IT Specialist (PlcyPln)

Clarification from the agency

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

• Develop, maintain, and oversee execution of a technology plan that supports organizational needs and aligns the organization's technical vision with its business strategy.
• Provide expert-level technical policy and planning guidance and direction for national IT programs, cross-cutting initiatives, and portfolio management efforts.
• Analyze Federal, VA, industry, and technology trends and recommend strategies, policies, and new approaches to senior leadership.
• Provide substantive input to organizational goals, vision statements, official policies and directives, strategic artifacts, and other materials with Department-wide impact.
• Coordinate strategic planning and establish program goals, objectives, strategies, measures, and performance metrics for IT Policy and Planning programs.
• Independently track and evaluate the delivery, quality, effectiveness, and success or failure of Department-wide IT Policy and Planning services and new program implementation.
• Conduct qualitative and quantitative studies to assess organizational efficiency and effectiveness, program performance, and complex management processes and systems.
• Evaluate program resourcing and organizational metrics and recommend resource reallocations, restructuring, reassignment, outsourcing, closure, or other remedies.
• Serve as the senior technical authority for cross-cutting IT initiatives and portfolio management efforts, integrating technology strategy with enterprise business requirements.
• Evaluate new and emerging technologies and determine how they align with organizational business strategy, mission requirements, and future operational needs.
• Direct development and implementation of broad IT policies, procedures, automation and innovation programs, and standardized processes and tools to improve efficiency and service quality.
• Provide technical oversight for software and automation, information assurance and security, technology investments, design and engineering, systems and network integration, and architecture activities.
• Advise the Division Executive Director, associated Deputy Director, senior management, and stakeholders by providing expert technical advice, oversight, and direction for multiple national IT programs.
• Develop highly complex technical policy guidance and provide authoritative recommendations involving IT policy and planning, architecture, security, acquisition, program and project management, and IT capital planning.
• Analyze complex and rapidly evolving technical issues and develop solutions across disparate groups, programs, missions, and organizational boundaries.
• Prepare and present technical and analytical reports, findings, white papers, policy guidance, and recommendations to senior leadership, Federal officials, and other stakeholders.

This position is primarily aligned to the following NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework work roles:

801 - Program Manager
805 - Program Auditor

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00AM - 4:30PM EST; Tour of duty may be subject to change based on organizational needs.
Compressed/Flexible: As determined by the Agency Policy
Telework: Adhoc telework may be authorized at management discretion.
Virtual: This is NOT a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist (PlcyPln)/PD17738A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

Physical Demands: The work is sedentary. Some work may require walking and standing in conjunction with travel and to attendance at meetings and conferences away from the work site.

Working Conditions: The work is performed in a typical office setting. Travel may be required 25% of the time.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply.
• To be considered, you must complete all required steps, including the application, questionnaire, and an online assessment measuring key competencies for this job.
• You may need to serve a probationary period and complete a background/security investigation.
• If selected, you must finish an online onboarding process and provide acceptable identification for 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted or considered. USAJOBS will prevent uploading or building resumes beyond two pages, so update your profile before applying. Ensure resumes include relevant knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies for the position, as VA cannot assume qualifications not clearly listed.

Resumes must be legible and clearly show eligibility, minimum qualifications, and other job requirements.

Your resume must be must be 5MB or less. PDF is preferred; accepted formats are GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT, DOC, or DOCX (no PDF portfolio files). Use a sans-serif font and clear formatting; suggested fonts: Lato, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Source Sans Pro, Roboto, or Noro Sans; consider 14pt for titles, 10pt for text, and 0.5" margins. The USAJOBS resume builder is available to assist in formatting.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/29/2026.

Applicants must meet all requirements when a request is received to fill a vacancy. You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

1. Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR)

Basic Requirement
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 four 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.

• 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; knows about available products and services; 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.

AND

2. Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-14 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: experience in IT operations, supervision, and management of IT delivery systems and equipment; administering IT operational activities that support all organizations within the geographic area: utilizing strategic planning, budgeting, performance management and implementation of new, and maintenance of, existing operational hardware and software required for IT Support of all end users in the area; identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance relative to the goals of the systems; applying service management concepts for networks and related standards.

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; religions; 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.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

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
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

USA Hire Assessments include 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.

Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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. 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 the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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; religions; 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.

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.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

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
• Diploma/ GED
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Separation Notice
• Other (2)
• Performance Appraisal
• Proof of Marriage Status
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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.

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.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

All required documents must be uploaded at the time you submit your application. The system supports only one submission. Applicants will not be able to edit their application or upload additional documents once it has been submitted.

Applications that are incomplete-including those missing required documentation-will not be considered. Applicants are responsible for reviewing the Required Documents section and ensuring all mandatory materials are included prior to submission.

Note: Applicants will not be contacted for missing information. It is the applicant's responsibility to provide all documentation necessary to determine qualification and eligibility.

Next steps