IT Specialist (APPSW)

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information and Technology (OIT) within this services: Software Product Management, Product Engineering Service, Chief Technology Office, Compliance, Risk and Remediation. The incumbent will serve as Senior Information Technology (IT) Specialist. The purpose of the position is to develop, coordinate, and monitor, assess and elevate development schedules for applications assigned to OIT.

Duties

OIT Mission: The mission of the Office of Information and Technology (OIT) is to collaborate with our business partners to create the best experience for all Veterans. OIT Vision: To become a world-class organization that provides a seamless, unified Veteran experience through the delivery of state-of-the-art technology. Major Duties: Manage program/project management and systems lifecycles to include: Acquisition, development, modification, enhancement, deployment or decommissioning of a product, service or system which may be COTS or internally developed. Define the nature and scope of problems, identifies alternatives to overcome problems and directs their implementation. Participate in the acquisition process as necessary. Lead and oversee budget, staffing, and contracting. Provide expert oversight of cost resource estimates. Establish and manage customer expectations through routine communications and the delivery of valued, professional and timely services. Provide feedback to leadership and other project stakeholders through appropriate reports, meetings, briefings and information papers, both formally and informally. Regularly brief senior leadership and management staff on project status and significant developments. This position is non-bargaining unit eligible. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm; Tour of duty will be determined based on organizational needs. Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: This position is authorized for Adhoc telework. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist (APPSW)/PD18421A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary but involves use of a personal computer so a degree of dexterity and visual acuity sufficient to utilize these tools is required. Some physical effort is required to lift and carry reference books, working papers and similar items to and from meetings. A moderate amount of standing and walking is required in getting to and from meeting places away from the work site. The work does not require any special physical effort. This position is primarily aligned to the following NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework work roles: Cybersecurity Code 802 (IT Project Manager) NICE Framework Tasks - T0277: Ensure that all acquisitions, procurements, and outsourcing efforts address information security requirements consistent with organization goals. T0407: Participate in the acquisition process as necessary. T0493: Lead and oversee budget, staffing, and contracting. T0072: Develop methods to monitor and measure risk, compliance, and assurance efforts. T0174: Perform needs analysis to determine opportunities for new and improved business process solutions. T0207: Provide ongoing optimization and problem-solving support. T0208: Provide recommendations for possible improvements and upgrades. Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation 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 dentification 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 will 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 is not a remote position. OIT has multiple worksites at various duty locations, and the individual(s) selected may be assigned to any federal government work site. This announcement will NOT be used for changing duty locations. If selected, and you are a current VA employee, and not on an approved exemption, you will continue to report to your current duty location. Your resume 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. 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. Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/29/2026. You must meet the Basic Requirements Experience, Selective Placement Factor(s) and the Specialized Experience to qualify for this series as described below: BASIC REQUIREMENTS: 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. 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. 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. AND SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: In addition to the minimum qualifications described above, you must meet the following requirement(s) to be considered qualified for the position: Experience managing one or more large-scale IT services or software development contracts as a Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) or Task Order Project Manager, including monitoring contractor performance, deliverables, and compliance with acquisition and information security requirements. AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-13, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: Applying project management principles and methods in order to lead multi-functional projects, acquisition, budget, review and critique detailed project schedules, identify, plan for and track resource requirements, and to identify and correct weaknesses in critical performance parameters and performance goals. Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level that demonstrates: mastery of project management principles and methods sufficient to lead multi-functional, enterprise-wide application development and IT services projects; skill in reviewing and critiquing detailed project schedules, resource allocations, and cost baselines, and identifying and correcting weaknesses in performance parameters and cost/schedule variances. 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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level. How You Will Be Evaluated

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. USA Hire Assessments include 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. Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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. 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 the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. 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; religions; 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. 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. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. Other Information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If selected you will be required to report to one of the following locations: Oakland, CA Washington, DC Hines, IL Eatontown, NJ Albany, NY Philadelphia, PA Austin, TX Salt Lake City, UT Martinsburg, WV Shepherdstown, WV Little Rock, AR North Little Rock, AR Phoenix, AZ Long Beach, CA Los Angeles, CA San Francisco, CA Anaheim, CA Denver, CO Aurora, CO Miami, FL Orlando, FL St. Petersburg, FL Tampa, FL Atlanta, GA Chicago, IL North Chicago, IL Bedford, MA Boston, MA Baltimore, MD Detroit, MI Minneapolis, MN St. Louis, MO Cleveland, OH Pittsburgh, PA Nashville, TN Davidson, TN Murfreesboro, TN Arlington, TX Dallas, TX Houston, TX San Antonio, TX SeaTac, WA Seattle, WA If space is not immediately available a temporary exception to telework may be granted. If/when workspace is identified, the employee is expected to report to their assigned duty location. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.