IT Specialist/IT Cyber Specialist (INFOSEC) Job

Vacancy No. SH-12565081 Department Social Security Administration
Salary $59,966.00 to $191,900.00 Grade 9 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 10/7/2024 Close Date 10/11/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Birmingham, ALRichmond, CADenver, COAtlanta, GA


Summary

Cybersecurity position(s) are being filled through the Office of Personnel Management's delegated Direct Hire Authority, open to all U.S. citizens.

Selections made under this bulletin will be processed as new appointments to the Federal Service. Current Federal employees would, therefore, be given new permanent appointment. Under the provisions of the Direct Hire Authority, Veterans Preference and the "Rule of Three" do not apply.

Duties

  • This announcement serves as public notice. Applications submitted be placed into a pool and will remain on file for selection as positions become available.
  • Vacancies may be filled for up to 6 months after the closing date of this announcement. Applicants may not receive notifications of referral status until the full 6-month eligibility period has elapsed.
  • Applications may be gathered from additional recruitment sources. These will be added to the pool created by this announcement.
  • Positions filled with applications from this pool will be placed into positions where cybersecurity duties occupy the majority of the work performed.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required
  • Selective Service Registration, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
  • Fingerprinting and background and/or security investigation may be required
  • Job offers are contingent on fingerprinting and background / security investigation results
  • Selectees may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period
  • Relocation expenses will not be paid
  • All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement

Qualifications

READ ALL SECTIONS OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY. THIS INFORMATION IS CRUCIAL TO SUBMITTING A SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION.

If you are qualifying based on education please make sure you follow the instructions in the Education Section of this announcement including uploading a transcript with an award/confer date failure to due so can disqualify you for further consideration.

Applicants must qualify for the series and grade of the posted position. 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. Your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, abilities, and proficiency of any required competencies to perform the specific position for which you are applying.

To qualify for the 2210 IT Specialist series, the applicant must demonstrate the following competencies:
  • Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
  • 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; know about available products and services; and is committed to providing quality products and services.
  • 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.
  • Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.
Minimum Qualifications: Grade 9 To qualify at the GS-9 level, you must have one of the following:
  • A master's or equivalent graduate degree (see Education section); OR
  • Successful completion of two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree (see Education section); OR
  • At least 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-7 level, or equivalent, assisting higher level individuals in ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems, networks, and data through the planning, analysis, development, implementation, maintenance, and enhancement of information systems security programs, policies, procedures, and tools. Experience must include cyber security technical work.
Minimum Qualifications: Grade 11 To qualify at the GS-11 level, you must have one of the following:
  • A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (see Education section); OR
  • Successful completion of 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (see Education section); OR
  • At least 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-9 level, or equivalent, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems, networks, and data through the planning, analysis, development, implementation, maintenance, and enhancement of information systems security programs, policies, procedures, and tools. Work is performed under guidance from higher-level individuals. Experience must include cyber security technical work.

Minimum Qualifications: Grade 12 To qualify at the GS-12 level, you must have 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-11 level, or equivalent, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems, networks, and data through the planning, analysis, development, implementation, maintenance, and enhancement of information systems security programs, policies, procedures, and tools. Work at this level should be performed mostly independently with some guidance and direction from higher-level individuals.

Minimum Qualifications: Grade 13 To qualify at the GS-13 level, you must have 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-12 level, or equivalent, independently ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems, networks, and data through the planning, analysis, development, implementation, maintenance, and enhancement of information systems security programs, policies, procedures, and tools.

Minimum Qualifications: Grade 14 To qualify at the GS-14 level, you must have 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-13 level, or equivalent, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems, networks, and data through the planning, analysis, development, implementation, maintenance, and enhancement of information systems security programs, policies, procedures, and tools. Experience should also include training lower level individuals or leading a team to perform this work.

Minimum Qualifications: Grade 15 To qualify at the GS-15 level, you must have 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-14 level, or equivalent, supervising and directing work aimed at ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems, networks, and data through the planning, analysis, development, implementation, maintenance, and enhancement of information systems security programs, policies, procedures, and tools. Duties of this nature should be typical of your everyday work. If you perform this kind of work, your resume must provide details of the actual duties you perform that demonstrate the requirements above.

