Criminal Investigator (Special Agent)

This position is with the Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, in Herndon, Virginia. This office is responsible for overseeing and conducting investigations involving Department of the Interior (DOI) programs and operations, focusing on fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. Investigates actual or suspected criminal activity or other wrongdoing by DOI employees, contractors, grantees, lessees, and entities conducting business with the DOI.

As a Criminal Investigator (Special Agent) you will be responsible for: Conducting difficult, highly visible and/or exceedingly sensitive investigations that may be local, regional, interregional, or department-wide in scope involving a wide range of complex criminal, civil and administrative investigative techniques, involving complex fraud schemes, civil false claims, DOI violations and allegations of other crime. Planning and conducting investigations, determining the most appropriate methods, procedures, precedents and techniques necessary to address unusual or unique situations. Conduct fact-finding and preliminary analysis of the request, complaint, or allegation in relation to appropriate laws, regulations, etc., to identify the issues involved and relevant evidence needed.

Obtains, collects, evaluates, and integrates various types of information relevant to multiple violations; and recommends a course of enforcement action on the basis of the investigation. Establish and understand the relationship of facts and/or evidence in the documents and other materials, as well as performs extensive research of records and other sources of information. Preparing comprehensive investigative reports documenting observations, issues and findings.

Prepares and provides, as needed, input regarding high profile cases for Departmental and Congressional reports. Prepare detailed reports, position papers, and other documents concerning DOI program areas or identified vulnerabilities. Conducting interviews, take affidavits from suspects and witnesses, and testify in court as a witness to events or to explain basic or routine procedures.

Provide regular briefings to management, attorneys, and bureau leadership regarding investigative findings and activities.

U.S. citizenship is required. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for the Selective Service 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.

Complete the Basic Criminal Investigative Training Program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, or its equivalent 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.

Selectee will be required to qualify to carry and use firearms and other weapons as part of assigned duties and maintain such qualification. Applicants are ineligible for this position if convicted of a misdemeanor or felony crime of domestic violence, unless such conviction was expunged, set aside, or the applicant received a pardon. Continued in Qualifications

There is no educational requirement for this position.

Applicants will be evaluated based on their possession of the following competencies required for the minimum qualifications identified above: Criminal Investigations Oral Communication Written Communication Once the vacancy announcement closes, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. Category rating procedures will be used to rate and rank candidates If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the vacancy announcement, we will compare your resume and supporting documentation against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to place you in one of the following pre-defined categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages.

If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. The category assignment is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the following competencies required for this position: Criminal Investigations Financial and Program Knowledge With emphasis on: Experience investigating fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement. Experience conducting research and analysis of complex financial and accounting data.

To receive full consideration by the Subject Matter Expert (SME) panel review of eligible and qualified applications, the panel will only consider your short answer responses and resume.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 The category rating process does not add veteran's preference points but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category.

Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category (except for scientific or professional positions at or above a GS-9).

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 80 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

To apply for this job opportunity, you must submit complete application package including a resume and an on-line application through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) application system, USAJOBS. This information will be transferred to the Department of Interior's OIG Automated Application System. You have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) 08/04/2026 to complete the following application process: To begin, click Apply to access the online application.

You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.

Follow the prompts to select your résumé and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package.

You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted.

Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.

You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position.

Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account and all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated.

For assistance with creating an USAJOBS account and for information on viewing your Application status, please visit: (https://help.usajobs.gov/get-started) AND (https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to). If you are unable to apply online, you must request an alternative application which is available from the Human Resources Office. Please contact Division of Human Resources at [email protected] or 703-487-5408 to obtain an alternative application.

The application package for alternate application procedures must be submitted and received in the Human Resources office no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the closing date of this announcement.

NOTE: Paper applications and information sent by mail WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.

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) - 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 experience required for this position regardless of your employment history or academic career.

We strongly recommend you use the 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 on your resume to determine your qualifications.

Do not include a photograph or video of yourself, or any sensitive information. Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

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; and your latest performance appraisal with a current performance rating of at least "fully successful" (Level III) or equivalent. Veteran's Preference Documentation - DD-214, SF-15, and VA Letter, or certification of discharge or release from active duty within 120 days. 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.