCREASES

Initial salary at appointment will normally be at Foreign Service grade FP-6, step three. Exceptions may be made to increase the number of steps based upon such factors as a master's degree in a related field (e.g. criminal justice), or a law degree, and/or other directly related specialized experience. However, maximum salary is limited to the grade that the candidate is qualified for at the time of appointment. No appointments are made above the FP-6, step 14 level.

Salaries are determined at the time a final offer of employment is made. Entry-level salary for federal civilian employees, appointed without a break in service, will be set at the step within that Foreign Service grade to which they are appointed, nearest to the base salary rate of their previous salary, providing that the previous experience is clearly job-related.

Upon the successful completion of training, domestic salaries will be adjusted for Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) and, if applicable, locality pay. Upon relocating overseas, salaries may be adjusted to include cost-of-living allowance, post differential, danger pay, and/or other allowances specific to posts of assignment. The actual differences in pay will be determined by the location of assignments.

Special Agents will be administratively promoted from FP-6 to the FP-5 level after 12 months of satisfactory performance, and to FP-4 after an additional 18 months of satisfactory performance. To proceed beyond the FP-4 level, Special Agents must receive tenure and are considered for promotion annually in competition with their peers.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

General requirements for employment in the Foreign Service are explained further in the supplemental brochure, Information and Benefits for Foreign Service Specialists. Special Agent applicants must be U.S. citizens and must have a bachelor's degree at the time of appointment as stipulated in the educational requirements section. Male applicants must be in compliance with the Selective Service Act. Applicants are required to qualify with firearms during initial training and periodically thereafter. Applicants must be willing to use and carry firearms throughout their career. Applicants must be fit for strenuous physical exertion and able to pass physical fitness tests. Applicants must possess a valid U.S. driver's license and be able to pass specialized driving courses during initial training. Applicants must successfully complete all aspects of the six-month initial training for their candidacy and their employment to be continued; failure to pass any aspect of the initial training, including physical fitness tests, is grounds for separation.

Applicants for a Special Agent position must not have been convicted of any felony charge. In accordance with the Lautenberg Amendment to the Gun Control Act, a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence may not possess a firearm. Applicants must be able to certify that they have not been convicted of any such violation and that they are not otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms.

An initial qualification review is conducted of each applicant's file to determine if the candidate meets the minimum qualifications for the position. Some of the minimum qualifications are discussed in the following paragraphs. Most of those qualifications are summarized on the minimum qualifications check sheet enclosed in this Announcement.

Candidates must be at least 20 years of age and within nine months of receiving their Bachelor's degree in order to apply. Candidates cannot be appointed prior to their 21st birthday. Special Agent candidates must be appointed prior to their 37th birthday.

Candidates for the Special Agent position must be cleared for a Top Secret (TS) security clearance prior to appointment. To determine TS eligibility, all candidates must successfully undergo a thorough background investigation. During the course of a Special Agent's career it is likely that he or she will need access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI access). One of the requirements for SCI access is that all immediate family members (generally defined as spouse, parents, siblings, children, or cohabitants) must be citizens of the United States. Candidates should be aware that factors such as having non-U.S. citizen immediate family may considerably delay (and may ultimately be a bar to) receiving an SCI access clearance. The few exceptions to this are based upon national security requirements.

A candidate that already holds a Top Secret security clearance must be aware that he or she will probably need an SCI access clearance as well. In addition, all candidates must receive a favorable suitability determination by a Final Review Panel for appointment to the Foreign Service.

Following the submission of online computer pre-screening information and completion of the online examination, only qualified, competitive applicants will be invited to take further assessments with Department of State representatives. That assessment process begins with a proctored writing skills examination. The ability to draft an essay demonstrating a strong command of English grammar, spelling and punctuation is essential. A competitive grade on the written examination allows the applicant to proceed to a further evaluation of qualifications. A competitive score allows the applicant to proceed to a personal oral assessment conducted by a Board of Examiners. The examination process, from written examination through the oral assessment, takes about two hours.

Applicants who applied under a previous Special Agent Vacancy Announcement are not eligible to apply under this Vacancy Announcement unless it has been longer than one year since the closing date of that previous application. For example, those persons that applied under Special Agent Vacancy Announcement SA-03-01, which closed on October 10, 2003, are not eligible to apply until the next Special Agent Vacancy Announcement to open after October 10, 2004.

As is the case with other federal criminal investigators and protective security personnel, Special Agents must perform duties in the field that are physically demanding. Special Agents must be willing and able to meet these physical demands in high-stress, life and death situations. The Special Agent's life and the lives of others may depend upon the Agent's physical capabilities and conditioning. For this reason, Special Agent candidates must satisfy medical suitability and physical fitness requirements that are more rigorous than those of most other professions.

Specifically, candidates must pass a thorough medical examination, which includes a cardiovascular stress test conducted or authorized by the Department of State's Office of Medical Services. In order to continue their candidacies, candidates must receive a Department of State class one medical clearance (unlimited clearance for worldwide assignment). This means that candidates must be generally healthy and free of medical conditions that might require specialized or follow-up medical care that cannot be obtained on a worldwide basis.

Special Agent candidates must meet certain minimum physical standards including various tests for vision in each eye, with and without correction, as well as audio-metric standards for hearing in each ear, sufficient to satisfactorily perform an Agent's duties. For example, uncorrected distant vision must be 20/100 or better in each eye and corrected to 20/20 in one eye and 20/30 in the other eye. Candidates must also pass color vision and depth perception tests. The use of a hearing aid is not permitted in the hearing tests; hearing loss may not exceed 30 decibels in either ear.

