Clarification from the agency

Current federal civilian employees in the competitive service on permanent career or career-conditional appointments.

The duties of the Supervisory Information Technology Specialist (Digital Forensics Lab Director) GS-2210-14:

• Provides strategic and technical leadership for the INV digital forensics laboratory, including supervising personnel, defining work requirements, assigning tasks, evaluating work products, and overseeing performance management, workforce development, and equal opportunity compliance.
• Directs, develops, and manages all digital forensic lab operations, programs, and long- and short-range projects; prioritize and track support tasks; maintain situational awareness of lab activities; and ensure investigative teams receive timely, high-quality forensic support.
• Oversees enterprise forensic network operations, including administration of user accounts, security controls, data integrity, redundancy, system maintenance, and all assets supporting digital forensic activities such as servers, switches, and storage systems.
• Develops, maintains, and enforces digital forensic laboratory policies, procedures, and documentation; ensure staff compliance with standards and best practices; manage equipment lifecycle (licensing, patching, authority-to-operate compliance); and supervise lab inventory.
• Serves as a working technical expert by conducting or overseeing complex forensic examinations and e-discovery activities-using advanced forensic tools to collect, preserve, recover, and analyze digital evidence, including mobile devices, computers, and network systems.
• Leads development of new forensic methodologies, approve changes to examination processes, review technical reports for accuracy and compliance, and ensure continuous improvement through analysis of metrics, lessons learned, and performance trends.
• Represents INV in interagency, operational, and technical engagements; maintain liaison with federal, state, local, and international partners; provide briefings and training on forensic capabilities; and coordinate with external stakeholders to advance mission requirements.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen. You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• You may be subject to pre-employment and random drug tests.
• All employees will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/.
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration)
• Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
• You may be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
• You will be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal Employment, at the time requested by agency.
• The employee is required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450 upon entering the position and annually.
• You may be required to travel domestically and internationally.
• You may be required to complete a one-year Supervisory probationary period.
• Must possess at least one of the following certifications or recognized equivalent: CFCE, EnCE, ACE, CCPA, GCFE, GCFA, GNFA.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements, including education, and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement.

Time-In-Grade Requirements: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions, per 5CFR 300, Subpart F. NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements, by the closing date of this announcement.

Time-in-grade documentation: If you are applying for a higher grade and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the 1-year time-in-grade requirement so you will need to provide an SF-50 which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements, such as your step increase SF-50. (examples of appropriate SF-50s include: Promotions, Within-grade Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old).

This position has both a basic occupational requirement and a minimum qualification requirement. You must meet both requirements.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: You must have IT-related experience, at the GS-13 grade level in the federal government, demonstrating each of the four competencies listed:
I have IT-related experience, demonstrated by paid or unpaid experience obtained in either the private or public sector and/or completion of specific, intensive training that demonstrates that I possess each of the following four 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.

• Leading and supervising digital forensics laboratory personnel, including assigning work, defining technical requirements and milestones, evaluating employee performance and work products, and implementing performance improvements or corrective actions.
• Developing, directing, and managing digital forensic lab operations, programs, and long- and short-range project plans; prioritizing and tracking technical support tasks; maintaining situational awareness of lab activities; and ensuring alignment with investigative mission requirements.
• Administering and overseeing enterprise forensic network systems, including user and permission management, security controls, data integrity, redundancy, virus protection, data backup, and performance monitoring for servers, switches, SAN devices, and related infrastructures.
• Creating, maintaining, and enforcing digital forensic laboratory policies and procedures; ensuring compliance with governing directives, accreditation standards, and best practices; and managing equipment lifecycle requirements, including licensing, patching, and authority-to-operate compliance.
• Conducting or supervising complex digital forensic examinations using advanced tools and methodologies to collect, preserve, process, and analyze electronic evidence, including mobile devices, computers, and network sources, preparing technical reports and ensuring adherence to forensically sound procedures.
• Developing new forensic methodologies, approving procedural changes, reviewing reports for accuracy and compliance, analyzing metrics, and identifying operational gaps to enhance laboratory effectiveness, efficiency, and readiness.
• Representing investigative technology and forensic lab capabilities to senior leadership, partner agencies, and external stakeholders; maintaining interagency liaison; and preparing and presenting briefings or training on digital forensic operations.

• International Association of Computer Investigative Specialist, Certified Computer Forensics Examiner (CFCE)
• OpenText, EnCase Certified Examiner (EnCE)
• Exterro, Exterro Certified Examiner (ACE)
• Cellebrite Certified Physical Analyst (CCPA)
• GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner (GCFE), Analyst (GCFA) or Network Forensic Analyst (GNFA)

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 based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. 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.

THIS POSITION REQUIRES A CERTIFICATION
You are strongly encouraged to include a copy of your certification in your application package

The USA Hire Assessments 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.

Structured Resume Review: Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. SMEs will review ONLY two (2) pages of your resume. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume). Applicants passing the structured resume review will move on to the next phase of the assessment process.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

Competencies Bullets

• Accountability
• Customer Service
• Decisiveness
• Flexibility
• Interpersonal Skills
• Problem Solving
• Resilience
• Partnering
• Computer Forensics
• Forensics
• Oral Communication
• Written Communication

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO DOCUMENT IN YOUR APPLICATION PACKAGE EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTS YOUR ELIGIBILITY AND QUALIFICATION CLAIMS. You MUST upload the applicable documents with your application package. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. All applicants are required to submit a resume limited to two (2) pages showing all relevant experience. Your resume must address your technical qualifications for the position, and it may not exceed two (2) pages. Your 2-page (or less) resume must be in PDF format, with no smaller than a 1" margin and no smaller than a 10-point font. If you submit a resume that exceeds the two-page limit and/or does not meet the margin or font limitations stated herein, you will immediately be deemed ineligible for this position and will receive no further consideration.

If you submit more than one copy of your resume, only the most recent version will be reviewed. The latest timestamp will be used to determine which version of your resume is "most recent."

If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you will not be considered for this vacancy.

2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Most recent SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" showing you are/were in the competitive service and the highest grade held. It is recommended you provide a SF-50 within the last 52 weeks before the closing date of this JOA for current federal employees. We will use the employment date and grade on your resume in conjunction with the provided SF-50 to help determine initial eligibility but may require additional information to confirm at the job offer stage if needed.
• STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: Most recent performance appraisal
• College Transcript(s), if qualifying based on education. Official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable.
• DD-214, SF-15 Form and VA letter, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty from Veterans for consideration under Veteran hiring authorities
• CTAP documentation, if applicable (e.g., reduction-in-force (RIF) separation notice, RIF separation SF-50 personnel action, certification of expected separation, etc.). In addition submit a copy of your current (or last) performance rating of record which must be at least fully successful or equivalent and submit all required documents listed above that apply to you (e.g., resume, transcripts, etc.).
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable (e.g., Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.)
• Non-competitive hiring authority eligibility documentation, if applicable. For information related to Schedule A hiring authority for individuals with disabilities visit OPM's hiring information site.
• Other noncompetitive or special appointing authorities (e.g., Peace Corps, VISTA, Public Land Corp, Military Spouse, VRA, 30% Disabled Veterans, Certain Former Overseas Employees, Foreign Service, etc.) must provide substantiating documentation as required. Any other supporting documentation required for verification as described in the announcement.
• Interchange Agreement with Other Merit Systems Eligible: Documentation of eligibility as listed in each individual interchange agreement.

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