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Information Technology Specialist

Department of Agriculture
Office of the Chief Information Officer
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located at Office of the Chief Information Officer, Technical Support Division.

This is not a remote position, you will be required to be in your duty station office per CEC telework policy.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/20/2022 to 01/19/2023
Salary
$61,226 to - $87,407 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Locations
Rochester, MN
1 vacancy
Thief River Falls, MN
1 vacancy
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
11
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Announcement number
23-CEC-45-P
Control number
695673600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

U.S. citizens or U.S. Nationals; no prior Federal experience is required.

Duties

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The following are the duties of this position at the GS-11. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties, and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

Serve as an Information Technology Specialist who provides support, assistance, liaison services to customer agency personnel. Analyze and resolve operational problems and monitor overall customer satisfaction rates, maintain operational standards set at management levels and is accountable for delivery of customer satisfaction. Continuously look for opportunities to provide better, quicker, and cost effective and most advantageous service to customers.

Provide user network account support to include setup and configuration (e.g., user profile, e-mail, peripheral access), and troubleshoot user account problems and daily user support issues. Coordinate with customers to ensure they request the appropriate permissions through their security staff. Provide user support and troubleshooting of standard office automation software (e.g., word processing and spreadsheet software.) Ensure users' files on workstations and servers are backed up. Recover files as needed.

Attend and participate in customer agency meetings at the local level as requested. Assist local agencies and managers with selection recommendations for hardware and software to meet mission needs as directed by supervisor. Provide user support, some limited training, and troubleshooting on a variety of workstation, core software applications, certified hardware, and approved hardware accessory (e.g., peripherals, mobile devices, and external hard drives) issues.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

The experience may have been gained in either the public, private sector or volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your resume.

Key Requirements:
  1. Please refer to "Conditions of Employment."
  2. Must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National
  3. CEC offers alternative/flexible/telework schedules for eligible position

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Specialized Experience:
For the GS-11, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility at the GS-09 level in the Federal service or equivalent, which have equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience for this position includes:
- Completing projects that require knowledge of IT requirements and techniques; OR
- Experience independently providing various information technology customer services and support; OR
- Experience installing, troubleshooting and updating certified Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) and customized software on workstations;
OR
You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in one or a combination of the following fields: computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management or degree that provided a minimum of 24 semester hours in one or more of the fields identified above and required the development or adaptation of applications, systems or networks.

For the GS-09, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility at the GS-07 level in the Federal service or equivalent, which have equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience for this position includes:
- Applying pertinent techniques to assist with projects led by a Project Manager such as imaging, managing, and deploying customer workstations and peripherals; OR
- Performing initial diagnosis for troubleshooting user account problems and provide workstation user network account support; OR
- Analyze approaches and leveraging suggestions to assist with Installation, troubleshooting and updating certified Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) and customized software.
OR
You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows:
Master's degree or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree. Education should be in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management or degree that provided a minimum of 24 semester hours in one or more of the fields identified above and required the development or adaptation of applications, systems or networks.All academic degrees and coursework must be from accredited or pre-accredited institutions. Attach a copy of transcript or list of college courses designating semester or quarter hours earned to ensure proper credit.

In addition to specialized experience, individuals must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below.

  1. Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
  2. Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.
  3. Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
  4. Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

Education

The education generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions.

Additional information

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement Safer Federal Workforce Task Force 2 pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Executive Order 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine. ***THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE, DEPENDENT ON THE APPEAL DECISION***

OTHER INFORMATION:

  • We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
  • A one year probationary period may be required.
  • Must successfully complete a background investigation.
  • Pass a pre-employment security investigation
  • Public Trust - Background Investigation will be required.
  • Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
  • Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
  • If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System
    or are exempt from having to do so.
  • Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form i-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
  • Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
  • Must obtain a valid state driver's license and maintain a valid license while you occupy the position
  • Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds

Our comprehensive benefits are very generous. Our benefits package includes:

  • Challenging work, opportunities for advancement, competitive salaries, bonuses and incentive awards.
  • Eleven paid holidays, 13 days of sick leave, and 13 to 26 days of vacation time each year.
  • Access to insurance programs that may be continued after you retire.
  • A wide choice of health insurance plans, coverage for pre-existing conditions, and no waiting periods. We pay a substantial amount (up to 75%) of the health insurance premiums.
  • A retirement program which includes employer-matching contributions.

Learn more about Federal benefits programs at: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Pay_and_Benefits

How you will be evaluated

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

CEC has partnered with the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service to provide certain personnel services to its organization. Fiscal Service's responsibilities include advertising vacancies, accepting and handling applications, and extending job offers.

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. Please be sure that your résumé includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your résumé may result in a "not qualified" determination.

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.

The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

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.

Rating: You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):Accountability, Attention to Detail, Customer Service, Decision Making, Flexibility, Integrity/Honesty, Interpersonal Skills, Learning, Reading, Reasoning, Self-Management, Stress Tolerance, Teamwork.

Category rating will be used to rank and select eligible candidates. If qualified, you will be assigned to one of three quality level categories: Best Qualified (highest quality category), Well Qualified (middle quality category), or Qualified (minimally qualified category), depending on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, and training related to this position. Your rating may be lowered if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application. Your application may be reviewed by a Subject Matter Expert.

Veterans' preference is applied after applicants are assessed. Preference-eligibles will be listed at the top of their assigned category and considered before non-preference-eligibles in that category. Qualified preference-eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest category.

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview.

If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)) you must be assigned the middle category or better to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.

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