Duties

This is a bargaining unit position.

You will be required to possess or obtain and maintain Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) certification.

Please read this public notice in its entirety before submitting your application.

Vacancies may not presently exist but may become available at any point during the opening period of this vacancy announcement. We will not review applicant resumes until there is a request to fill a vacancy.

You are applying to a public notice to fill current and future vacancies. Please note, that there may or may not be actual/projected vacancies when you submit your application. Your resume and supporting documentation will be retained with other applicants and reviewed as vacancies occur. You will not receive a notice regarding your application's status other than the initial acknowledgment until a request is received to fill a position.

This announcement will remain open until October 31, 2022. The cut-off date is September 19, 2022, OR the point at which the first 100 applications are received, whichever comes first. Applications submitted after September 19, 2022, may not receive consideration. In addition, due to the potential of a high volume of applicants, not all applicants may receive consideration.

After the initial cut-off period, once additional requests to fill a vacancy are received, applications will be reviewed in increments of 100 applications in date order.

Note: Submitting multiple applications will change the order in which your application is reviewed.

We will refer qualified applicants to the selecting official for consideration. The organization's hiring needs will determine the referral of additional applicants. Applicants will be notified about their application's status if referred or if we fill all vacancies.

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

• OPM Cyber Code 641- System Requirements Planner

For more information about these work roles, where they fit within the larger Cyber Workforce, and how they can support your unique career journey, please visit the Cyber Career Pathways tool on the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies website: https://niccs.us-cert.gov/workforce-development/cyber-career-pathways

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am- 4:30 pm
Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Available
Duty Location Status: Will work remotely from home.
Position Description Title/PD#: IT Specialist/ PD18501A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required
Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary, but there may be occasional walking, standing, bending and carrying of light items.

Major Duties:

• Provides expertise in telephone, network, cellular, radio, and video communications, hardware and software configuration design and support.
• Supports telephone and video network design and configuration associated with VA automated data processing systems and outside entities.
• Recommends concepts for new products, services or procedures that will satisfy the information requirements set forth by senior management.
• Evaluates procedures and test methods of analyzing specific information technologies.
• Makes recommendations to leadership in solving problems of IT policy and management, regulatory and oversight matters as well as provides administrative, compliance, and support in resolving significant technical issues.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
• Selectees are subject to a background/suitability investigation.
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selectees may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• A complete application package, i.e., Resume, Transcripts, etc., as required by the job announcement.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Participation in the Seasonal Influenza Prevention Program for VHA Health Care Personnel (HCP) is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs HCP.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Pre-employment physical evaluation may be required.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements when a request is received to fill a vacancy.

You may qualify based on your eexperience as described below.

Experience - 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

GS-13 Specialized Experience: You must possess one-year of Specialized Experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level. Specialized experience is defined as providing technical support to improve, enhance, develop and/or optimize telecommunications infrastructure and related policies and plans; participating in technical projects that evaluate IT program effectiveness and efficiency and provide actionable data for improvements; providing reports, briefings, presentations, summaries that include technical information for key officials and stakeholders.

Such experience is typically gained in the IT field or through the performance of work where the primary concern is IT.

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.

Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies , federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties.

To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above.

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. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp .

Education

There is no education substitute for the GS-13 levels.

Additional information

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/ .

Receiving Service Credit for 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.

OPM General Schedule (GS) & Locality Pay Tables: The salary range listed reflects the GS base rate (not including locality). Upon selection, the salary will be adjusted to include locality. Please see OPM GS & Locality Pay Tables .

Superior Qualifications and Special Needs Pay-Setting:
Agencies may set the rate of basic pay of a newly-appointed employee at a rate above the minimum rate of the appropriate General Schedule (GS) grade because of-

the superior qualifications of the candidate; or

a special need of the agency for the candidate's services.

An agency must approve each determination to use this authority before the employee enters on duty - the determination cannot be made retroactively - and is not guaranteed. OPM Superior Qualifications and Special Needs Pay-Setting Authority Fact Sheet .

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

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .