748job United States

Protocol Officer

Department of the Navy › Secretary of the Navy Offices (SECNAV) (11 current openings)

Who may apply

Limited to the following applicant groups:

  • Internal to an agency
Quantico, Virginia
Full-time Security Clearance: Top Secret
Application Deadline:
2026-08-20
Posted:
2026-08-18

Last day to apply

Apply on usajobs.gov
Salary: $102,415 – $158,322 per year (GS-12/13)

Salary context

Based on 394 annual-salary jobs in the same occupational series. This role pays above most similar positions.

Job Details

Position Overview

You will serve as a PROTOCOL OFFICER in the NCIS.

All Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) positions are in the excepted service. This position is in the excepted service and does not confer competitive status.

Initial consideration for this announcement is limited to the number of applications listed at the top of this announcement. All applications received on the day the application limit is reached will be accepted and processed.


Duties

  • You will support the Agency on all protocol matters, ensuring that all visits of distinguished visitors (DVs) are conducted with professionalism, proper etiquette, and official honors or recognition consistent with Department of War standards.
  • You will formulate and coordinate complex itineraries involving multiple entities within the Department, as well as across external Federal and non-Federal agencies, managing continuing, tedious-to-complex planning.
  • You will prepare for all types of official events sponsored by or involving the Agency as a participant, including formal ceremonies, presentations, and conferences.
  • You will ensure total event readiness by organizing and preparing the venue, event staff, and supporting staffing agencies prior to the start of each event.
  • You will administer and track allocated funds designated for the support of official visits, meetings, and command social events.
  • You will coordinate with commercial vendors and installation club managers to arrange, negotiate, and execute all logistical aspects of official social functions.

Qualifications & Requirements

GS-13
To qualify for the GS-13 grade level, your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service (or private sector equivalent) that includes:
  • Planning, coordinating, and directing the execution of complex protocol services, formal military/civilian ceremonies, and official social events for high-ranking domestic, congressional, and foreign government dignitaries.
  • Advising senior military or civilian leadership on national and international rules, procedures, diplomatic customs, courtesies, and divergent cultural etiquette to resolve sensitive, high-profile protocol challenges.
  • Formulating, defending, and executing program budgets and allocating resources for protocol functions in accordance with Federal, Department of Defense (DoD), or Department of the Navy (DON) financial laws and regulations.
  • Establishing and maintaining cooperative working relationships with inter-agency stakeholders, foreign militaries, and Congressional offices to coordinate complex logistical requirements, event schedules, and VIP visits.
  • Recommending and implementing command-level protocol policies, guidelines, and standardized operating procedures (SOPs) using enterprise scheduling, logistical, and database systems to resolve operational conflicts.
GS-12
To qualify for the GS-12 grade level, your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (or private sector equivalent) that includes:
  • Managing, planning, and executing official ceremonies, social activities, and events (such as awards, retirements, or change of commands) for a military or civilian Command, including coordinating all physical arrangements, timelines, and logistical workflows.
  • Applying a thorough knowledge of national and international rules, procedures, diplomatic customs, and etiquette to advise staff on correct protocol postures and proactively resolve operational or cross-cultural conflicts.
  • Monitoring, tracking, and executing program budgets and funding requests for official protocol events in accordance with federal regulations, Department of the Navy (DON), or Department of Defense (DoD) financial policies.
  • Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with key personnel across a wide range of external organizations, such as other Federal agencies, Congressional offices, and foreign partner militaries, to coordinate official visits and guest itineraries.
  • Utilizing advanced program analysis techniques and modern office suites or enterprise scheduling systems to draft detailed event itineraries, resolve resource conflicts, and prepare recurring reports.
Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/Standards/group-stds/gs-admin.asp.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a US Citizen.
  • Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
  • Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
  • New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
  • You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
  • You must acknowledge in writing that you are accepting an appointment in the excepted service which does not confer competitive status, prior to appointment.
  • Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Successful completion of a pre-employment drug test (including marijuana) is required. A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if you fail to report to the drug test appointment or fail the test. You will be subject to random testing.
  • This position may require travel from normal duty station to CONUS and OCONUS and may include remote or isolated sites. You must be able to travel on military and commercial aircraft for extended periods of time.

Evaluations

In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience.

When the application process is complete, we will review your resume to ensure you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this announcement. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume and application package, along with your supporting documentation to determine your ability to demonstrate the following competencies:

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


This recruitment will utilize the following technical assessment tools: USA Hire, and Structured Resume Review.

