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Business Operations Specialist

Drug Enforcement Administration
Lorton, VA Full Time
POSTED ON 6/4/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 7/3/2026
Summary

This position is located in the DEA, Office of Forensic Sciences, Forensic Laboratories.

This position(s) primary purpose is to serve as an intermediate trainee Business Operations Specialist to provide liaison, administrative, and financial support for a DEA Forensic Laboratory.

Duties

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As a Your Typical Work Assignments May Include

  • Serves as primary liaison with the DEA Human Resources Division to support the laboratory activities.
  • Provides advice and guidance for the laboratory acquisitions program.
  • Assists in the formulation, establishment, monitoring, execution of fiscal year budgets, plans, and costs estimates for the laboratory.
  • Advises and assist laboratory leadership in special projects that require making presentations, managing change, and coordinating with internal and external stakeholders.
  • Works under the general direction of the Laboratory Administrative Officer as required.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Employment is subject to the successful completion of a background investigation. Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
  • Incumbent is subject to random drug testing.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: http://www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/.
  • Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov/).
  • Must complete required DAU training for warrant eligibility. In addition, must complete required yearly FCO refresher training.
  • Incumbent is required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the required qualification requirements described below by the closing date of the announcement. If you are qualifying based on education or if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcripts with your application.

Applicants applying for the GS-11 must meet one of the following requirements:

  • Have at least one full year of specialized experience that is at least equivalent to work performed at the GS-9 grade level. Specialized 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; religious; 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.

Qualifying experience must demonstrate the following: 1) Advising supervisors, customers, and team members on administrative and management matters regarding policies, procedures and regulations that impact the operation of a laboratory, division or major office; 2) Experience with executing supervisor's priorities and business operations in order to meet deadlines; 3) Managing day-to-day operations to support mission requirements; and 4) Assisting in managing the business operations support activities and functions of an office and related to Administrative Support Services, Acquisition of Products & Services, Fiscal Administration, and Records Management.

OR

  • Have completed three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

OR

  • A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.

You must demonstrate in your resume at least one (1) year of qualifying specialized experience. Specialized 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; religious; 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.

Applicants applying for the GS-12 must meet one of the following requirements:

Have at least one full year of specialized experience that is at least equivalent to work performed at the GS-11 grade level.

Specialized 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; religious; 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.

Qualifying experience must demonstrate the following: 1) Advising supervisors, customers, and team members on administrative and management matters regarding policies, procedures and regulations that impact the operation of a division or major office; 2) Experience with executing supervisor's priorities and business operations in order to meet deadlines; 3) Managing day-to-day operations to support mission requirements; and 4) Assisting in managing the business operations support activities and functions of an office and related to Administrative Support Services, Acquisition of Products & Services, Fiscal Administration, and Records Management.

Additional information on the position qualification requirements are located in the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Qualifications Standards Handbook.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: www.naces.org/members.php.

If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned.

Additional information

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire CompetencyBased Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information)

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If an applicant is currently, or has been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, applicants must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office listed in this announcement.

Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to similar positions in any Division/Office listed in this announcement. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

Salary.com Estimation for Business Operations Specialist in Lorton, VA
$126,926 to $152,879
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