Duties

Summary

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. We accomplish our mission by providing objective and reliable information and analysis to the Congress, to federal agencies, and to the public, and recommending improvements, when appropriate, on a wide variety of issues to make government work better.

This vacancy is for Summer IT internship positions with in ISTS/EAAG and ISTS/EOG. The anticipated start dates begin May 2021.

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Responsibilities

This internship opportunity is located in the Office of Information Systems and Technology Services (ISTS) within the following Groups:

The Enterprise Architecture and Application Group (EAAG) - works closely with stakeholders, including management, agency executives, and subject matter experts (SME), to develop views of the agency's strategy, information, processes, and IT assets. Team members lead strategic technological planning to achieve business goals by prioritizing technology incentives in collaboration with other teams and coordinating the evaluation, deployment, and management of current and future technologies.

(EAAG) duties:

• Support IT investment analysis and decision making in support of business priorities
• Obtain an understanding of the GAO IT governance process to capture changes to the technology architecture
• Perform duties associated with technology data analysis, maintenance, and publication of roadmaps
• Solicit and collaborate with stakeholders for updates to the strategic initiatives sequencing plan
• Capture, analyze, and report quantitative measures
• Attend and collaborate in Enterprise Architecture meetings
• Execute self-study and professional research related to enterprise architecture standards and new technology related to the IT Strategy and/or GAO business requests

The Enterprise Operations Group (EOG) - is responsible for the design, engineering and day-to-day operation, and management of the GAO's IT infrastructure. This includes data center services and applications such as mail and document management; application integration; LAN administration functions; servers and storage; and network and desktop operating system support. EOG also coordinates all ISTS field services and provides application implementation support.

EOG is also in charge of telecommunication services which determines both local and wide-area voice, data, and videoconferencing requirements and installs, manages, and supports these communications systems to satisfy GAO business unit needs. Services also include local and long distance telephone services, wireless services including cell phones and Blackberries, voice mail, audio and video conferencing, wide area network, Internet access, and cable television distribution.

(EOG) duties:

• Coordinate reviews of standard operating procedures for operational services, such as server commissioning/decommissioning, network asset monitoring and alerting, backups, IP address management, etc.
• Work with multi-disciplinary teams consisting of network engineers, data center engineers, software developers, and customer support representatives in planning and conducting IT operations.
• Coordinate among government and contract staff resources to manage operational efforts in order to meet objectives, costs, and schedule milestones.
• Research and analyze information technology (IT) problems, issues, and requirements relative to delivering quality IT services.
• Perform administrative functions and coordinating work with other IT functional areas.
• Assess documentation needs regarding IT policies, procedures, and/or guidelines.
• Document processes and procedures related to handling and support of GAO computers end device configurations.
• Provide reports and statistics on computers and their configurations.
• Support research, assist in pilots, and implement new technologies to improve management of personal computers.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
NA

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Current enrollment and good standing in an accredited degree program.
• You will be subject to a background/suitability investigation/determination
• Your complete application must be received by closing date of announcement.
• Selective Service registration if you are a male born after Dec. 31, 1959.

You must be currently enrolled and good standing in an accredited degree program throughout the duration of the internship.

All academic degrees and coursework must be from accredited institutions.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be meet by the start of the internship:

To qualify for the GS-7 level, you must be enrolled in a Graduate degree program and meet one of the following:

1. Have a bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement (defined below) in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management; OR

2. Have a bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement (defined below) that provided a minimum of 24 semester hours in one or more of the IT-related fields identified above, and required the development or adaptation of applications, systems or networks; OR

3. Have one full year of graduate-level education in one or more of the fields identified above; OR

4. Have one year of specialized experience at the GS-5 level or equivalent. Specialized experience is defined as performing routine or practical work related to the management, technical support, operations, or deliverability of computer technologies and services to end-users. In addition, have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the following four competencies: (1) Attention to Detail - demonstrates the ability to take thorough notes, prepare accurate written summaries, and synthesize information and drawing preliminary conclusions; (2) Teamwork - demonstrates the ability to collaborate and work effectively in a team-based setting (3) Written and Oral Communication - demonstrates the ability to conduct and participate in meetings, and present information in writing and orally to team members, management, and stakeholders; and (4) Problem Solving - demonstrates the ability to apply analytical methods to identify patterns, trends, or irregularities, and to assess evidence to develop findings and recommendations for improvement.

