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Personnel Vetting Role-Based Certification (RBC)

PV RBC logoReady to Prove Your Competency? Start Here.  Designed to move beyond theory, the Personnel Vetting (PV) Role-Based Certification (RBC) translates knowledge into real-world behaviors and decision-making skills needed to effectively manage and mitigate risk to people, property, information, and mission. Earning the PV RBC demonstrates your commitment to applying PV concepts and principles to effectively manage and mitigate risk at your command, activity, or component. 

As a core component of the PV RBC, the Personnel Vetting Management Course (PVMC) is designed to formally validate your on-the-job competence of the personnel vetting program (PVP) associated with Trusted Workforce (TW) 2.0 initiative and Department of Defense (DOD) vetting management requirements. Training prerequisites will validate your proficiency in vetting management of personnel vetting domains such as suitability, fitness, national security, and credentialing.  

Note: This certification is for PV management practitioners and is not the specialized adjudicator professional certification (APC) or security review proceedings credential (SRPC). 

Personnel Vetting Roles and Responsibilities:  PV management practitioners are responsible for assisting in agency TW 2.0 implementation of PVP execution, maintenance, and local oversight to ensure personnel adhere to program requirements as defined in DOD Manual (DODM) 5200.01, Volume 3 and 5200.02. This functional area includes formulation and application of PV policy, procedures, systems, and programs involving the loyalty and reliability of people.  

This role aligns with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) core discipline of Personnel Vetting, and typically classified under occupational series 0080 (Security Administration). PV management practitioners make local agency determinations for individuals in national security sensitive positions, non-sensitive public trust positions, and non-sensitive low risk positions requiring physical access to Federal facilities or logical access to Government information systems. In carrying out PV duties, they perform such tasks as reviewing the sensitivity designation for each position; determining national security or agency information access requirements; conducting screening, rendering preliminary determinations, determining whether special investigative requirements apply; administering security awareness briefings (SAB), indoctrinations, and debriefing; advising on procedures for adverse security determinations and the individual’s rights; administering programs for continuous vetting and PV education and training.
 

Category

Skills

Risk Management

Threat & Vulnerability Analysis, Risk Mitigation Methodologies

Security Planning

Physical Security Plan Development, Asset & Stakeholder Identification

Security Implementation

Access Control, SCIF Requirements, AA&E Storage, Countermeasures

Program Management

Cost-Benefit Analysis, Justification, Briefing & Recommendations

Coordination

Collaboration and communication with internal/external stakeholders


Outcome: PV management practitioners will be equipped with critical thinking and problem-solving skills to apply effective solutions to real-world personnel vetting issues. 

PV Certification Requirements 
To earn the PV RBC, you must successfully complete the following four phases in order:   
 
Phase 1:  Complete Prerequisite eLearning Courses 
Before you can enroll in the Personnel Vetting Management Course, you must first complete and pass the following self-paced eLearning courses: 
  • Introduction to Federal Personnel Vetting Policy for Security Practitioners (PS128.16) 
  • Identifying and Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information (PII) (DS-IF101.06) 
  • Introduction to Suitability and Fitness for Security Practitioners (PS127.16) 
  • Introduction to National Security for Security Practitioners (PS113.16) 
  • National Security Adjudicative Guidelines (PS132.16) 
  • Introduction to Credentialing for Security Practitioners (PS129.16) 
  • Insider Threat Awareness (INT101.16) 
Phase 2: Attend the Virtual Instructor-Led Training 
After completing all prerequisites, you must enroll in and attend PS126.10, Personnel Vetting Management Course. This five-day course equips security practitioners with the necessary tools and processes to conduct end-to-end personnel vetting management of those individuals' requiring eligibility for access to classified information or eligibility to hold a sensitive position. Select course description to review.  

Attendance Requirements:  Full-time attendance and participation in all sessions and interactions.  

Course Requirements & Expectations: The content of this course will be delivered entirely online through the Collaborative Learning Environment- Security Training, Education, and Professionalization Portal (STEPP) and Adobe Connect IL4 platform. The course materials will be provided in a synchronous setting with asynchronous components. You are expected to complete all assignments in accordance with the syllabus provided. 

