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Information Technology Specialist (Computer Specialist)

Department of Justice
Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System

Summary

Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Location
6 vacancies in the following locations:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$106,437 - $138,370 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Promotion potential
13
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Other
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
ITD-27-13099617
Control number
890499400

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

THIS IS A DELEGATED EXAMINING ANNOUNCEMENT OPEN TO ALL U.S. CITIZENS. • Duty Location: Location negotiable after selection. See Additional Information for more details. • Division: Systems Development Branch, Information Policy & Public Affairs, Central Office

Duties

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This position is located in the Systems Development Branch, Information Technology and Data Division (ITDD), Central Office, Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The mission of the section is to provide Bureau ADP support in addition to providing system software support and technical assistance to the applications programming and computer operations staff.

Provide technical support for the SENTRY database management system (DB2), POSGRESQL and telecommunications software such as software installation (COBOL & JAVA), backup and recovery, data dictionary definitions and overall technical control of mainframe computer security.

Designs, implements, and maintains complex inhouse programs and sub-routines, including generalized record selection programs, linkage routines to operating systems, data communications systems and checkpoint/restart procedures.

Responsible for installation of new releases and maintenance of, a complex telecommunications system used to manage the SENTRY Network and the SENTRY database management system (DB2 & POSGRESQL).

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Career Transition Programs (CTAP or ICTAP): These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:

  1. Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria;
  2. Be rated well-qualified for the position, scoring at least half of the total possible points for the vacancy KSAs or competencies; and
  3. Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP eligibility:
    • A copy of the agency notice (i.e., separation notice or agency RIF letter),
    • Most recent performance appraisal, and
    • Most recent SF-50 showing current/former position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location.
    • See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information.
EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here: U.S Department of Justice - Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

Key Requirements:

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

Applicants may qualify by meeting or exceeding the minimum proficiency level established for each of the required competencies listed below,

The required competencies for the GS-12 and above level(s) are Attention to Detail, Customer Service, Decision Making, Information Management, Interpersonal Skills, Oral Communication, Problem Solving, Teamwork, and Technical Competence.

Competency Definitions:

- Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.

- 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.

- Decision Making - Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.

- Information Management - Identifies a need for and knows where or how to gather information; organizes and maintains information or information management systems.

- Interpersonal Skills - Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations.

- 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.

- Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

- Teamwork - Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.

- Technical Competence - Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

AND

Specialized Experience:

You must have one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade level(or equivalent). Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities/competencies to perform successfully the duties of the position and is related to the work of the position to be filled but may now be obtained through other means. Such demonstratable knowledge, skills, and abilities/competences may be typically gained in the IT field or through the performance of work where the primary concern is IT.

Some examples of qualifying experience:

Experience in major operating system software, including the ability to modify code and diagnose and correct problems.

Experience in the development, implementation and maintenance of specialized areas, remote job entry, computer security, telecommunications software, on-line systems, intra and inter-governmental transfer of data, database management, backup and recovery and formatted file structure.

Experience providing technical expertise on mainframe computer security and monitors overall performance of SENTRY or their major applications and providing trouble shooting to determine cause of inadequate response time.

Experience evaluating user's needs, hardware and software options, directing and formulating the design and testing of computerized systems, install hardware and software, and analyze broad system specifications.

Experience recognizing and resolving hardware and software problems.

OR

Applicants may also be considered to have satisfied the minimum qualification requirements for a position if they can present evidence that clearly justifies a high evaluation of their competence, such as one or more of the following:

- Appropriate licensure, registration(s), certification(s); or

- A substantial record of experience, achievement, and publications that demonstrates eminence in the appropriate profession/technical field.

Applicants can qualify fully on the basis of licensure, certification, registration, or special training as an alternative to experience. Applicants must provide copies of all such documentation when submitting an application.

AND

Selective Placement Factor:

Applicants applying for this position, MUST also possess the following Selective Factors. In the event you do not possess the Selective Factors, you will be found ineligible for the position.

Applicant must have experience in the last twelve months using one or more of the following language or software development environments: Model View Controller (MVC) Framework, J2EE, Java, JavaScript, HyperText Markup Language (HTML), POSGRESQL and Structured Query Language (SQL).

AND

Applicant must have experience with one or more of the following operating systems or system level software: Microsoft Windows, MySQL, Web Servers, and PC utilities.

If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**

Education

ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here.

Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.

Additional information

Location Negotiable:This position is within the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The location is negotiable after selection. While the duty location for this position is designated as negotiable after selection, the final official duty station MUSTbe established within an approved Bureau of Prisons worksite. This position is not telework, nor remote work approved. The selectee will be expected to adhere to the agency's current work policies, which mandate physical reporting to the designated official duty station based upon the needs of the agency.

Duty location to be determined at one of the following locations:

Central Office, Washington D.C.
Grand Prairie, Texas
Leavenworth, Kansas

Special Conditions of Employment Section:
For non-law enforcement positions, the Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint, or any other information, to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged non-compliance by contacting the EEO Office in the Central Office at BOP-PRD-EEOOffice-S@bop.gov.


Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a urinalysis, physical, and background investigation.

All applicants are subject to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit checks.

Additional selections may be made if vacancies occur within the life of the certificate.

This is a secondary/non-law enforcement coverage position. Individuals that DO NOT have three years of law enforcement coverage gained in a primary law enforcement position by the closing date of the vacancy announcement are ineligible for secondary law enforcement position(s) and coverage but may still be considered for a non-law enforcement position.

Individuals selected who are under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and who have not had three years "primary" law enforcement retirement coverage, will not be covered by law enforcement retirement while in this position. To regain coverage, individuals must return to a position with "primary" coverage.

Current Federal Law Enforcement Employees:
Completion of the mandatory courses "Introduction to Correctional Techniques (ICT) Phase I and Phase II" is a condition of employment for this secondary law enforcement position. Employees who have not yet completed ICT Phase I and II will be required to do so after entering the position. This requirement does not apply to non-law-enforcement positions.

Eligibility for secondary law enforcement coverage is determined in accordance with applicable regulations. Coverage may be attained through any qualifying federal law enforcement officer service that meets the definitions in 5 U.S.C. 8401(17) and satisfies the conditions in 5 CFR 842.803.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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:

  • Accountability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork

The USA Hire Assessments 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 an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement. If you are found qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to the responses you provided on the online assessment.

Your application will be evaluated and rated under DOJ's Category Rating and Selection Procedures. Based upon your responses to the assessment questions during the application process, your application will be placed into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Applications will be reviewed from the top quality category. Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement. If you are found qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to the responses you provided on the online assessment.

NOTE: Candidates within the top-quality category and who are eligible for veterans' preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.

If you are entitled to veterans' preference, you should indicate the type of veteran's preference you are claiming on your resume. Although veterans' preference points are not assigned under the category rating procedures described under "How You Will Be Evaluated", veterans preference eligibles are listed ahead of non-veterans within each category for which they are qualified.

In addition, qualified veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 10% or more are placed at the top of the highest qualified category as defined by category rating procedures.

Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher). As noted above, an agency may not select a non-preference eligible in lieu of a preference eligible in the same category unless there are grounds for a passover and the agency has complied with the passover procedures at 5 U.S.C. ยง 3318(b).


To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13099617

Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System

Agency contact information

Staffing Operations Section

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Learn more about what it's like to work at Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

http://www.bop.gov

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