IT Specialist

Clarification from the agency

This job is open to the Public and CTAP/ICTAP eligibles. ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

Major Duties: GS-2210-9

• Serves as a team member on ad hoc and/or standing work groups in a virtual environment accountable to the division chief. Creates and maintains documentation on networks, systems, applications and databases to include historical and trending information. Develops and manages customer service performance requirements. Works with customers to test applications to assure software and systems quality and functionality.
• Participates in networks, systems, applications and databases designs to ensure implementation of appropriate monitoring systems. Assesses security events to determine impact and implements corrective actions.
• Documents systems administration standard operating procedures. Researches, evaluates and provides feedback on problematic trends and patterns in customer support requirements. Maintains problem tracking and resolution databases. Participates in the planning, execution, operation and maintenance of IT systems and infrastructures to insure systems can be properly monitored. Consults with customers to identify any specify requirements and/or actions required for various events.
• Monitoring of events to identify Incidents and provide to the appropriate support organization. Participates in the restoration processes (Critical, High-Level Incident) for service outages, bringing information available from monitoring tools. Contributes monitoring timeline/event information for Problem Management, for inclusion in any Post Incident Review (PIR) Monitoring of all scheduled/unscheduled maintenance to determine if system that are monitored have returned to their normal state of operations.

***Additional duties required, within scope of the position descriptions.***

Major Duties: GS-2210-11

• Monitors network, system, applications and database performance for changes that could cause a degradation or loss of the IT system or application. This is accomplished by monitoring various system performance factors in the networks, systems, applications and databases workloads. Monitors assigned networks, systems, applications, databases using various reporting programs. Serves as a team lead or team member on ad hoc and/or standing work groups in a virtual environment accountable to the division chief.
• Creates and maintains documentation on networks, systems, applications and databases to include historical and trending information. Develops and manages customer service performance requirements. Works with customers to test applications to assure software and systems quality and functionality. Participates in networks, systems, applications and databases designs to ensure implementation of appropriate monitoring systems.
• Consults with customers to identify any specify requirements and/or actions required for various events. Monitoring of events to identify Incidents and provide to the appropriate support organization. Participates in the restoration processes (Critical, High-Level Incident) for service outages, bringing information available from monitoring tools. Contributes monitoring timeline/event information for Problem Management, for inclusion in any Post Incident Review (PIR) Monitoring of all scheduled/unscheduled maintenance to determine if system that are monitored have returned to their normal state of operations.

***Additional duties required, within scope of the position descriptions.***

This position is primarily aligned to the following NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework work roles of Cybersecurity Code: 411.
For more information about these work roles, where they fit within the larger Cyber Workforce, and how they can support your unique career journey, please visit the Cyber Career Pathways tool on the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies website: https://niccs.us-cert.gov/workforce-development/cyber-career-pathways

Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist/PD18635A
Bargaining Unit: Yes
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required.
Travel Required: Up to 25%. Occasional travel may be required as needed for this position.
Work Schedule: Tuesday-Saturday; 2:30PM to 11:00PM CST. (Tour of duty may be subject to change based on organizational needs).
Compressed/Flexible: May be available/authorized, at Manager's discretion as determined by the Agency Policy.
Telework: (AdHoc) Authorized at Manager's discretion.
Virtual/Remote: This is NOT a virtual NOR a remote position.

Physical Demands: This position is sedentary working at a keyboard and monitor. Walking, standing, bending, or occasional lifting of boxes or IT equipment weighing up to 50lbs may be required.

Working Conditions: Work is performed in a typical computer operations environment. Rooms are well-lighted, air-conditioned office spaces with moderate noise from common office equipment. Computer equipment on the operations floor involves the use of high voltage electricity.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Selectee is subject to background/suitability investigation.
• Selected applicant will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• This position is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing.
• Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required.
• To be considered for this position, applicants must complete all required steps in the process.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/18/2026.

***You must meet the Minimum Qualification Requirements -AND- Specialized Experience to qualify for this series as described below.****

Minimum Qualification Requirements

Basic Requirements Experience: Experience must be IT related; the experience may be demonstrated by paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training (for example, IT certification), as appropriate. For all positions individuals must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the five competencies listed below. The employing agency is responsible for identifying the specific level of proficiency required for each competency at each grade level based on the requirements of the position being filled.

To qualify for this position, you must have information technology-related experience demonstrating all of the four competencies listed below. Ensure that this experience is clearly described in your resume:

1. Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
2. Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, 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 (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, 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.

-AND-

Specialized Experience for GS-2210-9/11: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Such experience is typically gained in the IT field or through the performance of work where the primary concern is IT.

Specialized experience for this GS-2210-9/11 position is defined as: Experience leading and coordinating enterprise-level IT incident management operations in a 24/7 environment, including monitoring, triaging, and resolving major system outages affecting multiple users or locations. Demonstrated ability to analyze complex IT systems (networks, applications, servers), direct cross-functional technical teams, and restore services within defined service level agreements. Experience communicating incident status and impacts to stakeholders and senior leadership, developing reports and root cause analyses, and applying ITIL-based processes for incident, problem, and change management. Experience supporting policy implementation, process improvement, and operational planning for IT service delivery.

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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. 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.

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/.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

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

The USA Hire Assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must include your name, contact phone number and contact email address,and must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume

Other accepted documents:

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Other (1)
• Other (2)
• Performance Appraisal
• Reasonable Accommodation Documentation
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application. Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted. You will not be contacted for additional information.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.

Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit
-AND-
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Next steps