Superior Academic Achievement is defined as: a) Class Standing - upper third of the graduating class based on completed courses in the college, university, or major subdivision; b) Grade Point Average - 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 as recorded on your official transcript or as computed based on 4 years of education or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of curriculum; OR 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required courses completed in your major field or the required courses in your major field completed during the final 2 years of your curriculum. If more than 10 percent of total undergraduate credit hours are non-graded, i.e. pass/fail, CLEP, CCAF, DANTES, military credit, etc., you cannot qualify based on GPA; c) Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society (note: freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this position). (If qualifying based on class standing or honor society membership, provide appropriate documentation).;

NOTE: You must be a current student enrolled in a Graduate program seeking a degree in an IT-related field of study from an accredited educational institution on a full or half-time basis. See the Qualifications section of this announcement for more details on who may apply and how to qualify for a Summer 2021 GAO internship. If at any point during the internship (and for any reason) your status as a student changes to that of a non-student, your internship will be terminated.

Education

See qualification section.

Additional information

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

This position does not have promotion potential.

Telework eligibility will be reassessed at the start date

Appointments for student intern positions are nonpermanent and generally last from 10 to 16 weeks. Student interns may have an opportunity for a permanent or term position based on a successful intern experience (completion of a minimum of 400 hours of work, not to exceed a total of 640 hours) and successful completion of degree requirements. The ability to convert to a permanent or term appointment with a minimum 400 hours of work experience is contingent upon budgetary conditions and staffing needs at the time of eligibility.

Travel and relocation expenses will not be paid for by the GAO. Males born after 12/31/59 and at least 18 years of age must be registered with the Selective Service System. Visit http://www.sss.gov.

Selectees will be required to complete questions contained on the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) at the time a tentative job offer is made. If selected, at the time of appointment, selectees will be required to update the OF-306.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION: GAO provides reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees (and interns) with disabilities. To request an accommodation, please email ReasonableAccommodations@gao.gov

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

You may be required to file a financial disclosure report.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

The questionnaire will assess your qualifications for the job. If you meet all of the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans. Please make sure that your responses to the assessment questions are supported in your resume. Follow all instructions carefully as incomplete answers, errors, or omissions may affect your rating. Your rating will be invalid if you fail to include a narrative reply to any assessment question(s) that requires further explanation or your reply is "see resume".

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

You must provide a complete application package which includes:

-A resume showing relevant experience (cover letter optional). Your resume must show the work schedule and hours worked per week as well as dates of employment.

-All applicants MUST submit college or university graduate and/or undergraduate transcripts (official or unofficial) that show degree conferral and/or support the semester/quarter number of hours completed as well as proof of current enrollment. If you are completing your first graduate degree and have been accepted into a graduate program to pursue a 2nd graduate degree and do not yet have a transcript, you must submit proof of acceptance/enrollment into your new graduate program, along with the transcripts from your current graduate program.

- Current proof of enrollment (i.e., transcript, proof of registered courses, or letter from school registrars office)

-If you are submitting a transcript from a non-US educational institution, applicants must submit all necessary documents to a private U.S. organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials, commonly called a credential evaluation service. For additional information please visit http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp

- If you are claiming veteran preference you must submit adequate proof of active service in the Armed Forces including Member 4 copy of your DD-214, which indicates character of service. Other copies WILL NOT BE accepted. To claim 10-point veterans' preference, you must also submit an SF-15 and a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs verifying the percentage of your disability and preference in hiring. If you are currently active duty and are within 120 days of discharge or release from active duty, you must submit certification of expected discharge or release under honorable conditions with your application. The certification must be an official statement of service from the armed forces command.

Veterans Preference applies to this announcement. For more information regarding veterans' preference please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/index.aspx

Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

All applicants must submit their academic transcripts in order to be eligible. The transcripts may be unofficial and must show your status as a student. If you are selected for this position you will be required to provide an official transcript on the day of your orientation or within 3 business days after orientation. This transcript must show that you meet the education requirements for the GS-7 grade level, and that you are currently enrolled through at least August 2021. Failure to meet the requirements or provide the transcript will result in Termination of your internship.

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.