Police Officer - Instructor

Description:

This position will serve as a Police Officer Instructor ensuring a safe and secure environment at their assigned facility. They provide security and assistance to Veterans, patients, employees, contractors, volunteers, affiliates, visitors, and others who frequent VA facilities daily. They will administer and coordinate the education and training program for Police Service from initial-entry training to assessment, in-services training, and retraining of Officers throughout the year.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/19/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement : Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the Federal service (or equivalent pay band), that provided a knowledge of a body of basic laws and regulations, law enforcement operations, practices, and techniques and involved responsibility for maintaining order and protecting life and property. Specialized experience includes:
  • Supervising/leading and providing guidance/direction to Police Officers in their duties in response to potential threats of violence, detecting criminal activity, fire and other emergencies;
  • Enforcing federal, state, and local laws;
  • Making arrests;
  • Conducting foot and vehicle patrol;
  • Maintaining control of a scene or incident;
  • Taking statements from witnesses/suspects and advising them of their rights; preparing detailed reports of criminal offenses, violations, incidents, and citations issued;
  • Interrogating suspects;
  • Applying all correct rules of search and seizure.

Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week. Creditable Experience: Creditable specialized experience may have been gained in work on a police force; through service as a military police officer; in work providing visitor protection and law enforcement in parks, forests, or other natural resource or recreational environments; in performing criminal investigative duties; or in other work that provided the required knowledge and skills. Experience as a security guard or corrections officer is generally not qualifying. Police Duty or Auxiliary Police Duty, Security Work, College Security work, Public School Security Work, Volunteer Police Traffic Officers, Airport Security Screener work, Private Contracted Security work and work in Correctional Institution, IS NOT Qualifying Experience. To be considered valid Police Officer experience it must have been gained after attending a local, state, federal or military Police Academy, the position must have authorized the carrying of a firearm while performing assigned duties and full arrest powers authorized. Note: Military experience may only be considered if it was gained while the applicant held one of the following qualifying specialties:

• Army : 95B,95C, 31A, 31B, 31D
• Marine Corps: 5803, 5805, 5811, 5812, 5813, 5814, 5821
• Air Force: 08111-114, 81110, 81170, 81172, 81130, 81150, 81112, 81132, 81152, 81199, 3P1-4, 3P011, 3P031, 3P051, 3P071, 3P09, 75011, 75031, 75051, 75071, 75091
• Navy : 9545, 0000MA
• Coast Guard: (no code)

Physical Requirements: The work requires, on a regular and recurring basis, considerable and strenuous physical exertion such as running, frequent climbing of multiple flights of stairs, and carrying items weighing over 50 pounds. It requires stamina, physical agility, dexterity, and the strength to pursue, apprehend or detain persons who are often uncooperative, assaultive, and/or armed. The work involves both moderate and high risks and possible endangerment of life or serious injury that requires the exercise of safety precautions and use of personal protective equipment.

Work Conditions: The work involves both moderate and high risks and possible endangerment of life or serious injury that requires the exercise of safety precautions and use of personal protective equipment The work is performed in settings in which there is regular and recurring exposure to moderate to severe discomforts and unpleasantness, such as high temperatures in confined spaces, high temperatures due to mandatory protective personal equipment, or adverse weather conditions during extended periods of traffic and patrol duties. The work involves moderate risk requiring exercise of safety precautions when working around hazardous materials such as toxic gases, explosives, infectious biological materials, and others that pose a moderate risk of exposure.

Driver's License Requirement: Applicants must possess a valid, unrestricted State driver's license, have a safe driving record, and demonstrate that he or she is medically qualified to operate the appropriate motor vehicle safely. Applicants are required to pass agency Government Vehicle Drivers physical examination. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your driver's license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you may be required to provide a copy of your valid state-issued driver's license.

Firearm Requirement: VA Police Officers are required to carry agency-approved firearms while on duty on VA property. Officers must achieve and maintain qualification/certification with the agency-approved firearms as condition of gaining and continuing employment as a Police Officer. Applicants must be able to possess firearms under the terms of the Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9).For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ .Conditions of Employment:

1. New VA Police Officers are required to attend an 8-10 week course at the VA Law Enforcement Training Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Satisfactory completion of this course is a condition of continued employment.
2. A medical examination is required. The duties of these positions require moderate to arduous physical exertion and/or duties of a hazardous nature. The following medical requirements apply to all applicants: good near and distant vision, ability to distinguish basic colors, and ability to hear the conversational voice.
3. Applicants and employees must have the capacity to perform the essential functions of the position without risk to themselves or others. Applicants and employees must possess emotional and mental stability. A psychological examination is required. In most instances, a specific medical condition or impairment will not automatically disqualify an applicant or employee. A medical condition or impairment is disqualifying only if the condition, for good medical reason, precludes assignment to or warrants restriction from the duties of the specific position. For some positions, the loss or impairment of a specific function may be compensated for by the satisfactory use of a prosthesis or mechanical aid. Reasonable accommodation shall also be considered in determining an applicant's ability to perform the duties of a position.
4. A character investigation will be conducted on applicants selected for employment. The purpose of such an investigation is to secure evidence of the candidate's honesty, integrity, general character, and loyalty to the U.S. Government.
5. As a condition of employment, must qualify to be issued a firearm and semi-annually with assigned firearm, annually with an expandable Straight Baton (MEB), maintain a valid State or Commonwealth Driver's License and pass annual physical and psychosocial assessments. Applicants must be able to possess firearms under the terms of the Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9).