Duties

Summary

The position is located in the Information Technology Division, Office of the Executive Director, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).

The incumbent serves as an authoritative advisor on IT issues, particularly with regard to cutting-edge applications and strategic planning, as well as the Division's Customer Outreach Lead on Public Diplomacy interests in all areas of IT between ECA and stakeholders within and outside of the Department .

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Analyzes long-range software and equipment needs against known and new business requirements technological advances, costs, and new IT systems, software and hardware.
• Analyzes and coordinates major software and hardware acquisitions.
• Provides authoritative guidance to stakeholders to ensure their projects progress with minimal delays or complaints.
• Develops long- and short-term strategic planning efforts and identification of goals.
• Develops recommendations that anticipate major effects to the IT systems and mission -related operations and provides mitigation of adverse impacts.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• Verification of employment eligibility in the United States is required.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.
• One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.
• U.S. Citizenship is required.

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. If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript with your application. NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements, 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.

Applicants applying for the GS-14 grade level must meet the following requirements: Have IT-related experience demonstrating EACH of the four competencies AND specialized experience listed below:

Attention to Detail - Thoroughly reviews various IT related data/information; dedicates focus to accomplish tasks that are complete, precise, and accurate to a given IT situation.

Customer Service - Works with clients and customers to assess IT needs, provide expert technical information or assistance, resolve fairly complex or non-routine problems, or satisfy expectations.

Oral Communication - Expresses technical information to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information, and makes clear and convincing presentations.

Problem Solving - Identifies IT related problems using a variety of materials or sources; gathers and applies technical information to determine accuracy and relevance to problems; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives; and makes recommendations that influence IT policies or programs.

AND Have at least 1 full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service which provided you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

Experience coordinating with various stakeholders to ensure IT projects progress with minimal delays or complaints.

Experience managing comprehensive IT projects throughout the entire development and deployment life cycle.

Experience assessing long- and short-term strategic planning efforts and identification of goals.

Experience analyzing long-range software and equipment needs against known and new business requirements.

Experience analyzing and coordinating major software and hardware acquisitions.

Experience developing presentations and written materials that inform decisions making on IT initiatives.

Experience with traditional IT infrastructures (i.e. servers, networks) as well as cloud-based platforms (i.e. O365, ServiceNow).

Experience with designing, delivering, managing, and improving IT services and processes to align with business objectives.

NOTE: In order to qualify for this position, your 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. There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-14 position.

Amendments made to remove National Guard & reserves from the Hiring Paths and add Special Authorities to the Clarification from the Agency section.

Education

See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements, if applicable.

Additional information

EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROGRAM (E-Verify) - U.S. law requires organizations to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States - either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization. This agency utilizes E-Verify to compare information from the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm employment eligibility. If the employee's information does not match DHS and/or SSA records, the employee is given an opportunity to resolve the problem. If eligibility cannot be verified, employment will be terminated.

For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or ReasonableAccommodations@state.gov .

If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department.

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 on the following knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

Knowledge of organization mission, program goals, and IT infrastructure.

Knowledge of broad range of advanced IT principles and practices, systems analysis/administration and engineering, policy and planning, hardware and software, existing and emerging IT systems and services.

Ability to lead teams in the integration and implementation of major IT systems with complex parameters and
sensitivities.

Skill in developing policies, procedures, and strategies governing the planning and delivery of IT services.

Skill in project management.

Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. 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). Your resume should include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week. For assistance with creating a resume, please click here .

Qualified candidates are assigned a score between 70 and 100. Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) candidates must be rated "Well Qualified" for the position and earn a score of at least 85 (when applicants are rated in a range of 70 to 100) to receive consideration for selection priority. If, after reviewing your resume and self-assessment questionnaire responses and a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, a score will be manually determined that reflects your documented experience. This may result in a lower score, which may also eliminate you from consideration for this position.

Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any required supporting documentation by the closing date of this job opportunity. Your application package must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. Applicants found to be among the top qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process

Required Documents

All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to our automated system "Gateway to State" by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

1. Resume - your resume or any other written format you choose should contain the required information as specified in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section. Insufficient information will result in an ineligible rating.

2. A completed online job specific self-assessment questionnaire through the Department's automated system "Gateway to State".

3. Transcripts - if applicable, see the Qualifications section of the announcement. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.

4. If you are qualifying based on other criteria listed under the Qualification Section of this announcement, you must submit the required supporting documentation (certificates, certifications, etc.) with your application by the closing date.

5. Performance Appraisal - All current Federal employees and reinstatement eligible applicants must submit a copy of your most recent completed annual performance appraisal that includes the final rating. If a performance appraisal does not exist, is incomplete or unavailable, a Form DS-1812 (Applicant Appraisal) or equivalent form from another agency signed by the current supervisor is acceptable. Mid-year progress reviews will not be accepted.

6. Current, former, and non-competitive Federal employees must submit SF-50s (Notification of Personnel Action) that show: effective date, position title, series, grade, salary, tenure, position occupied, full promotion potential, and name of agency. Examples include promotion & within-grade increase actions. Award SF-50s often do not show this information. Multiple SF-50s may be needed to show all information.

7. Veterans who are preference eligibles OR who have been separated from the Armed Forces under honorable conditions (honorable or general discharge) after 3 or more years of continuous active service may apply under the Veterans Employment Opportunities act (VEOA). You must submit a DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member Copy 4 is preferable) showing the dates you served as well as your type of discharge and qualifying service campaign medals OR if you are still on active duty, you MUST submit a certification on letterhead from your military branch which contains your military service dates, expected date of discharge or release, and the character of service to show that your military service was performed under honorable conditions. The expected date of discharge or release must be no later than 120 days after the certification is submitted for consideration for this job announcement.

Current Federal employees applying under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) must submit a qualifying SF-50 to show you meet time-in-grade requirements.

If you are applying as a preference eligible with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more, in addition to the DD-214 or certification, you must also submit a current version of the SF-15 (Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference), dated October 2013, and the required supporting documents listed on that form. Previous editions of the SF-15 will not be accepted. For more information on veterans' preference, click here . To gain access to your DD-214 online, please visit: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/get-service-records.html.

For more information on Veteran Authorities, consult the Vet Guide .

8. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must submit a copy of the appropriate documentation with their application. See links below:

ICTAP Considerations
CTAP Considerations

9. If you are applying under a special hiring authority you MUST submit proof of eligibility with your application. For information related to special hiring authorities for severely disabled persons visit: http://www.opm.gov/disability/PeopleWithDisabilities.asp

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.