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Information Technology Specialist P

Department of Transportation
Federal Railroad Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

These positions are located in the Office of Information Technology (OIT, RAD-20), Office of the Associate Administrator for Administration, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
10/03/2024 to 10/16/2024
Salary
$99,200 to - $153,354 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel may be required for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Full Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes - This is a Bargaining unit position represented by AFGE local 2814
Announcement number
FRA.AD-2024-0017
Control number
812343200

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

FRA-wide employees with competitive status only.

Duties

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As a Information Technology Specialist, you will:

  • Perform duties as Systems Owner and Product Owner for multiple FRA IT Systems.
  • Be responsible for making policy recommendations, overseeing implementation of policy, and development and integration of state-of-the art solutions for IT products and services for end-users and support personnel throughout FRA.
  • Provide expert evaluation of the requirements, analyzes alternatives, and recommends technical solutions relating to the complete life cycle for information systems and information systems components. Writes technical business cases and coordinates the implementation of improved IT tools and practices.
  • Deploy, maintain, and troubleshoot core business applications, including application servers, associated hardware, endpoints, and databases.
  • Provide routine technical support directly to users of cloud computing services, including Infrastructure-as-a-Service (laaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Software-as-a­ Service (SaaS), and other evolving as-a-service capabilities.

The ideal candidate will possess a robust analytical and technical foundation, coupled with the ability to engage effectively with stakeholders at all levels. Extensive experience in IT Asset Management, proficiency with Microsoft Entra ID, and a solid grasp of requirements analysis, Agile and Scrum methodologies, application development, and IT project management are essential. The candidate should demonstrate advanced skills in data collection, analysis, and the communication of program and project impacts to a diverse stakeholder audience. They must be adept at managing dependable, scalable IT infrastructure on cloud platforms like Azure Cloud Services and have familiarity with code repository tools such as GitHub, as well as authentication and authorization technologies. Proficiency in Microsoft ecosystems, specifically Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Power Apps, Power Automate, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, Power BI, and Azure DevOps is required.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must meet specialized experience stated in Qualifications section
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date
  • Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade in the competitive or excepted service in the executive branch to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
  • TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: This position may be eligible for occasional and/or regularly scheduled telework.  The number of telework days approved will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency’s telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position.
  • RAILROAD STOCK: Pursuant to 5 C.F.R. Parts 2635.403 and 6001.104, all FRA employees (or spouses or minor children of FRA employees) are specifically prohibited from holding railroad stock (including shares of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. which owns 100% of BNSF), whether held outright, in an IRA, or in a 401(k) or other plan. (Employees may hold a mutual fund which invests in railroad stocks, so long as the mutual fund does not invest more than 30% of its assets in such prohibited investments.) Employees having a prohibited financial interest must divest themselves of railroad stock within 90 days after their appointment to their positions. Neither the rule against holding railroad stock, nor the divestiture period, is in any way affected by the existence of re-employment rights which employees might have with railroad companies. Nor is there any monetary threshold for applicability of the rule against ownership of railroad stock; all dollar amounts are prohibited.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.


To qualify for the GS-12, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11, it must include:

  • Experience in IT asset management, Video Conferencing, and Desktop Support.
  • Experience in assessing configuration of IT infrastructure and identifying weaknesses in performance
  • Experience integrating Windows/Windows Server, SQL Server Databases and systems into an information.

To qualify for the GS-13, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-12, it must include:

  • Experience as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR), FAC COR Level I or higher.
  • Experience in providing expert technical advice, guidance, and recommendations to management and other technical specialists on critical IT issues; apply new developments to previously unsolvable problems; and make decisions or recommendations that significantly influence important agency IT policies or programs.
  • Experience in applying project management principles, methods, and practices including developing plans and schedules, estimating resource requirements, defining milestones and deliverables, monitoring activities, and evaluating and reporting on accomplishments, in order to ensure the integration of IT programs and services, and the development of solutions to integration /
  • Experience in cloud computing, virtualization, and networking technologies and techniques with the management and configuration of public cloud providers such as Azure, Amazon Web Services, 0365, ; and developing and implementing cloud migration strategies sufficient to fully utilize and advise senior leadership on cloud.
  • Experience with domain structures, network protocols, user authentication methods, digital signatures, security best practices, network security devices such as network and application layer firewalls, data loss prevention techniques, network intrusion detection and prevention systems, and security vulnerability.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

  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.

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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link:  https://www.opm.gov/frequently-asked-questions/employment-faq/federal-hiring/how-do-i-apply-for-federal-jobs/

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Additional information

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

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, FairChanceAct@dot.gov. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation

How you will be evaluated

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

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. 

If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be scored based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position.

Eligible Federal employees also seeking consideration for noncompetitive reassignment for this position, must indicate interest in the assessment. Noncompetitive federal candidates must have competitive status on a SF-50, meet minimum qualifications, have served at the same grade or higher, and held or exceeded the promotion potential of this position.

Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package.  If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated on your behalf or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers.  If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.  The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating.


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