Criminal Investigator

Full Job Description

This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Police Service (PS).

The mission of the CI is to serve and protect Veterans, patients, employees, contractors, volunteers, affiliates, visitors, and others who frequent VA facilities.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/26/2026.

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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service.

An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement.

In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

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 and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Specialized experience includes conducting investigations of complaints, tips/leads, obtaining physical evidence, testimony, etc.; researching and utilizing applicable federal guidelines to investigate crimes; and analyzing raw investigative data and converting it comprehensive written reports.

OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience.

To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, in a field related to Criminal Investigation that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position (such as law enforcement or criminal justice).

NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.

You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate level education (in excess of the first year or 18 semester hours) and specialized experience to meet total experience requirements.

NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation?????.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week.

Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities.

Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion, such as long periods of standing, walking, bending, stooping, reaching, crawling, and similar activities.

Performance of work may take place in attics, crawlspaces, walls, ceilings, and other limited access spaces, or in rough terrain.

The work may require some common characteristics and abilities of physical agility and dexterity to work in confined spaces and to move or lift moderately heavy objects.

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/.

Major Duties:

Major Duties: Completes investigations referred to but declined for investigation by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and non- VA law enforcement agencies of all serious crimes and felonies.

Investigates crimes which cannot be resolved through the initial efforts of the reporting officer's preliminary investigation or are beyond the scope of a Officer's responsibility.

The position performs a variety of standard and nonstandard assignments in resolving a wide range of conditions or criminal/administrative activities typically requiring extensive research, interviewing, planning, observing, conducting stakeout operations, and executing investigative techniques, resulting in arrest of suspects and in some instances, changes in patrol operating procedures.

The position investigates complaints and tips, develops leads, obtains physical evidence, seeks out and questions witnesses and suspects, takes testimony and arrests offenders.

The position obtains evidence, explains constitutional rights, and performs search and seizures.

Gathers information and determines facts/evidence relationships and conducts multiple-location surveillance over an extended time period.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met.

Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Nights, Weekends, Holidays, and rotating shifts Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Criminal Investigator/PD99720S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized