Summary
This announcement is issued under the Direct Hire Authority (DHA) to recruit for positions for which there is a critical hiring need. Selectee(s) will receive a career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service and may be required to serve a one year probationary period.
Must be able to obtain a Secret (Tier 3) security clearance and maintain the required level of clearance while employed in the subject position. This position is not included in the bargaining unit.
Duties
Plans and leads difficult and complex assignments in a variety of systems administration areas. Analyzes and develops system requirements; integrates systems across disciplines; defines the scope and level of detail for systems plans and policies; assesses new systems design methodologies to improve functionally, performance quality and security; leads or performs implementation activities; identifies the need for changes based on new technologies; reviews and evaluates security response policies; develops long-range plans; reviews new systems, networks, and designs for compatibility and feasibility; and resolves integration issues related to the implementation of new systems with the existing infrastructure. Drafts and/or develops operational policies, procedures, requirements, and practices for all IT systems. Coordinates with OCIO on the development of systems and application policies guidelines, standards, requirements, and procedures. Recommends ways to optimize the operability, functionality, and security of the enterprise's systems. Performs the following major duties associated with these assignments:
Duty 1. System Administration
- Develops standard operating procedures for a variety of IT hardware tasks or activities.
- Modifies, adapts, and/or refines broader guidelines to resolve specific complex and/or intricate issues and problems; and identifies and researches trends and patterns in order to develop new methods and criteria and/or propose new policies or practices for systems administration activities.
- Optimizes the functionality and performance of systems. Maintains systems integrity and availability anticipating likely capacity or configuration problems and initiating corrective or preventive actions. Diagnoses and recovers failed systems.
- Research options for problem resolution and recommendations.
- Supports the development of multi-year IT strategic plans for a variety of IT systems
Duty 2. IT Coordination and Integration
- Consults with customers to identify priorities and best approaches for integrating systems administration requirements into daily operations.
- Determines best approaches for implementation aligned to OCIO and the organization's strategic and funding priorities.
- Analyzes and provides cost-benefit analyses to decision-makers for recommended changes.
- Presents in writing or orally to audiences within and external to the organization, identifying priorities and barriers to project accomplishment.
- Plans and coordinates product and equipment installation and lifecycle upgrades, overseeing and resolving technical and administrative problems, controlling current versions and future releases of hardware and applications software, and documenting the physical configuration of the systems.
- Develops new methods, criteria to draft proposals for new policies and procedures to management.
Duty 3. System Improvement and Modernization
- Reprioritizes and allocates resources as they become available and recommends additional components to improve overall system performance.
- Keeps abreast of current and emerging technologies and systems administration practices and methods
- Recommends additional components to improve overall system performance.
Duty 4. Information Security and Cybersecurity
- Ensures guidance and work products comply with organizational IT security requirements.
- Identifies and mitigates security vulnerabilities and risks.
- Establishes new security policies
- Leads the planning and execution of system security accreditation
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a U.S. citizen or national.
- You will be required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
- You may be required to serve a one-year probationary period.
- You are required to register for Selective Service if you are a male born after 12/03/59.
- You will be required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement.
- Applicant must be able to obtain/maintain a SECRET SECURITY clearance.
- You will be required to obtain a Core Level 1 within 12 months after employment.
Qualifications
You must meet all the requirements below by the closing date of the announcement and they must be clearly identified in your application, resume, or supporting documents. This includes any general and specialized experience, education, and/or selective placement factors mentioned. These are used to determine if you possess the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities to successfully perform in this position. You must meet the following United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements for the advertised position. OPM's prescribed Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Information Technology (IT) Management can be found at Information Technology (IT) Management Series 2210 (Alternative A) (opm.gov).
Generally, current federal employees or reinstatement eligibles must have served at least one year at the next lower grade level. This requirement is called time-in-grade.
BASIC REQUIREMENT
To qualify at the GS-11 level, you must have one-year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 obtained in the federal or private sector performing IT InfoSec duties to include: (1) Experience monitoring the status and progress towards resolution of assigned Incidents for a help desk,(2) Experience analyzing data to diagnose and identify root causes to common user and network issues, (3) Three or more years of actual experience working with others to resolve IT service desk related technical and network issues, and (4) Experience working on deployment of software and patches.
To qualify at the GS-12 level, you must have one-year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 obtained in the federal or private sector performing IT InfoSec duties to include: (1) Experience managing relationship with Tier 2 teams to drive continuous improvement while identifying opportunities for additional Tier 1 involvement in incident resolution, (2) Experience analyzing data to diagnose and identify root causes to common user and network related issues, (3) Three or more years of actual experience resolving technical and network issues, and (4) Experience deploying patches and software to network desktops and troubleshooting issues that arise.
To qualify at the GS-13 level, you must have one-year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 obtained in the federal or private sector performing IT InfoSec duties to include: (1) Experience managing relationship with Tier 2 and 3 teams to drive continuous improvement while identifying opportunities for additional Tier 1 involvement in incident resolution, (2) Experience analyzing data to diagnose and identify root causes to technical and network issues, (3) Four or more years of actual experience deploying patches and software to network desktops and troubleshooting issues that arise.
In addition to meeting specialized experience requirements, you must have IT-related experience demonstrating these competencies:
Attention to Detail - Knowledgeable in performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
Customer Service - Knowledge in how toanticipate and meets the need of both internal and external customers. Delivers high-quality products and services; is committed to continuous improvement. Effectively manages customer relationships.
Oral Communication - Skilled in making clear and convincing oral presentations to individuals and groups. Listens effectively; clarifies information as needed. Speaks and writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner that is appropriate to the audience. Facilitates an open exchange of ideas to ensure all group input is considered.
Problem Solving - Skilled in identifying and analyzing problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations.
Team Building - Ability to form, manage, and lead a project team. Fosters an environment of trust and unity that encourages and acknowledges cooperation, collective problem solving and participative decision making. Seeks involvement of all project team members in the decision-making process to build group commitment. Identifies and supports project team goals. Facilitates cooperation and motivates project team members to accomplish group goals.
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.
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.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
This position is announced under a government-wide Direct Hire Authority (DHA) for IT Specialist positions in the GS-2210 series. Under this Direct-Hire authority, applicants are required to meet minimum qualification requirements at the grade level(s) of interest. Veteran's Preference, Schedule A, Category Rating, and other methods of consideration DO NOT APPLY under Direct-Hire Authority regulations. Appointments made under this authority will be processed as new appointments to the Civil Service. Current Civil Service employees would, therefore, be given new appointments to the Civil Service. Current Federal employees may be required to serve a new probationary period (5 CFR 315.802(b).If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses you provided in your online questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation before the vacancy closes, you may be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly.
The self-assessment questions are related to the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies (KSA's). You do not have to respond to the KSA's.
- Skill in providing expert counsel and guidance on highly complex and sensitive matters pertaining cybersecurity plans, strategy, and policy to support and align with organizational cybersecurity initiatives and regulatory compliance.
- Mastery of assessing and applying advanced Cybersecurity Incident Response principles, concepts, methods, standards, and practices sufficient to accomplish.
- Skill in assessing policy needs and developing policies to govern IT activities. Providing policy guidance to IT management, staff, and customers.
We will evaluate your relevant education and/or work experience as they relate to the competencies, knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) mentioned above. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.
Your responses to the self assessment questions serve as the basis for your initial rating. You will receive a numerical score based on your responses to these questions. Next, your responses will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information provided in your resume. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview. If referred all relevant documents submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the selecting official. Falsifying your background, education, and/or experience is cause for not hiring you or for changing your scored responses to questions you've answered, which may affect your overall final score.
View Assessment To preview the assessment questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12541365
Required Documents
To receive consideration, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified below by 11:59 PM ET on: 09/23/2024
1. Resume. Your resume or any other written format you choose should contain the following information: paid and non-paid experience, including job titles, dates held (month and year for qualifying purposes to receive credit), number of hours worked per week, and salary; knowledge of the subject matter and technical skills pertinent to this position; specific duties performed that fully detail the level and complexity of the work; and names and phone numbers of your current and/or previous supervisor(s).
Your resume should contain enough information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic, general, or specialized experience requirements for each grade level you are applying. This information must be clearly identified in your resume. If you do not provide enough information for us to determine your qualifications, you may be rated ineligible.
2. Occupational Questionnaire. A complete job-specific occupational questionnaire submitted through your Application Manager account or fax it using the methods outlined in the How to Apply section.
3. Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles. You must submit the following documents: a copy of your agency notice; a copy of your most recent performance rating; and a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, noting your current position, grade level, and duty location.
4. Cover Letter. This is optional.
5. Veterans' Preference: if applicable, The Commission considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor in the hiring of all positions. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include such information in their cover letter, or resume, and submit supporting documents (e.g. DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active duty) as part of their application package. Applicants eligible to claim a 10-point preference must submit a Standard Form 15 (SF-15), and documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed, as listed on the SF-15. Specific information is available on the Office of Personnel Management website at: http://www.opm.gov.
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
To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit it along with the documentation specified in the "Required Documents" section below. You must apply online, which allows you to review and track the status of your application. Documents and application references are available at the "Other Information" section of this announcement. You must meet qualifications as of the closing date of the announcement and your complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 (EDT) on . Please note that this announcement has application limits and may close prior to this date.
To begin the online application process:
a) Log onto USAJOBS, click "Apply Online" to create a USAJOBS account, or to log into your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
b) Click the "Submit My Answers" button to submit your application package.
c) To verify that your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, select the "Application Status" link, and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, documentation received and processed, and any correspondence we have sent you related to this job opportunity. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application: Log into your USAJOBS account and click "Update Application" in the vacancy announcement section. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
Next steps
You will receive an auto-generated e-mail telling you your application has been received. After the application count cut-off date has been met, your application package will be reviewed by the Commission's Human Resource Management Office for completeness and satisfaction of the basic qualification requirements for this position.
Your application may also be reviewed by Subject Matter Expert(s). If you are selected for an interview, you can expect a structured interview process, which may include a meeting with 2 to 4 Commission staff members.
We appreciate your interest in the Commission and commit to keeping you informed on the status of your application. You will be notified of the following major milestones:
Receipt of your application;
Determination whether your application shows you meet the minimum qualifications for the position;
Determination whether your application was in the group for referral to the hiring official; and
The final outcome of the vacancy.
These notices will be emailed and posted directly on your USAJOBS account.
You can always check the status of your application as the recruitment process moves along by:
1. Logging into your USAJOBS account;
2. Selecting Application Status; and
3. Reviewing the Status column.
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