Supervisory IT Specialist Job in Austin, TX

Vacancy No. DHA-12663680-25-CP Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology
Salary $123,334.00 to $160,337.00 Grade 13 to 13
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 1/14/2025 Close Date 1/20/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Austin, TX


Summary

This position is in the Enterprise Command Operations (ECO), End User Services (EUS), Office of Information and Technology (OIT) serving as an IT Supervisory Specialist responsible for the full range of duties within their assigned roles in the Incident and Emergency Management directorate for addressing IT operational events to maintain the interoperability of production systems and services.

This job is open to

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.

Duties

The Major Duties of the Supervisory IT Specialist are, but not limited to:

  • Tracks progress and quality of performance for assigned staff, and develops remediation plans where necessary. Identifies career development pathways and opportunities for staff.
  • Tracks progress and quality of performance for assigned staff, and develops remediation plans where necessary. Identifies career development pathways and opportunities for staff.
  • Leads Incident and Emergency Management IT Teams in the oversight of enterprise level monitoring with the goal of identifying and mitigating ongoing or active events to minimize or prevent service events from becoming incidents. Oversees and monitors adherence to established policies and controls implemented to assist other service lines with service events troubleshooting, communicating and reporting.
  • Undertakes enterprise event monitoring operations of a special and/or critical nature; evaluates the impact of changes in business needs, evaluates feasibility, identifies solutions; and presents recommendations to senior management orally or in written reports.
  • Directs and manages ongoing or ad hoc technical teams in the overall operations and maintenance of networks, systems applications and databases.
  • Ensures VA policies follow regulatory requirements and legislated mandates governing those programs. Provides technical direction to staff and contract team members. Documents statistics on information assets and maintains information flow and asset prioritizing documents and maintains asset dependencies and contingency deficiencies; develops technology assessments, as well as critical asset protection implementation plans: and implements critical information protection training awareness programs.
  • Manages engineering, implementation, evaluation and continuous improvement of processes and technology in accordance with management priorities and objectives. Ensures appropriate documentation is developed to substantiate plans and procurements, and to ensure usability and effectiveness of processes and technology once implemented.
  • Facilitates the effective exchange of information between stakeholders at all levels by sponsoring regular meetings, teleconferences and coordinating sessions to ensure all critical parties are informed and involved in decision making activities and maintenance events.
  • Leads IT team(s) responsible for performing 24 X 7 shift operations. This includes monitoring the enterprise IT environment and related IT systems of VA facilities physically dispersed throughout the nation.
  • Duties specific to the Incident and Emergency Management, Event Management Division: Responsible for IT systems event monitoring and management of related processes. Responsible for performance data collection and reporting (dashboards). Liaison to OIT enterprise, district, territories and areas. Responsible for all other management driven reporting. Maintains visibility and situational awareness for the OIT enterprise, district, territories and areas. Responsible for fault identification and aggregation of first responders and notifications when detected by the enterprise monitoring systems. The Incumbent has direct management responsibility for all administrative, operational and planning activities of the Incident and Emergency Management, Event Management division shift as assigned. Provides direct supervision to all staff of the office to include team leaders. Monitors and/or oversees appropriate performance measures and studies to subordinates based on the ability of the assigned. Reviews and evaluates the performance of the subordinates, the abilities of the assignees and evaluates the performance of the subordinates on assigned projects.

Work Schedule: Tuesday through Saturday 2:30PM-11:00PM
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory IT Specialist/PD10057A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Physical Demands: The purpose of the contacts is to determine IT requirements; and negotiate, influence and persuade managers to accept and implement findings and recommendations related to the 8 utilization of established or proposed IT systems and/or security methods and procedures. The incumbent may encounter resistance due to competition for scarce resources, organizational conflict and/or philosophical differences.

Working Conditions: The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions.

Promotion Potential: This position is at the full performance level.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • Complete the initial online assessment.
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  • To be considered for this position, applicants must complete all required steps in the process.

Qualifications

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

INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT (IOR): This position has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR). As a pre-requisite to the Specialized Experience requirement, you must meet the following basic experience requirements.

  • Basic Experience Requirement: The basic requirements MUST be substantiated in your resume. Failure to provide the required information will render your application ineligible for consideration. Read all responses before making your selection. Applicants must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below at a proficiency level equivalent to the next lower grade level in federal service.
    • 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,

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT:One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

  • Specialized experience is defined as: Performing trend and alert analysis using infrastructure and application performance monitoring tools, such as SolarWinds, AppDynamics, Splunk, Dynatrace, DataDog, and ScienceLogic.
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.

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.

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

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

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.

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

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.

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:

  1. 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.
  2. Leadership - Inspires, motivates and guides others toward goal accomplishment; coaches, mentors, and challenges subordinates; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations; models high standards of honesty, integrity, trust, openness, and respect for the individual by applying these values to daily behaviors.
  3. Technical Problem Solving - Troubleshoots, diagnoses, analyzes, and identifies system malfunctions to determine the source and cause of the problem.
The 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.

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes one or more of the following documents. Please use this checklist to make sure you have included documents required for your application. You will not be contacted for additional information:

  1. Resume detailing specialized experience and competencies as they relate to this position.
    • For each position in your resume, you must specify the start and end dates (month/year) and a description of duties. If the position was Federal, you should also indicate the grade level. Resumes containing a general summary of all positions held, not specifying start/end dates, and/or not including documentation supporting Federal grade level(s) are insufficient to determine basic qualifications.
    • Your experience must be clearly stated in your resume. We cannot make assumptions on your experience based on your current, or former, position titles on your resume. Failure to clearly demonstrate your qualifying experience in your resume may result in disqualification for this position and your rating will be adjusted as necessary.
  2. Complete All Required Assessments.

In addition to the document above, you must submit additional documents to prove your eligibility for the following:

  1. ICTAP/CTAP: for displaced Federal/VA employees
    • SF-50 showing Career or Career-Conditional status; AND
    • No Reduction-In-Force (RIF) Notice or a certification of expected separation (not a resignation letter); AND
    • Most recent performance appraisal.

Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - you must remove your image from any badges, licenses, etc.

Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices. 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 applicant's 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).

You will not be contacted for additional information. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.

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 and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments, and required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. 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. 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 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
  4. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
  5. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
  6. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
  7. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
  8. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
For more general information, system requirements, reasonable accommodation information, and to request assistance regarding the USA Hire Assessments, review the following resources: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_Assessments.

To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.

Agency contact information

Recruitment Team Two B
Address
DAS for Information Technology - 103
810 Vermont Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20240
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required assessments and documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued, and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.

If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.


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


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