Reviewers cannot assume you perform duties you don't describe.

Qualification standards and additional information for this position can be found here:
http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/2200/information-technology-it-management-series-2210-alternative-a/

Education

Providing Proof of Education of Substituting Education

In order to substitute education for experience at the GS-9 and GS-11 levels ONLY:

Your educational degree must be in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management; or a 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.

If you are qualifying on the basis of education or satisfying an educational requirement, submit a copy of your transcripts that includes your name, the name of the educational institution, course title(s), number of credits, grade, and date of completion. Unofficial transcripts or screenshots of electronic/web transcripts with the required information will be accepted at the time of application. You must submit your transcripts according to the application submission details of this announcement. Documents will not be accepted via email or regular mail. If selected, you may be required to provide your official college transcripts prior to the effective date of the personnel action placing you into the new position.

Foreign Education: If your transcripts show education completed in foreign colleges or universities, you must also provide documentation that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in a conventional/accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

This announcement serves as public notice. Applications submitted be placed into a pool and will remain on file for selection as positions become available. Vacancies may be filled for up to 6 months after the closing date of this announcement. Applicants may not receive notifications of referral status until the full 6-month eligibility period has elapsed. Applications may be gathered from additional recruitment sources.

Additional selections may be made for this vacancy six months from the closing date of this announcement. This Direct Hire announcement may be used to fill the same or similar position in another office.

Most are non-bargaining unit position, the IT Specialist (INFOSEC) is a bargaining unit position.

Some GS-13, GS-14, and GS-15 are supervisory positions and are subject to the completion of a 1-year probationary period for a supervisory position unless the employee served in such a position before August 11, 1979, or has completed one.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.

Salary Range Information: Locality or special salary pay will be adjusted according to selectees duty location. The salary ranges for each individual grade level and location can be found on the links below.

Benefits

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.

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.

The evaluation you receive is based on your responses to the online assessment questions completed during the application process. Please make sure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your evaluation.

Please make sure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your evaluation. The questionnaire takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. To preview the questions, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12565081

Required Documents

You must also submit ALL supporting documentation by the closing date of the vacancy announcement to claim certain types of preference.

INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP): ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority for competitive service vacancies. To receive selection priority, candidates must meet the requirements for the Well Qualified. Well-qualified is defined as having knowledge, skills, and abilities that clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. Candidates must also provide:

  • proof of eligibility with your application. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation Notice of Personnel Action, (SF-50); and
  • proof of your most recent performance rating of at least "fully successful" (Level III) or equivalent.
For more information visit http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

Veteran's preference does not apply under this Direct Hire Authority for Cybersecurity positions.

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

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:

  1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
  2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
  3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.

You may update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period by returning to your USAJOBS account. There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account. All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

If you use assistive software or an adaptive device, or you are experiencing some other type of technical difficulty and/or otherwise require assistance with the application process, please contact OPE.Staffing.OCIO@ssa.gov or 410-965-1234.

Individuals with hearing or speech disabilities may use the listed email or 7-1-1 for TTY-based Telecommunications Relay Services to call the listed phone number. Additional Telecommunications Relay Services options are available in each state: https://www.fcc.gov/general/trs-state-and-territories

Due to our security procedures, our office will not accept any applications submitted via email or standard mail. The email address is listed only for inquiries about the position or the How to Apply process.

Agency contact information

OPE Staffing OCIO
Address
OCIO Front Office
6401 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, MD 21235
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once you have successfully submitted all of the required application materials and assessments, you can expect to receive at least two or more of the following email notifications concerning your application status: (1) Receipt of application; (2) Qualifications status and/or whether your application has been Referred/Not Referred to the selecting official.

Selection interviews may be conducted with one or more of the candidates, but there is no requirement that interviews be conducted. The hiring office will contact candidates directly for interviews. Interviews may be conducted via video conferencing software, if technically feasible.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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