IT Specialist

Summary

Securing Travel, Protecting People - At the Transportation Security Administration, you will serve in a high-stakes environment to safeguard the American way of life. In cities across the country, you would secure airports, seaports, railroads, highways, and/or public transit systems, thus protecting America's transportation infrastructure and ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Open to All U.S. Citizens and U.S. Nationals

Duties

This IT Specialist position is located in the Office of Information Technology, Application Development Division, Collaboration & Enterprise Application Services Branch, Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Duties include but are not limited to:

Serves as the comprehensive consultant for helping to manage one or more large information technology projects to provide support to mission essential systems and infrastructure. Responsible for developing, integrating and implementing solutions to diverse complex projects.

Serves as the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) on a variety of IT contracts; formulates task order performance plans and deliverable items and ensures conformance with prescribed standards, and services as the single point of contacts between acquisitions, contractors, and

customers. Keeps priorities in balance and maintains effective customer relations with all servicing organizations.

Promotes awareness of security issues among the team and ensures sound security principles are reflected in the organization's vision and goals. Helps to develop and implement programs to ensure that systems, network and data users are aware of, understand and adhere to systems security policies and procedures. Collaborates with communities of interest involved in the development and implementation of workable approaches to IT architecture, capital investment planning, e Government, and other IT related legislative and policy initiatives.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Employee must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance based on a Special Background Investigation (SBI) with eligibility for Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI). This is a testing Designated position. Employee required to pass drug screening prior to appointment and periodically as required during employment.

Must pass an initial and periodic urinalysis screening for illegal drug use.

** Incumbent is required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450, (5CFR Part 2634, Subpart I USOGE, 6/08). Executive Branch Personnel Confidential Financial Disclosure Report upon entering the position and annually, in accordance with TSA Directive 1100.73-5 Employee Responsibilities and Code of Conduct. If you fail to meet the conditions of employment or any other pre-employment requirements, such as missing any of the scheduled appointments, the hiring agency may rescind their tentative offer of employment.

Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for TSA to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Qualifications

To qualify for the SV-J Pay Band (equivalent to GS-14), you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the SV-I or GS-13 Pay Band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position to be filled. Specialize experience is defined as:

Providing IT technical guidance and recommendations to stakeholders (e.g., project cost, design concepts, critical system technology, and operations and support) to gain project/program approval for completion.

Applying project management principles, methods, and practices to plan and carry out complex IT projects (e.g., establishing priorities, developing plans and schedules, resource requirements, defining milestones and deliverables, evaluating and reporting on accomplishments, etc.)

Presenting oral and written communications containing of sensitive IT program and controversial material. Credit for experience is given based on a 40-hour workweek. Part-time experience is credited on a part-time ratio, i.e., working 20 hours per week for two months equals one month of experience. No additional credit is given for overtime.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Resumes must include the following:

Narrative description of duties with start and end dates (including the month and year) for work experience.

State the number of hours worked in a position (i.e. full-time or part-time). If part-time, state the total number of hours worked per week.

Performance level (i.e. band or grade) Utilizing the and completing all available fields is strongly encouraged.

You must meet the qualification requirements for this position no later than the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

Additional information

Eligibility to apply for other Federal positions: TSA is an Excepted Service agency exempt from most of Title 5 United States Code, including regulations which apply to displaced Federal employees (CTAP/ICTAP) of other agencies, and employment with TSA does not confer "Competitive Status" that generally results from selection and service in Competitive Service agencies. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established an Interchange Agreement, which allows most permanent TSA employees to apply and be considered for vacancies in Competitive Service agencies. Information from OPM on this or other Interchange Agreements is available at:

To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation as a condition of placement into this position.

DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about, including your rights and responsibilities.

If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

TSA employees who are absent for the purpose of performing military duty may apply for any vacancies announced in their absence.

More than one position may be filled from this announcement.

If you are entering TSA employment on an appointment without time limitations, you must serve a basic trial period unless you have already met the requirement.

DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including: health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays. Other benefits may include flexible work schedules; telework; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the website and select "Benefits." will be available to any Federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more.

Employees who transfer to TSA from an agency that allows employees to maintain an annual leave balance higher than the maximum accumulation for the appointed position will have their leave ceiling set to the maximum accumulation for the appointed position (e.g., United States duty location - 240 hours, foreign duty location - 360 hours, or TSES position - 720 hours). TSA will not make a monetary payment for any leave forfeited under these circumstances.

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 a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of the experience and/or related education as reflected in your resume and supporting documentation. You are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show possession of the competencies required for this position. We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If, after reviewing your resume and any supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your category placement may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Grouping procedures. Under Category Grouping, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies as determined by the job analysis.

Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies as determined by the job analysis.

Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies as determined by the job analysis. If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview. Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. (This position is not considered scientific/professional.) Other 10-point preference eligibles and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. View information on .

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

Decisiveness (Decision Making)

Problem Solving

Project Management

Technology Management

Written Communication

You may preview the questions for this vacancy here:

Required Documents

In addition to a resume and the assessment questions, you must submit copies of any of the following documents if you are applying based on current or former Federal Government Status, Veterans' Preference or eligible Veterans' Service (a veteran who was honorably discharged from the armed forces after completing at least three (3) years of continuous active duty service), or education or a combination of education and experience:

DD-214 - If you are claiming Veterans' Preference or eligible Veterans' Service, provide a copy of your DD-214 (Member Copy 4), Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other appropriate documentation to prove your entitlement and to provide verification of an Honorable Discharge.

SF-15 and VA Letter - If you are claiming Veterans' Preference based upon a Compensable Disability, Widow or Spouse Entitlement, or as a Purple Heart recipient, you must submit your DD-214 or other proof of entitlement; an SF-15, and the required proof of disability, i.e., Department of Veterans Affairs letter dated 1991 or later.

SF-50 Notification of Personnel Action - Current TSA employees are strongly encouraged to submit the most recent non-Award SF-50, at the time of application, to support eligibility for Status consideration. TSA employees who do not submit the SF-50 with the application must document their current TSA position in their resume and may be required to provide the SF-50 document during the selection process. TSA employees may obtain a copy of their most recent non-Award SF-50 at .

If you do not submit required documentation described in this job opportunity announcement, your application will be deemed incomplete and you will be ineligible for further consideration for this vacancy.

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 .

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.