The USDA Digital Service is seeking qualified applicants for inclusion in the USDA's Digital Service (DS) Fellow Experience Program (FEP). Positions will be located either remotely (anywhere in the U.S.) or in Washington, DC with up to 20% travel expected on an annual basis. Please see the Additional Information section for important details regarding the USDA FEP.
Summary
The USDA Digital Service is seeking qualified applicants for inclusion in the USDA's Digital Service (DS) Fellow Experience Program (FEP). Positions will be located either remotely (anywhere in the U.S.) or in Washington, DC with up to 20% travel expected on an annual basis. Please see the Additional Information section for important details regarding the USDA FEP.
This job will close when we have received 500 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$123,041 to - $159,950 per year
Salary listed is the general base pay. Actual pay is determined by duty location. See additional information for details.
Pay scale & grade
GS 15
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Anywhere in the U.S. (remote job)
Remote job
Yes - Candidates may be eligible for workplace flexibilities, such as telework, remote work, and alternative work schedules as determined by their supervisor and consistent with agency policy.
Telework eligible
Not applicable, this is a remote position.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel up to 20% annually.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Term - NTE 4-years. Initial appointments may be for up to a 2-year period. Additional 1-year extensions may be made; however, the appointment cannot exceed a total of 4-years.
Applications for the USDA Digital Service Fellows Program will be accepted from individuals with highly specialized and valued skillsets at the GS-15 grade level to gain public administration experience, assist in critical initiatives, and bring experienced practitioners into the agency. This program is being administered under Tier 3 of the USDA Fellows Experience Program (USDA FEP).
Serve as a technical advisor to executive leadership as well as political officials, senior executives, and staff at all levels within the USDA components.
Manages workload of project team and resources.
Sets program priorities in alignment with defined framework and strategy.
Builds and cultivates a strong partnership with high-ranking officials within the Department, OCIO, USDA, and other Federal agencies.
Participates on Agency, Federal, and non-governmental committees relative to Information Technology operational planning and future technologies.
Provides senior expertise in the IT field, formulates long-range IT policies and develops strategies and management guidelines for complex and changing information technology systems and services to achieve program objectives.
Evaluates a range of qualitative and quantitative metrics to inform iterative development and strategy decisions to ensure the right product, platform, or service is being built.
Reviews and revises product, platform, or service direction based on the outcome of experiments, prototypes, and customer-based learning.
Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
For new employees whose initial appointment is for one year or more, the first year of the appointment to the FEP will serve as the trial period.
This position is subject to a Fellow Experience Program (FEP) Agreement which must be signed prior to appointment.
Program selectees must be 18 years of age or older.
Qualifications
Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience, as defined below.
Minimum Qualification Requirement: Applicants must meet the Specialized Experience requirements for the respective grade level(s) as shown below. If qualifying based on experience, your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the specialized experience requirements. Specialized experience is defined as experience that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.
Specialized Experience: At the GS-15: One year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-14, or its non-Federal equivalent that includes leading and advising on the development, buy-in, human-centered-focused design, and successful delivery of large-scale, cross functional digital services and products that significantly improve program delivery for end users; effective communication and collaboration with a wide diversity of tech and non-tech leaders, as well as front line staff to improve the overall organizational knowledge, ability, and delivery of best-practice digital products and services for a variety of different stakeholders is also required; design and execute strategy, as well as implementation of conflict management and change management plans is key to the success of all work duties of this position.
(Note: This experience must be demonstrated on your resume/supporting documents).
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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Additional information
The USDA's Fellow Experience Program (FEP) allows USDA to hire Fellows through a time-limited appointment in the Excepted Service under the Schedule A hiring authority, as specified in 5 CFR 213.3102(r) for a period of less than or greater than 1-year up to a maximum of 4-years. Initial appointments are not automatically made for a 4-year term but for a determined period that takes into consideration developmental assignments, exposure to diverse program areas, completion of project(s) and/or meets workforce planning objectives. Additional 1-year extensions may be made; however, the appointment cannot exceed a total of 4-years.
An appointment in the FEP confers no rights to further Federal employment in either the competitive or excepted service upon expiration of the appointment and does not provide noncompetitive conversion to another appointment in the federal service. Current permanent competitive service employees who are selected for Schedule A(r) opportunities will be given an excepted, term position, and will have no return rights. Fellows interested in remaining with USDA at the end of their fellowships must compete and be selected for competitive service vacancies.
Veterans' preference applies in making excepted service appointments.
Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as an RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements, OPM qualification requirements, and all selective factors, if applicable.
Salary: The salary ranges vary according to the geographic area locality adjustments; therefore, rates advertised represent base pay only as pay will depend upon the selectee's duty location. Please see the 2024 General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay Tables for more information.
Candidates may be eligible for workplace flexibilities, such as telework, remote work, and alternative work schedules as determined by their supervisor and consistent with agency policy.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Applications will be evaluated in accordance with the USDA's policy for the Fellowship Experience Program under the Schedule A 5 CFR 213.3102(r) authority and 5 CFR 302.101(c)(6) by which veterans' preference must be applied in making excepted service appointments.
Your resume and supporting documentation will be reviewed by the Human Resources Office and, in some cases, may be further reviewed by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) Panel to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications, to include any selective placement factor(s), if applicable, for the position. Applicants who meet minimum qualification requirements and who are otherwise eligible to apply for the position, will be placed in the Qualified category. Within this category, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans.
Additional hurdle assessments, such as narrative responses, structured resume reviews, structured interviews or other assessments, may be administered to applicants who meet the requirements of the first hurdle, e.g., the minimum qualification requirements. If additional assessments are used, you will be provided with further instructions.
Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your qualifications and/or eligibility. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.
Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Resume that includes:1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) other qualifications.
If claiming veteran's preference, you must submit a DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. If currently on active duty you must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted. Veteran's preference must be verified prior to appointment. Without this documentation, you will not receive veteran's preference and your application will be evaluated based on the material(s) submitted.
If claiming 10-point veteran's preference you must provide the DD214 or certification requirements (see above bullet), plus the proof of entitlement of this preference as listed on the SF-15 Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. The SF-15 should be included but is not required. Failure to submit these documents could result in the determination that there is insufficient documentation to support your claim for 10-point preference. For more information on veterans' preference visit FEDSHIREVETS
Surplus or displaced employees eligible for RPL priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
For more information please review the USDA's Digital Service (DS) Fellows Program website.
Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.
Office of the Chief Information Officer
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250
US
Next steps
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS to check your application status.
You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).
Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Resume that includes:1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) other qualifications.
If claiming veteran's preference, you must submit a DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. If currently on active duty you must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted. Veteran's preference must be verified prior to appointment. Without this documentation, you will not receive veteran's preference and your application will be evaluated based on the material(s) submitted.
If claiming 10-point veteran's preference you must provide the DD214 or certification requirements (see above bullet), plus the proof of entitlement of this preference as listed on the SF-15 Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. The SF-15 should be included but is not required. Failure to submit these documents could result in the determination that there is insufficient documentation to support your claim for 10-point preference. For more information on veterans' preference visit FEDSHIREVETS
Surplus or displaced employees eligible for RPL priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
For more information please review the USDA's Digital Service (DS) Fellows Program website.
Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.
Office of the Chief Information Officer
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250
US
Next steps
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS to check your application status.
You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).
Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