If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

All qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Required Documents

You are required to provide documentation that supports the eligibility and qualification claims made in your resume. You must submit the applicable documents listed here and those listed with the eligibilities you select in the announcement questionnaire with your application package. Applicants who do not provide supporting documentation that fully support their claims will not be referred to the hiring manager. Cover letter is optional.

A complete resume is required. Resumes are restricted to no more than 2 pages. Illegible/unreadable resumes will not be considered. Your resume must show relevant experience, job title, duties and accomplishments. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. The following information should be provided in your resume: employer's name, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), hours per week if experience was less than full time (35-40 hours per week), pay plan, series and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09) for relevant federal experience. TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use the Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume.

Are you claiming membership in any professional organizations, or possession of a license, certificate or credentials? Check the Conditions of Employment section above to see if any are required. If you claim membership, license, certification, or credentials, you must submit a copy of said document in your application package.

Are you using education as a substitute for some or all of the experience requirement? Is there a basic education requirement for this position? Check the Education section above to see what is allowed and what is required. Any claims you make in your resume regarding education or degrees MUST be supported by submitting with your application official or unofficial transcripts or a list of courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned issued from your school. While unofficial transcripts are acceptable for initial application, an official transcript will ultimately be required if you are selected for the position. You may submit a copy your degree(s) if specific coursework does not have to be verified.

DoD Components with DCIPS positions apply Veterans' Preference to preference eligible candidates as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 USC, in accordance with the procedures provided in DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 2005, DCIPS Employment and Placement. If you are a veteran claiming veterans' preference, as defined by section 2108 of Title 5 U.S.C., you must submit:

A copy of your latest DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (any copy that shows all dates of service, as well as character of service [Honorable, General, etc.] is acceptable) OR a VA letter that shows dates of service or service connected disability AND character of service. If you have more than one DD-214 for multiple periods of active duty service, submit a copy for each period of service. If you were issued a DD-215 to amend aforementioned information on the DD-214 you must submit that too. If you are not sure of your preference eligibility, visit the Department of Labor's website: Veterans' Preference Advisor

You must also provide the applicable supporting documentation of your disability (e.g. disability letter from the VA) as described on Standard Form-15 (SF-15). http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf.

Are you an active duty service member? Active Duty Service Members are required to submit a statement of service printed on command letterhead and signed by the command. The statement of service must provide the branch of service, rate/rank, all dates of service, the expected date of discharge and anticipated character of service (Honorable, General, etc.).

Application documents, including supplemental ones, may be shared outside the Human Resources Office. Supplemental documents may contain your SSN, DOB, or personal information of others (e.g., on military orders, marriage certificates). You may redact this information before submitting; however, if selected, you must provide unredacted originals.

How to Apply

Click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
1. Complete resume with relevant experience, job title, duties and accomplishments. Resumes are restricted to no more than 2 pages. Illegible/unreadable resumes will not be considered. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. The following information should be provided in your resume: employer's name, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), hours per week if experience was less than full time (35-40 hours per week), pay plan, series and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09) for relevant federal experience. TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use the Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume.
2. Supporting documentation

Failure to submit a complete application package will result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration.

Your complete application must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 08/20/2026. Applications received after 08/20/2026 will generally result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration. If more than one resume is received, only the last resume received and processed will be reviewed.

For additional information on viewing your application status, click https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.

You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.

Do not email or send hard copy resumes/applications to the Contact Information or Agency Information listed in this vacancy announcement. All resumes/applications received at the addresses listed in the Contact Information or Agency Information will be destroyed and will not be considered for this vacancy announcement.

It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that all information in their resume and documents are legible and accurate. HR will not modify answers/documents submitted by an applicant. When the application process is complete, your complete application will be reviewed to determine if you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements for which you requested consideration. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume and technical assessments, along with your supporting documentation to determine your level of knowledge, skill, and ability related to the job requirements.

Generally, only best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager. Sometimes well qualified and minimally qualified candidates are referred. Occasionally, candidates eligible for priority consideration are referred, and no other candidates are referred.

The hiring manager may choose to conduct interviews.

You will be notified of our rating and referral decision. If you are referred, you will be notified when a hiring decision is made.

NOTE: If you have any questions or need assistance, please email the DON Employment Information Center at [email protected]
Source: Data sourced from USAJOBS