Federal

Senior Police Officer

Veterans Health Administration ยท Department of Veterans Affairs
๐Ÿ“ Walla Walla, Washington GS-6 $67,523 - $87,780/yr
Posted: Apr 2, 2026 Deadline: May 4, 2026 (Closes in 24 days days left)

About This Position

This is an open continuous announcement.

Applicants will be accepted on a ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered. The close date for this announcement is Monday, May 04, 2026.

You will serve as a Senior Police Officer with the Police Service of the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center located in Walla Walla, WA.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. This is an open continuous announcement.

Applicants will be accepted on a ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered. The close date for this announcement is Monday, May 04, 2026. GS-06 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Specialized experience includes: experience which provided 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; conducting routine foot and/or vehicle patrols; responding to routine and emergency calls for police assistance; issuing traffic citations; questioning individuals at the scene of a crime; informing individuals about their rights as suspects; subduing unruly individuals; and preparing written reports involving criminal and/or civil offenses.

You must possess knowledge of applicable laws of the Federal, State, county, or municipal government, possess arrest authority and the ability to use a firearm. In addition, you must have sufficient knowledge to prevent and/or resolve criminal offenses at the scene; conduct preliminary investigations at a crime scene; pursuing and apprehending persons fleeing from a crime scene or resisting arrest; providing testimony in court; taking charge of a crime or accident scene; and interviewing witnesses of a crime or accident. 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. DRIVER'S LICENSE REQUIREMENT: This position requires a current, valid, state-issued driver's license. For the following question, indicate either Yes or No.

Please select only one letter.

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 QUALIFICATION 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). Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Major Duties

Duties include but are not limited to: Protects individuals during any given situation against threats to personal safety when enforcing laws and regulations. Responds immediately to and engages potentially armed individuals during active threat response situations. Responds to highly dangerous and active crimes in progress, making independent decisions and taking immediate steps to preserve life and property.

Mitigates opportunities for assault, illegal entry, and theft involving highly protected information, property and/or processes at facilities containing special protective methods. Provides patrol in vehicles, by foot and/or on a bicycle. Responds to calls for police assistance, irregularities, and unusual or suspicious circumstances.

Conducts asset protection during transport. Writes comprehensive incident reports. Provides policing services in various environments where each type of jurisdiction (Exclusive, Concurrent and Proprietorial) has different enforcement rules.

Seeks, detects, seizes, and protects evidence and witnesses at the scene of an incident. Detects and intervenes in criminal activity. Conducts investigative contacts/stops, exercising search and arrest authority, detaining witnesses, and apprehending suspects.

Advises individuals of their rights (such as Miranda, Weingarten, Garrity, etc.), and protecting the constitutional and civil rights of persons. Intervenes, when necessary, to deescalate situations and determine when and how much force must be applied. Conducts prisoner transports to holding facilities and courts as required.

Conducts disaster response and recovery. Provides Basic Life Support (BLS) to injured personnel and coordinates additional emergency response when needed. Coordinates and directs search, rescue, and recovery for persons at high risk (e.g., missing or wandering patients, minors, etc.), including coordinating with local surrounding police departments to expand the search parameters.

Investigates incidents and takes steps to mitigate further risk and resolve situations. Performs and provides training on drug and contraband intervention where contraband identification and knowledge is imperative. Intervenes, when needed, to deescalate active suicidal behavior and/or prevents suicides.

Prepares case files and testifying in court as it pertains to enforcing laws and regulations. Work Schedule: 12 hours Compressed tour, rotating days may be day or night Position Description Title/PD#: Senior Police Officer/PD80705A Physical Requirements: The work requires considerable and strenuous physical exertion on a regular and recurring basis, 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.

Conditions of Employment

You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job Subject to a background/suitability investigation Designated and/or random drug testing may be required Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 A complete application package; including Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position.

Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX).

We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans.

Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

There is no educational substitution for the GS-06 grade level.

How You Will Be Evaluated

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received. Resume Reminder - Your resume must include the following information for each job listed: Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible) Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008) Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week) Salary/Rank etc.

Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held References, current or recent supervisor Do not include the following types of information in your resume: Classified or Government sensitive information Social Security Number (SNN) Photos of yourself Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc. Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title.

If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications. Do not include a photograph or video of yourself, or any sensitive information (age, date of birth, marital status, protected health information, religious affiliation, social security number, etc.) on your resume or cover letter.

We will not access web pages or encrypted, and digitally signed documents linked on your resume or cover letter to determine your qualifications.

Additional Information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. The following will be communicated to applicants for VA employment in a testing designated position and will also be included in all VA vacancy announcements for such positions: All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointment.

Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job.

Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

How to Apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 05/04/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12925852.

  1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account.

Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.

2.

Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement.

You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Required Documents

Documents Accepted: Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (Schedule A) Disability Letter (VA) License Other (1) PCS Orders Performance Appraisal Professional Certification Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript Documents Required: Resume Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application. Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).You will not be contacted for additional information.

Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted. Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position. Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary for the Senior Police Officer position at Veterans Health Administration?
The salary range for this position is $67,523 - $87,780/yr. This is a GS-6 position on the General Schedule pay scale. Actual pay may vary based on locality adjustments.
Where is the Senior Police Officer job located?
This position is located in Walla Walla, Washington. This is an on-site position.
What qualifications do I need?
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. This is an open continuous announcement. Applicants will be accepted on a ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered. The close date for this announcement is Monday, May 04, 2026. GS-06 grade level: One year of specialized...
How do I apply for this position?
Apply through USAJobs.gov by clicking the 'Apply on USAJobs' button. You'll need a USAJobs account, a federal-style resume, and supporting documents. The deadline is May 4, 2026.
Is a security clearance required?
No security clearance is required for this position.
What does GS-6 mean?
GS-6 refers to the General Schedule grade level. Higher grades require more experience and offer higher pay. Visit our GS Pay Scale page for full salary tables by grade and locality.
What benefits do federal employees receive?
Federal employees receive comprehensive benefits including health insurance (FEHB), retirement through FERS, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) with government matching, paid annual and sick leave, paid parental leave, life insurance, and student loan repayment programs.