Security Assistant

Veterans Health Administration; Augusta (GA); On-site; USD 41,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Health Administration seeks a Security Assistant to support Police Services across VA facilities. The role involves handling emergency and non-emergency calls, dispatching police units, and coordinating responses while maintaining situational awareness across radio channels.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate calmness under pressure, clear communication, and strong multitasking abilities, ensuring accurate information flow to officers and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Experience dispatching law enforcement or emergency services is typical for this grade level.
• Strong communication and documentation skills are required.
• Ability to coordinate responses and monitor multiple data streams under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Receive and prioritize emergency and non-emergency calls.
• Dispatch appropriate police units to incidents.
• Monitor radio traffic and coordinate responses among agencies when needed.
• Update officers with new information as situations develop.

Skills

Calm under pressure

Clear communication

Multitasking

Attention to detail

Education

Four years of education above high school

Job description

The Security Assistant position is part of Police Services and supports the mission of delivering comprehensive law enforcement, protective services, and investigative support across the Department of Veterans Affairs. Security Assistants help safeguard the VA Community, which includes Veterans, federal employees, contractors, affiliates, visitors, and others who work in, receive services from, or visit VA facilities across VHA, VBA, and NCA nationwide.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2026.

Specialized Experience:

You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: A police dispatcher is responsible for receiving and prioritizing emergency and non-emergency calls, quickly determining the nature of each situation, and dispatching appropriate police units to the scene. They must remain calm under pressure, communicate clearly with callers and officers, and accurately record information. Additionally, police dispatchers are required to monitor radio traffic, coordinate responses among multiple agencies when necessary, and update officers with new information as situations develop. Strong multitasking skills, attention to detail, and the ability to handle stressful situations are essential for this role. NOTE: 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.

OR, Education:

Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed (4) years of education above the high school level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial or technical NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

OR, Combination:

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e. beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required.

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-5 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. 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.

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/.