Clearance Requirements: There are no clearance requirements.  

Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) Requirements: This course is designated CUI. You must be a DOW or other Federal Government (military or civilian) employee and must have a .gov or .mil email address listed in your STEPP profile to be approved for this course. You must use your common access card (CAC) or personal identity verification (PIV) credential to access Adobe Connect IL4 platform. 
 

Phase 3: Successfully Complete the Course  
To pass the course, you must earn a cumulative average of 80% or higher on all graded coursework. This includes all practical exercises, activities, assessments, forums, and final exams. 

Phase 4: Pass the Final Certification Exam  
After successfully completing the Personnel Vetting Management Course (PS126.10), you will be eligible to take the capstone certification exam. You must pass this exam with a minimum score of 80% to earn the Personnel Vetting Role-Based Certification. This comprehensive exam will test your proficiency in personnel vetting management across all PV domains and PV scenarios.  

To understand how Federal PV Components are integrated into PV programs to effectively manage risk and ensure a trusted workforce working for or on behalf of the Federal Government, select a Federal PV Component from the chart below.   

Responsibility

Implementation looks like...

Federal Personnel Vetting Policy Framework

  • PV standards for rendering trust determinations for suitability, fitness, national security, or credentialing are consistent with the Core Doctrine and Federal Personnel Vetting Guidelines;
  • Investigative Standards define relevant information categories and data sources for investigative service providers (ISP);
  • Adjudicative Standards provide framework to render trust determinations;
  • Personnel Vetting Management Standards define PV activities throughout the mission; and
  • Federal PV enterprise employs technology, research and innovation, operates within legal parameters, and uses data-driven analytics to improve processes.

Federal Personnel Vetting as Part of Holistic Risk Management

  • Risk management framework applied across all PV domains;
  • Improves communication between security disciplines (InfoSec, industrial, physical, personnel);
  • Greater alignment and integration among multiple mission areas (e.g., agency insider threat, counterintelligence, drug-testing programs, human resources, etc.); and
  • Accurate position designation ensuring proper vetting due to positions potential for adverse impact on national security.

Determining Trust

  • Based on presence or absence of behaviors/indicators;
  • Considers characteristics of a trusted person – good conduct, integrity, sound judgement, loyalty and reliability;
  • Informed by complete and relevant data and contextual information related to behaviors and perceived vulnerabilities;
  • Procedures and criteria are developed mindful to the need to recruit and retain a talented workforce; and
  • Considers whether an individual demonstrates a regard for rules, appropriately engages others, demonstrates conduct consistent with U.S. interests, and demonstrates willingness and ability to protect people, property, information, and mission.

Three-Tier Investigative Model

  • Uses information types that align with adjudicative attributes to gather adjudicative relevant information;
  • Aligns to the designated sensitivity and risk level of the position;
  • Builds upon but do not duplicate efforts;
  • Permits mobility across the Federal Government; and
  • Aligns to support trust determinations for PV domains:
    • Suitability and Fitness
    • National Security
    • Credentialing

Five Personnel Vetting Scenarios

  • All PV falls within one of five scenarios depending on mission need, relevant circumstances, duties and responsibilities, and management of human risk.
  • All PV business processes; ISPs, adjudicative entities, and other PV practitioners will adhere to the five vetting scenarios:
    • Initial Vetting
    • Continuous Vetting
    • Upgrades
    • Transfer of Trust
    • Re-establishment of Trust

Elements of Federal Personnel Vetting

Duties performed throughout the PV process by different agency practitioners, investigators, and adjudicators, and with support from complementary mission partners:

  • Position Designation
  • Determining Previous Vetting
  • Vetting Questionnaire
  • Screening
  • Preliminary Determination
  • Investigation
  • Adjudication
  • Federal Personnel Vetting Record
  • Continuous Vetting
  • Personnel Vetting Engagement
  • Review Proceeding
  • Information-Sharing

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