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Biometric System Program Specialist

Department of Homeland Security
DHS Headquarters
Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within Management Directorate (MGMT), Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM), located in Arlington, VA.

Limiting Number of Applicants: All DHS-HQ announcements have a 5 business day open period due to the number of applications received. This announcement will be open for 5 business days OR until the first 100 applications have been received, whichever happens first.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/11/2023 to 09/15/2023
This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$57,118 to - $107,680 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Arlington, VA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
NCS/High Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
ST-12057253-23-OBIM
Control number
747405300

Duties

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The primary purpose of this position is to facilitate a wide range of activities associated with the DHS Automated Biometric Identification (IDENT) System and the Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART) system. This position starts at a salary of $57,118.00 (GS-09, Step 1) to $107,680.00 (GS-12, Step 10) with promotion potential to $107,680 (GS-12 Step 10).

GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position.Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts.

As a Biometric System Program Specialist your typical work assignments may include:

  • Assisting senior portfolio managers with development of biometric system technologies, facilitation of stakeholder requests, and the generation and execution of routine and special analyses of operations and business processes.
  • Assisting in the development and maturation of systems by providing administrative actions to enhance system design, functionality, efficiencies, and processes aligned with Departmental and stakeholder requirements.
  • Reviewing and ensuring identified data issues are validated, corrected, and prevented from future occurrence.
  • Developing and implementing data quality policies and standards to ensure data uniformity within the system's database.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
  • You may be required to pass a background investigation
  • OBIM follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures
  • As an employee of DHS, you will be joining a workforce that is dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards. Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to DHS employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties. Please review further details via the following link.
Security Clearance: You may be required to obtain a Secret or higher level clearance for this position.

Essential Personnel: This position may be designated as essential personnel. Essential personnel must be able to serve during continuity of operation events without regard to declarations of liberal leave or government closures due to weather, protests, and acts of terrorism or lack of funding. Failure to report for or remain in this position may result in disciplinary or adverse action in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations (5 U.S.C. ? 7501-7533 and 5 CFR Part 752, as applicable).

Pre-Employment Drug Testing: This position requires a pre-employment drug test and you must
have a negative drug test result prior to appointment into the position.

This vacancy has a local commuting area requirement, as defined below:
  • The area surrounding the duty station by which people reasonably travel back and forth from home to work; Or
  • The employee's permanent duty station is located within the reasonable travel area surrounding the duty station of this vacancy; Or if applicable
  • For employees who are detailed or temporarily promoted for more than 1 year to another duty location, the detailed or temporary duty location is considered to be the duty location of record for commuting area purposes. For employees detailed or temporarily promoted for less than one year, the permanent duty location is considered the duty location of record for commuting area purposes.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for the GS-09 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

  • Applying analytical and evaluative techniques to the identification, consideration, and resolution of issues or problems of a procedural or factual nature.
  • Using qualitative and quantitative analytical techniques such as: literature search; work measurement; task analysis and job structuring; productivity charting; determining staff to workload ratios (e.g., span of control); organization design; space planning; development and administration of questionnaires; flowcharting of work processes; graphing; and calculation of means, modes, standard deviations, or similar statistical measures.
  • Assisting with monitoring and improvement of data quality through data analytics, report generation, and formulation of procedural and/or corrective recommendations.
  • Preparing and delivering briefings to managers on study findings and recommendations.
Experience: You qualify for the GS-11 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
  • Assisting in a variety of activities associated with the facilitation, enhancement, operation, maintenance and sustainment of program systems.
  • Researching, analyzing, and providing recommended action on routine data integrity issues impacting the program and its mission-oriented support tasks.
  • Requesting, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting the findings of reoccurring or ad hoc data quality and data analytics projects requested by subject matter experts and management.
  • Assisting with recommending short- and long-range data integrity goals for the program, developing draft plans for implementing the goals, and implementing those goals using the approval and guidance of leadership.
Experience: You qualify for the GS-12 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
  • Assisting in a variety of comprehensive, complex and sensitive projects encompassing the analysis and evaluation of identity data accumulated during the operation of administered programs.
  • Monitoring and improvement of data quality through data analytics, report generation, and formulation of procedural and/or corrective recommendations.
  • Auditing data within program systems, identifying data quality discrepancies, and presenting those discrepancies to subject matter experts.
  • Recommending short- and long-range data integrity goals for the program, developing draft plans for implementing the goals, and implementing those goals using the approval and guidance of leadership.
NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.

Education Substitution:

GS-09: A Master's degree, two full years of graduate education, a J.D. or an LL.B. degree from an accredited college or university may substitute for experience required at this level. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise two years of graduate education. If that information is not available, use 36 semester or 54 quarter hours.

GS-11: A Ph.D. or an equivalent doctoral degree, three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M. degree from an accredited college or university may substitute for experience required at this level. (A course of study in business, international business, or a related field is qualifying.) Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise three years of graduate study. If that information is not available, use 54 semester or 81 quarter hours.

GS-12: There is no education substitution for the GS-12 grade level.

Combining Education and Experience: To combine your education and experience, you must convert each to a percentage, and then add the percentages. The combined total of your percentage of education and experience must equal at least 100% in order to qualify. If your education is currently described in quarter hours, convert the quarter hours into semester hours by multiplying the quarter hours by the fraction 2/3. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, divide the number of graduate semester hours by 18. To determine your percentage of qualifying experience, you must divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by the required number of months of experience. Add your percentages of education and experience. The two percentages must total at least 100%.

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.

You must:
  • Meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and
  • Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 09/15/2023.
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.

Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of its mission, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires each and every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation for a Secret clearance as a condition of placement in this Non-Critical Sensitive position. This review includes financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.

Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. View information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibilityon OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this announcement.

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.

Additional information

Bargaining Unit: This position is not covered under the bargaining unit

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.

Positions with known promotion potential do not guarantee promotion, nor is the promise of promotion implied.

Telework may be available on a regular recurring or situational basis.

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 E-Verify including your rights and responsibilities.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR ? 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR ? 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

Applicants will only be considered for the Eligibilities for which they claim in the job questionnaire AND must provide the supporting documentation. Applicants will not be considered for Eligibilities for which they did not claim, regardless of the documentation submitted with the application. https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12057253

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics).

This self-assessment will be used to assess the following technical competencies or KSAs:

  • Research
  • Analysis
  • Decision Making
  • Problem Solving
  • Oral Communication
  • Written Communication
  • Project Management
  • Data Management
To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The USA Hire Assessment will be used to assess the following general competencies:
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be contacted for an interview. As a part of the interview process, additional selection criteria may be administered by the hiring manager. Preview the https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12057253

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

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.

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