Summary
This position is located in the U.S. Department of Education (ED) Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). The FSA is responsible for administering the federal financial aid programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
This is a TERM position for two years with the option to extend in two year increments up to 10 years.
This job is open to
Federal employees - Competitive service
Current federal employees whose agencies follow the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's hiring rules and pay scales.
Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.
Veterans
Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces or a spouse, widow, widower or parent of a veteran, who may be eligible for derived preference
Military spouses
Military spouses of active duty service members or whose spouse is 100 percent disabled or died on active duty.
Individuals with disabilities
Individuals who are eligible under Schedule A.
Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista
Individuals who have served at least 2 years with the Peace Corps or 1 year with AmeriCorps VISTA.
Special authorities
Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed in another hiring path.
Clarification from the agency
• Current federal civilian employees in the competitive service on permanent career or career-conditional appointments;
• Former federal employees with reinstatement eligibility;
• Current federal employees eligible under Interchange Agreements; and,
• Applicants eligible under special hiring authorities (Schedule A, etc.).
If you do not meet one of these categories, you may apply under the concurrently advertised vacancy announcement: FSA-2026-0082, which is open to all US Citizens.
Duties
APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 250 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 250th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first.
We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.
As an IT Project Manager, GS-2210-14, you will be responsible for:
• Managing and ensures the performance of role-specific tasks: project, time, resource, and budget management, scope management, schedule management, risk management and coordination on contracts and contracts management and oversight.
• Managing the identification and coordination of technical activities of project team(s), prioritizes and facilitates technical tasks and sequence tracks of work, of IT projects/initiatives in an iterative, incremental, parallel, and time-boxed manner aligned to deliver business value.
• Managing and ensures the performance of role-specific tasks: project, time, resource, and budget management, scope management, schedule management, risk management and coordination on contracts and contracts management and oversight (in role as COTR/COR).
• Managing complex IT projects effectively and efficiently.
Requirements
Conditions of employment
- Must be a US Citizen
- Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
- Relocation will not be paid.
Condition of Employment:
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a probationary period or trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: • your performance and conduct; • the needs and interests of the agency; • whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and • whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period OR trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.
If you are a current federal employee, you must meet all time-in-grade and time-after competitive appointment qualifications within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement. To verify that you meet these requirements, we will review your responses to the core eligibility questions on the occupational questionnaire, as well as your submitted resume and required documents. To make an accurate determination, you will need to include on your resume your federal position title, pay plan, occupational series, grade level, agency, dates for which you held the grade level (stated as MM/YYYY to MM/YYYY, OR MM/YYYY to PRESENT), and total hours worked per week. 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).
Qualifications
Minimum Qualification Requirements
You may meet the minimum qualifications for the GS-14, if you possess the specialize experience.
Specialized Experience for the GS-14
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-13 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
1. Experience leading cross-functional project teams utilizing agile methodologies and practices while identifying and managing associated risks, issues, contracts, and change requests to meet schedule, budget, and organizational policies and objectives to facilitate the delivery of incremental software or system enhancements.
2. Experience in applying agile methods to support technical integration, system modernization, and continuous improvement initiatives to ensure IT systems are compatible with architecture, cloud platforms, system interfaces, and cybersecurity requirements to reduce technical debt and improve release predictability.
3. Experience implementing risk and issue management processes, ensuring potential blockers are identified early, escalated appropriately, resolved and aligned with established change-control processes within agile release frameworks to adhere to program timelines and deliverables.
Basic Experience Requirements
You must possess IT related experience (paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training (e.g., IT certification), as appropriate) demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below.
1. Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
2. Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (i.e., any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.
3. Oral Communication - Expresses information (e.g., ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (e.g., technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
4. Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.
Education
Education cannot be substituted for experience for this position and grade level.
Additional information
Veterans’ Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email careers@ed.gov to schedule a session with a career counselor (“Veterans Counseling Session” should be placed in the subject line of the email).
