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Information Technology Specialist

Department of Homeland Security
Customs and Border Protection
Office of Information and Technology
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Information and Technology, Field Support Directorate, Northwest Central Region, located in Sweet Grass, MT.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
12/17/2024 to 12/23/2024
Salary
$72,553 to - $113,047 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Sweet Grass, MT
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - 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
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes
Announcement number
OIT-DE-12626751-BAM
Control number
823246700

Duties

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Joining Customs & Border Protection will allow you to use your expertise in Information Technology (IT) principles, concepts and methods to support Information Technology systems and services. This position starts at a salary of $72,553.00 (GS-11, Step 1) to $113,047.00 (GS-12, Step 10).

In this Information Technology Specialist position, you will become a key team member of Homeland Security professionals to provide technology service, implement projects and deploy systems to reduce downtime and maintain operational availability. Typical work assignments include:

  • Diagnosing and resolving problems in response to customer reported incidents.
  • Researching, evaluating and providing feedback on problematic trends and patterns to support customer support requirements.
  • Interacting with internal and external stakeholders as the Subject Matter Expert to provide IT guidance and solutions and providing customer training as required.
  • Installing, configuring, integrating, troubleshooting, optimizing and maintaining customer hardware and software to maximize system availability and monitors network performance.
  • Identifying and specifying information system security requirements and ensuring application of information security/information assurance policies, principles and practices.

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
  • Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below)
  • You may be required to pass a background investigation
  • CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures
  • As an employee of CBP, 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 CBP 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.
  • 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.
  • Bargaining Unit: This is a bargaining unit covered position, represented under the National Treasury Employees Unions - NTEU. For local chapter contact information see Chapter Websites - National Treasury Employees Union - NTEU
  • Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) and 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 eligible under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be placed in the Well-Qualified category for this position, as described within this announcement. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this job announcement.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: Individuals qualifying based of experience must have Information Technology (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.
Along with the four competencies listed above you must possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience described below to qualify based on experience.

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:
  • Analyzing, planning, integrating and configuring network systems hardware
  • Diagnosing and resolving network problems, hardware/software interface and interoperability problems
  • Testing, installing, configuring and maintaining networks including hardware, middleware and software to ensure conformance to national standards consulting
  • Evaluating new hardware and software technologies for potential inclusion into the enterprise
Education Substitution: GS-11: Successful completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in an accredited college or university, may be substituted for experience at the GS-11 grade level. Such education must demonstrate the skills needed to do the work. For this position a degree in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management or a 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 is qualifying. One year of fulltime graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 54 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 3 years of full-time study requirement.

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:
  • Adjusting, modifying and improving Information Technology systems
  • Diagnosing and resolving problems in response to customer reported incidents involving different platforms, operating systems, applications and desktop configurations
  • Installing, configuring, integrating, troubleshooting, optimizing and monitoring network performance
  • Providing guidance and solutions in planning and implementing migration activities to ensure successful deployment of technologies
There is no education substitution at the GS-12 grade level for this position.

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.

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 by 12/23/2024.

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: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information, review the following links: Background investigation and the e-QIP process.

Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:
  • Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military
  • A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government
  • Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university
  • Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government
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.

Education

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

Additional information

Overtime: This position may require uncontrollable, unscheduled overtime in excess of the 40-hour work week.

On Call: This position may require the incumbent to be on call 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

Motor Vehicle Operation: You must possess a valid state driver's license at the time of appointment.

Passport: There may be International duty assignments which would require you to obtain and maintain an official passport.

Physical demands:

  • You may be required to perform lifting and/or moving of equipment up to 50 pounds or climb ladders.
  • The work may be performed in an electronics shop, remote sites (which may require alternative modes of transportation), and/or in outlying and remote stations.
  • The work may require some physical exertion such as long periods of standing or walking, crouching, or crawling in confined spaces or small work areas.
Positions with known promotion potential do not guarantee promotion, nor is the promise of promotion implied.

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.

We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, we will use an assessment questionnaire to place you in one of three categories based on your experience, education, and training.

If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:

  1. Best Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF), and appropriate Quality Ranking Factors (QRF) as determined by the job analysis.
  2. Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPF's and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
  3. Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
This self-assessment will be used to assess the following competencies or KSAs:
  • Knowledge of customer support principles and IT security principles.
  • Knowledge of troubleshooting methods, communication methods, and techniques to assist in implementing and maintaining network and system services.
  • Knowledge of methods for evaluating, implementing, and disseminating IT security tools and procedures to develop, implement, and coordinate activities designed to ensure, protect, and restore IT systems, services, and capabilities. availability of applications and develop solutions to complex operational problems
  • Skill in applying network systems design, development, testing, installation, and operations to provide network services that support business requirements.
  • Ability to support or manage system resources including performance, capacity, availability, serviceability, and recoverability to ensure the delivery of IT services.
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 job questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12626751

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 veterans' preference.

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