Additionally, the Office of Medical Services must deem that a candidate is medically able to meet the numerous and often arduous physical demands that are inherent in and are a necessary part of the essential functions of the job. For instance, Special Agents are required to perform protective security assignments with physical demands that may include, but are not limited to, intermittent and prolonged periods of running, walking, standing, sitting, squatting, kneeling, climbing stairs, quickly entering and exiting various vehicles, enduring inclement weather, as well as carrying and using firearms.

Special Agents conduct raids, make arrests and perform other law enforcement or related functions that may require running, jumping, kneeling, squatting, dodging, lying prone, as well as wrestling, restraining and subduing suspects, attackers, or detainees. Agents must be able, if necessary, to conduct security inspections that may require crawling under vehicles and other low clearances or in tight spaces such as attics and crawl spaces.

Sometimes it may be necessary for an Agent to assist with installing or maintaining security countermeasures, which might involve lifting heavy objects and working on ladders or rooftops. Agents must be skilled at driving and maneuvering a motor vehicle defensively or evasively in a variety of situations and at various speeds.

Special Agent candidates will be trained in many of the above skills, which include firearms training, defensive tactics, and how to physically restrain a suspect. Agent candidates are also trained in specialized driving techniques. Agent candidates must be able to participate in and complete all aspects of their training. Any physical condition that would cause the candidate to be a hazard to himself/herself or others, including those they are protecting or placing under arrest, is potentially disqualifying.

Candidates must be willing and able to travel extensively throughout the world utilizing whatever means are available. Traveling and assignments abroad may involve working in remote areas where traditional comforts and medical facilities are limited. Special Agents may be required to travel to locations of civil unrest where conditions are potentially hostile and where performance of duties is conducted under hazardous circumstances.

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Prior to appointment, applicants must have at least a bachelor's degree from a nationally accredited college or university. The accrediting institution or association must be one of those recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. Equivalent degrees from resident foreign colleges or universities are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants currently pursuing a bachelor's degree may apply up to nine months preceding their graduation. Final acceptance will be predicated on receipt of the degree prior to appointment. It is also required that an official transcript that confirms award of the degree is placed in your file prior to appointment. In addition, some experience requirements are identified below.

WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

In addition to the educational requirement, applicants for the Special Agent position must have at least one year of work experience and/or academic achievements that reflect progressively increasing levels of responsibility. Each application will be examined on its own merits to determine if the work experience requirement has been met.

Examination of work experience will be to identify examples of knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience in interpersonal skills, resourcefulness, initiative, leadership, judgement, emotional stability, flexibility, motivation, functional skills (competence in the job), ability to assume responsibility, and trustworthiness.

Specialized experience in such areas as the administration of security programs, the conduct of investigations, threat assessments, service in a law enforcement agency, and service in the U.S. military are all highly desirable. However, it is not essential to have those specific experiences or ability in a foreign language to be considered for the DS Special Agent position.

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE

Applicants with 18 credit hours of graduate level study (beyond the bachelor degree level) may substitute that academic achievement for a year of work experience. Applicants who do not have a minimum of 18 credit hours of graduate study may substitute the following educational achievements for one year of work experience:

• 3.0 or higher overall GPA (grades measured on a standard 4.0 point scale) for the bachelor's degree
• 2.75-2.99 overall GPA for the bachelor's degree and one internship of at least two months duration or six months of full time work experience
• 2.50-2.74 overall GPA for the bachelor's degree and two internships totaling at least four months duration or one year of full time work experience

PROCEDURES FOR APPLYING

As part of a pilot program specific to this Vacancy Announcement, all applicants are urged to complete and submit online their responses to computer pre-screening information and take an on-line examination. The information to be submitted online may be found if you CLICK HERE.

In addition to the information and examination to be submitted online, the following materials are required for a complete application package:

1. The Application for Employment (DS-1950) and the Employment Data Form (this form is found on pages 6 & 7 of form DS-1950).



2. The Minimum Qualifications Check Sheet (attached to this Announcement).



3. A two page typed (double-spaced) narrative autobiography that discusses your background, personal interests and hobbies, your motivation for joining the Foreign Service and your motivation for becoming a Diplomatic Security Special Agent.



4. Official college or university transcript(s) confirming award of degree(s) or the date a degree will be awarded. A copy of the transcript(s) may be used pending issuance of the official documentation.



5. The Test Site Preference sheet (attached to this Announcement).

			YES	NO
1.	I am a citizen of the United States.		______	______
2.	All members of my immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, children, or cohabitants) are US citizens. (A no answer on this question is not an absolute disqualification. A no answer does indicate that an applicant will have more issues in the evaluation of whether the required security clearance can be granted.)		______	______
3.	I have a BA/BS degree from an accredited college or university (or will have within nine months).		______	______
4.	I am at least 20 years old. I understand that I must be at least 21 years old and not have reached my 37th birthday by the time of appointment.		______	______
5.	I am in compliance with the Selective Service Act and I have registered as required (male applicants only).		______	______
6.	I am willing to carry and, if necessary, use firearms in the performance of Special Agent duties.		______	______
7.	I am willing to travel frequently and to live and serve anywhere overseas or in the United States.		______	______
8.	I have a valid U.S. driver's license.		______	______
9.	If I am offered a position, I understand that I must successfully undergo a background investigation and be granted access to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI). I understand I must successfully complete a medical examination and a determination of my suitability for Foreign Service employment.		______	______
10	In accordance with the Lautenberg Amendment to the Gun Control Act that states a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence may no longer possess a firearm, I can certify I have not been convicted of any such violation and I am not otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms.		______	______
11.	I understand that I must successfully undergo a rigorous training program, which includes firearms qualification, physical fitness standards and tests, specialized driving tests, as well as academic subjects and that failure to pass any aspect of the training program is grounds for separation.		______	______
Applicant's name (printed): __________________________________
Signature: _______________________________    Date:__________

Equal Opportunity Employer. Privacy Statement