Student Loan Default: If selected for this position, we will verify that you have not defaulted on any loan funded or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are found to be in default, we will contact you to make arrangements for repayment prior to making an official offer of employment.
Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and successfully complete a pre-appointment investigation/background check.
Essential/Non-Essential: This position is considered non-essential for purposes of reporting to work during federal government closures.
Financial Disclosure: This position does not require financial disclosure.
Bargaining Unit: This position is not included in the bargaining unit.
Selections: Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligibles and may fill a vacancy in the competitive service by any method authorized. We may make additional selections from this vacancy announcement within 90 days from the date the selection certificates are issued, should vacancies occur. We may also share selection certificates amongst program offices across the agency.
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.
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.
As an ED employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a work life balance, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you include alternative work schedules. You may be eligible to receive a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to receive a relocation incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to participate in the Student Loan Repayment Program as a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive student loan repayments, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon.
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.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
We use a multi-step process to review and evaluate applicants:
1. Eligibility and Minimum Qualifications
Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your submitted resume and documents to determine if you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, including any required education, experience, and/or selective placement factors. You will be rated as ineligible if you are outside of the area of consideration (i.e., who may apply) or your application is missing any required documents. You will be rated as not qualified if you do not possess the minimum qualification requirements.
2. Rating and Ranking
If you are found to meet both the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, we will assess the quality of your experience and the extent to which you possess the required KSAs by comparing your submitted resume and supporting documentation. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications and competencies listed in this vacancy announcement (if applicable). Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), and the result of the Monster Competency Based Assessment(s) (if applicable) required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
Non-Supervisory: Oral Communications, Writing, Interpersonal Skills, Problem Solving, Teamwork, Technology Orientation, Customer Service, Attention to Detail and Self-Management
Based on the outcome of this evaluation, your application data may be further assessed by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) panel. If your qualifications are not substantiated by your submitted resume, you may be eliminated from receiving further consideration.
3. Referral and Selection
If you are found to be amongst the most highly qualified applicants, you will be referred to the selecting official. As part of the assessment and selection process, the selecting official may invite you to participate in a structured interview, check your references, and/or request that you submit a writing sample or complete a written assessment or exercise to further evaluate your qualifications for this position.
You may preview questions for this vacancy.
Required Documents
- Your resume should include relevant work experience, applicable education and your contact information. For current or previous federal employees, include the pay plan, series and grade.
You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS):
• A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire.
Please limit your resume to 2 pages with the font size no smaller than 10 points. If your resume is more than 2 pages, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed and considered for the qualifications determination.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov.
Step 2: Create a resume using the USAJOBS resume builder. Ensure that your resume demonstrates your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiates your responses to the occupational questionnaire.
Step 3: Upload any required documents into your USAJOBS account (must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX)).
Step 4: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire and attach any required documents. Verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the agency's hiring system. You will have the opportunity to upload any additional required documents in the agency's hiring system. Click “Finish” to submit your application.
NOTE: You may update your application or required documents at any time while the announcement is open by logging into your USAJOBS account, clicking on "Application Status," clicking on the position title, clicking "Update Application,” and following the prompts.
In order to receive consideration for this position, you must submit your complete application, including all required documents, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. If the vacancy announcement has an application limit, we recommend that you submit your complete application at the time of initial application. We will not accept any required documentation after the closing date of the vacancy announcement.
If you have any questions regarding submitting your application, please contact the HR Specialist listed under the Agency Contact Information.
Next steps
As an applicant, you may check your application status through your USAJOBS account at any time. We will also notify you via email of your application status at three key stages in the recruitment process.
1. Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will inform you that your application has been received.
2. After we review your submitted resume and supporting documentation, we will inform you if you are eligible and qualified, if your application was referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation, and if you were amongst the most highly qualified candidates referred to the selecting official.
3. Finally, we will inform you of your final disposition for this announcement (e.g., if/when a selection is made, if/when the announcement is cancelled).