Clarification from the agency

All current internal employees to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) who are currently serving or previously served on a career or career-conditional appointment.

The candidate selected for this position will:

• Participate in establishing and implementing an information security program.
• Determine the security impact of proposed changes to information systems, components, or environment of operation.
• Monitor ongoing effectiveness of security controls and processes through continuous monitoring mechanisms.

Conditions of employment

• 1-year probationary period required unless met during prior Federal service

Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the announcement closing date.

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience qualifications and/or education for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience at the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service or equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the private sector applying basic IT principles, methods, and practices to assist with information technology (IT) security, infrastructure operations, risk management, security documentation, compliance, monitoring, or related IT projects.

Examples may include: assisting with IT security control reviews; security or privacy documentation; vulnerability assessment, remediation, or reporting activities; account/access or system monitoring; system security plans or related security artifacts; security incident, compliance, or risk reporting; and software/hardware installation, operation, maintenance, or configuration activities that affect IT systems or security posture.

OR

Education Requirments: You may qualify for this position based on education if you have 1 full year of graduate level OR superior academic achievement (S.A.A.).

Degree must be in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management or degree that provided a minimum of 24 semester hours in one or more of the fields identified above and required the development or adaptation of applications, systems or networks.

Applicants may qualify through S.A.A. if they meet one of the following criteria: 

1. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.
2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of:
   • 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or
   • 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2years of the curriculum
3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society.

In addition to the above, your experience must demonstrate the following competencies:

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.

Time-In-Grade Requirement:  In order to be eligible for this position, all current Federal employees must provide proof of meeting the time-in-grade requirement (i.e., at least 52 weeks of experience at the next lower grade level in the Federal service).  This information must be in both your resume and on an SF-50.  Those who do not provide proof of having met the time-in-grade requirement will be deemed ineligible for this position.

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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application.

How you will be evaluated

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

Referral: You will be assigned to one of three quality groups. Each group represents a quality level (i.e., Best Qualified, Qualified, Minimally Qualified). Candidates will be considered in quality group order. If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview (telephonic and/or in person at the discretion of the Selecting Official in accordance with hiring policies).

If your resume does not support the answers you gave on the assessment questionnaire, you may be rated Not Qualified or you may be placed in a lower quality group.

Your name will be placed in one of the three following quality groups:

•Best-Qualified - highly proficient regarding the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) related to this position.

•Qualified - competent regarding the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) related to this position.

•Minimally Qualified- possessing only the minimum qualifications required for this position.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs):

1. ability to develop, implement, monitor, and report upon the elements of an information security management program

2. knowledge of risk management, assessment, and security impact analysis techniques

3. knowledge of auditing, software and data security and vulnerability assessments of operating systems and applications

Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are best qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the assessment questionnaire. Best qualified will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume, supporting documentation submitted and their responses to the assessment questionnaire.

Your rating may be lowered if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application.

RESUME: You must submit a resume. Your resume must include your name and contact information and should clearly show your possession of the specialized experience and KSAs so that we can determine your qualifications for this position. Your resume should be specific to the position you are applying for, relating your skills and experience to those noted in the job posting.

Please limit your resume to two pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed by Human Resources and the hiring manager to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

PLEASE DO NOT include photographs, hypertext/hyperlinks, or other inappropriate material or content. This information will not be used to make eligibility or qualification determinations.

COVER LETTER (OPTIONAL): Your cover letter should state your interest in this position and the strengths that you feel will make you an asset to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.  We will not use your cover letter to determine your qualifications; however, your cover letter will go to the Selecting Official along with your resume if you are referred.  

SF-50 (NOTIFICATION OF PERSONNEL ACTION): All status candidates or reinstatement eligibles must submit an SF-50. 

• DO NOT submit Award SF-50's and/or General Adjustment SF-50's as they cannot be used to prove time-in-grade.
• Submit your most recent NON-AWARD SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted); also include your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade (e.g. Promotion, Appointment, etc.) in order to verify time-in-grade requirements.

Please note that it may be necessary to submit more than one SF-50 to show that all requirements have been met.

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.

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