Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent employees (career or career-conditional) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (competitive or excepted), Current permanent Federal employees eligible for transfer, former federal employees eligible for Reinstatement, veterans eligible for consideration under VEOA, Certain Military Spouses, Peace Corps/VISTA, disabled individuals eligible under Schedule A, and those eligible under current Interchange Agreements.

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Major Duties:

• Develops and maintains business, systems, and information processes to support enterprise mission needs; develops information technology (IT) rules and requirements that describe baseline and target architectures.
• Responsible for setting up and maintaining a system or specific components of a system (e.g. for example, installing, configuring, and updating hardware and software; establishing and managing user accounts; overseeing or conducting backup and recovery tasks; implementing operational and technical security controls; and adhering to organizational security policies and procedures). The incumbent plans, coordinates, and reviews the functions essential to providing business system application support and services associated with the implementation, sustainment and operation of Endpoint Management and Enterprise Reporting systems. Provides senior level consultation on enterprise initiatives regarding Reporting and enterprise-wide solutions for VA.
• Select and apply appropriate problem-solving methods and techniques, provide advice on work methods, practices and procedures, and identify parameters of a viable solution. Maintain program and administrative reference materials, project files and relevant back- ground documents and share available policies, procedures and written instructions from the supervisor; maintain current knowledge to answer questions from team members on procedures, policies, directives, etc. As a senior IT Specialist, work on high-visibility assignments that have a critical impact on VA's ability to analyze, develop and implement IT policy and programs. Prepare white papers, position papers and Executive Decision Memorandum describing results of evaluations/testing/ analyses and recommendations regarding VA's IT architecture, these documents will be used by national decision-making bodies in determining courses of action that will impact all VA.
• Plan, execute, policies, methodologies, and architecture solutions that establish the framework for VA's enterprise-wide authentication, authorization, and name resolution services. Evaluate operational activities and determines changes needed in procedures and policies. Using VA enterprise IT goals and objectives, draft targeted IT policies and plans in concert with other senior VA technical staff, subject matter experts (SMEs) and customers.
• Act as the primary Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the VA Enterprise Reporting architecture. Responsibilities include analysis of all aspects of the VA Enterprise Reporting and Endpoint Management technologies throughout the full engineering life cycle (i.e. from defining standard hardware configurations and settings to operations parameters and end of life management). This will include preparation of solution implementation and deployment to the VA enterprise, coordination of performance, capacity and other key metrics through the lifecycle of the project, upgrade and end of project lifecycle planning. Ensure that the organization's strategic plan, mission, vision and values are communicated to the team and integrated into the team's strategies, goals, objectives, work plans and work products and services.

***Additional duties required, within scope of the position description.***

This position is primarily aligned to the following NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework work roles of Cybersecurity Code: 451 & 651.
For more information about these work roles, where they fit within the larger Cyber Workforce, and how they can support your unique career journey, please visit the Cyber Career Pathways tool on the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies website: https://niccs.us-cert.gov/workforce-development/cyber-career-pathways

Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist (ENTARCH)/PD19167A
Bargaining Unit: No
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required.
Travel Required: Up to 25%. Occasional travel may be required as needed for this position.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 800AM to 4:30PM EST. (Tour of duty may be subject to change based on organizational needs).
Compressed/Flexible: May be available/authorized, at Manager's discretion, determined by the Agency Policy.
Telework: (AdHoc) Authorized at Manager's discretion.
Virtual/Remote: This is NOT a virtual NOR a remote position.

Physical Demands: The work is sedentary working at a keyboard and monitor. Some work may require walking and standing in conjunction with travel and to attendance at meetings and conferences away from the work site. Some employees may carry light items, or drive a motor vehicle.

Working Conditions: Work is performed in a typical computer operations environment. Rooms are well-lighted, air-conditioned office spaces with moderate noise from common office equipment. Computer equipment on the operations floor involves the use of high voltage electricity.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Selectee is subject to background/suitability investigation.
• Selected applicant will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• This position is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing.
• Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required.
• To be considered for this position, applicants must complete all required steps in the process.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

- your performance and conduct;
-the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/24/2026.

***You must meet the Minimum Qualification Requirements AND Specialized Experience to qualify for this series as described below.****

Minimum Qualification Requirements

Basic Requirements Experience: Experience must be IT related; the experience may be demonstrated by paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training (for example, IT certification), as appropriate. For all positions individuals must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the five competencies listed below. The employing agency is responsible for identifying the specific level of proficiency required for each competency at each grade level based on the requirements of the position being filled.

To qualify for this position, you must have information technology-related experience demonstrating all of the four competencies listed below. Ensure that this experience is clearly described in your resume:

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.

-AND-

Specialized Experience for GS-2210-14: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Such experience is typically gained in the IT field or through the performance of work where the primary concern is IT.

Specialized experience is defined as: Experience providing senior-level engineering and enterprise architecture support for large-scale reporting and endpoint management systems, including planning, integrating, and sustaining enterprise reporting architectures; conducting performance, capacity, and lifecycle testing; and developing policies, technical documentation, and executive decision materials used by national leadership. Demonstrated skill in requirements analysis, systems engineering, contingency planning, emerging technology evaluation, and enterprise-wide IT modernization initiatives, along with expert knowledge of cyber security, configuration management, and performance optimization for complex, mission-critical systems.

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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

How you will be evaluated

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

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), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

The USA Hire 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.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must include your name, contact phone number and contact email address,and must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.