Information Technology Specialist (Policy and Planning)

Summary About the Position: This position serves as an Information Technology Specialist (Policy and Planning) for the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command located at Redstone Arsenal, AL or New Cumberland, PA. The Army's Face to the World, the one-stop focal point for Army FMS, and the international partner of choice in U.S. Security Assistance. Responsibilities Develop, maintain, and update IT project plans, milestones, schedules, resource requirements, and risk-mitigation actions for assigned IT initiatives. Coordinate IT project activities with stakeholders to achieve approved scope, schedule, cost, performance, and mission requirements. Prepare project-status reports, decision papers, and briefings identifying project progress, resource requirements, issues, risks, and recommended courses of action for leadership. Conduct regular reviews of the IT portfolio to assess the performance, value, costs, risks, and alignment of current and proposed IT investments with mission priorities. Maintain complete and accurate IT portfolio documentation and project data in the approved portfolio-management system, including investment status, performance, cost, schedule, and risk information. Analyze IT investment requirements and provide recommendations that align proposed solutions with organizational priorities, enterprise architecture, and applicable DoD requirements. Develop IT acquisition-package documentation, including performance work statements, statements of requirements, independent Government cost estimates, and market-research documentation. Prepare, route, track, and coordinate IT procurement requests through the approved IT acquisition process to obtain required technical, funding, and compliance approvals. Coordinate with technical personnel, resource-management personnel, contracting officials, and other stakeholders to resolve IT acquisition issues and support timely procurement actions. Monitor contractor performance and IT deliverables; identify deficiencies, coordinate corrective actions, and document results for technical and contracting stakeholders. Prepare and coordinate IT purchase requests to help the organization obtain the right hardware, software, and services. Evaluate vendor proposals and recommend IT products or services based on mission requirements, technical compatibility, cybersecurity considerations, performance standards, cost, and risk. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities. 30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans Current Department of Army Civilian Employees Current Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army) Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS) Interchange Agreement Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473 Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer People with Disabilities, Schedule A Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998 In order to qualify, you must meet the experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes: 1) Developing budget documentation and reports that comply with fiscal law and organizational financial management requirements; 2) Analyzing financial data to develop accurate forecasts, tracking obligations and expenditures; 3) Conducting regular reviews of IT portfolios to assess performance, value, and risks associated with IT investments; AND 4) Utilizing Information Technology Systems to route and track IT procurement requests. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11). The specialized experience must include, or be supplemented by, information technology related experience (paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training, as appropriate) which demonstrates each of the competencies, as defined: (1) Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: completing thorough and accurate work independently, even in the most difficult or stressful situations; occasionally reviewing work completed by others; (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. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: resolving routine and non-routine problems, questions, or complaints; developing and maintaining strong, mutually supportive working relationships with customers; conducting evaluation of support to determine quality of services and customer satisfaction, and recommending procedural changes based on customer need or changes in policy and/or regulation; (3) 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. (4) Information Management - Identifies a need for and knows where or how to gather information; organizes and maintains information or information management systems. (5) 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. (6) 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. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: convincingly conveying complex information to customers; presenting thoughts that are well-organized and demonstrating confidence in the facts and ideas; adjusting style when working with individuals with different levels of understanding; using various methods to explain and convey information; and (7) Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: solving complex or sensitive problems by developing and proposing strategic alternatives; identifying possible conflicts and shared benefits; helping team anticipate problems and identifying and evaluating potential sources of information; providing feedback and coaching to others to help solve problems; engaging appropriate stakeholders when developing solutions in order to understand and incorporate multiple perspectives and needs; evaluating the effectiveness of decisions and adjusting future decisions as appropriate. (8) Teamwork - Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals. (9) 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. Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-11). Education Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted. Additional Information Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration. You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. This position requires a 1 year probationary period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and interests; whether your continued employment supports organizational or Government goals; and whether it promotes the efficiency of the Federal service. Continued employment requires written certification that it advances the public interest. Direct deposit of pay is required. Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees. If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. This is a(n) Information Technology Management Career Program position aligned under the Operational Support Career Management Directorate. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement. Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest. The selecting official has requested a competitive and non-competitive candidate list for this vacancy. If you are eligible for the non-competitive list, you will be evaluated on basic and/or minimum qualifications, as applicable. While required to answer the assessment questions, noncompetitive candidates will not be evaluated against the competitive rating and ranking criteria. The selecting official may select from any of the candidate lists. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information