Information Technology (IT) Specialist

Summary

The USPS OIG is seeking a highly qualified applicant to fill our Information Technology (IT) Specialist (FinOps & Acquisition), position in the Office of Chief Information Officer (CIO) located in Arlington, VA. Bring your skills and voice to our team!

Duties

Candidates will be evaluated on the skills that they possess that are directly related to the duties of the position and the experience, education and training that indicate the applicant's ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position. Only those candidates who meet all qualification and eligibility requirements and who submit the required information by 11:59 PM EST on 09/11/2026 will be considered. The USPS OIG uses a Pay Banding system, which is equivalent to the Federal GS scale. Grade and salary determinations will be made based upon a candidate's education and professional experience. This position is being advertised at the Specialist Band level, equivalent to a GS-14. The salary range for this position is $143,913.00 - $187,093.00. The salary figures include locality pay. Please note that the duties and responsibilities associated with this position may vary based upon the agency's needs at the time of hire. The following description of major duties and responsibilities is only intended to give applicants a general overview of the expectations. The employee serves as the authoritative resource for the agency relative to cloud financial management (FinOps), IT capital planning, and federal IT acquisition oversight. Provides integrated, cross-functional support and guidance to Office of Chief Information Officer (OCIO) management for all areas of IT financial operations including cloud cost optimization, budget alignment, IT contract oversight, reporting, and financial governance. Serves as lead for the coordination, implementation, and administration of FinOps frameworks and IT procurement oversight, ensuring that policies, procedures, and processes incorporate industry best practices and organizational policies, directly supporting the goals and objectives of OCIO and its interagency partners. Implements and maintains financial governance standards and policies for agency cloud environments in alignment with established FinOps best practices and agency budget goals. Analyzes cost-allocation metrics, reviews cloud financial reports, and tracks program adherence to resource-tagging guidelines to ensure accurate cost attribution across offices. Monitors cloud consumption and expenditure trends to identify spending anomalies, generate financial forecasts, and prepare executive briefings on cost-saving opportunities, rate optimization strategies (e.g., Savings Plans, Reserved Instances), and budget risks. Assists with monitoring, reviewing, and reconciling cloud commitments, obligations, task orders, and other budget-related data. Assures that obligations incurred and resulting expenditures of cloud funds comply with pertinent organizational guidelines and fiscal standards. Contracting & Acquisition Oversight: Performs IT acquisition planning in support of multi-cloud and enterprise IT requirements aligned with procurement best practices. Partners with Contracting Officers (COs) and Contracting Officer Technical Representatives (COTRs) to draft, review, and evaluate technical requirements, Statements of Work (SOW), and Statements of Objectives (SOO) for complex IT contracts. Advises program leadership on contract structures (e.g., Enterprise Agreements, Blanket Purchase Agreements, IDIQs) to maximize cost efficiency and align technical requirements with business and procurement goals. Conducts vendor cost evaluations, performs market research, and provides technical/financial analysis to support the Contracting Officer during procurement discussions. Performs COR-level contract monitoring by tracking vendor performance against Service Level Agreements (SLAs), verifying task order deliverables, and monitoring financial burn rates to prevent budget overruns. Reporting & Analytics: Analyzes cloud billing data and creates interactive financial dashboards using Power BI and native cloud billing tools. Assists OCIO and program managers to better leverage financial and usage data to make informed, data-driven IT investment decisions. Assembles and compiles historical cost data to support cloud budget estimates and justifications. Governance, Communications & Accountability: Leads cross-functional working groups comprising cloud engineers, procurement officials, finance teams, and program managers to foster a culture of financial accountability in IT spending. Develops policy guidance, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and training materials based on industry best practices for stakeholders managing cloud assets and IT contracts. Reviews and monitors OCIO financial activities to identify process improvement opportunities, provides actionable recommendations to senior management, and leads the implementation of approved processes. Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS You must meet ALL of the minimum qualifications listed below. Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Must have at least 1 year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-13 level) managing IT financial operations (FinOps) across multi-cloud environments (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP). Must have at least 1 year of specialized experience tracking cloud consumption metrics, analyzing usage trends, and implementing cost-allocation or rate-optimization strategies (e.g., Savings Plans, Reserved Instances). Must have at least 1 year of experience in a COR or technical advisor capacity supporting IT acquisition planning, including drafting or reviewing Statements of Work. Experience utilizing financial analytics tools (e.g., Power BI, Excel, or cloud-native billing tools) to generate cloud spend forecasts and executive dashboards. Experience monitoring vendor performance, task order deliverables, and financial burn rates for enterprise IT or cloud contracts. DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS Experience tracking, forecasting, and managing cost drivers for data platforms and AI workloads (e.g., Databricks usage, compute resources, and automated agents). Demonstrated experience establishing cloud governance frameworks, cost-allocation reporting, and resource-tagging policies across multi-cloud or hybrid environments. Hands-on experience collaborating with cross-functional teams (cloud engineers, procurement staff, and finance leads) to align technical requirements with budget limits. In-depth knowledge of federal IT acquisition practices, market research methods, and vendor management principles. EVALUATION FACTORS You must have the experience, knowledge and skills as listed in EACH of the evaluation factors. Failure to demonstrate that you meet all of the evaluation factor requirements as listed below will result in a score of zero (0); an ineligible status, and you will not be referred for further consideration. Include your major accomplishments relevant to the position requirements in your resume. Demonstrate experience managing cloud financial operations (FinOps) across multi-cloud environments, including analyzing usage trends, tracking compute consumption (such as Databricks or AI/data agent workloads), and implementing cost-optimization strategies. Demonstrate experience in a COR-level or technical advisor capacity supporting IT procurement planning, including drafting or evaluating technical requirements, Statements of Works for enterprise IT or cloud contracts. Demonstrate experience monitoring contract execution by tracking vendor performance against Service Level Agreements (SLAs), verifying task order deliverables, and analyzing financial burn rates to prevent budget overruns. Demonstrate experience building and maintaining cloud cost-allocation reports, dashboards, or financial forecasts using data analysis tools (such as Power BI, Excel, or cloud-native billing applications) to brief senior leadership on spending trends You will no longer be considered for this position if you: fail to respond to all of the questions in the self-assessment questionnaire; fail to address a factor in the narrative section (no response or "See resume" or similar language will be scored a zero (0)); or receive a zero (0) rating on any evaluation factor. Failure to demonstrate that you meet all evaluation factor requirements will result in a score of zero (0). Upon receipt of a zero score, you will be deemed "not minimally qualified," and you will not be referred for further consideration.

Education

Education must be accredited by an institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation here: https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/college-accreditation. Special Instructions for Candidates with Foreign Education: Education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to that gained in U.S. education programs. You must submit all necessary documents to a private U.S. credential evaluation service to interpret equivalency of your education against courses given in U.S. accredited colleges and universities. For further information visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications. How You Will Be Evaluated

The Human Resources Office will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications required for this position. You will no longer be considered for this position if you: Receive a zero (0) rating on any evaluation factor Fail to attach all required documentation Submit a resume that exceeds the two-page limit If your application materials indicate that you are not minimally-qualified for this position If you fail to qualify on the interview Only the top-rated candidates will be referred to a review official or the selecting official for further consideration. Top-rated applicants may be required to participate in an interview. Your rating may be further adjusted or rated as ineligible by the review official or the selecting official based on your interview performance. Once all applicant scores are finalized, the selecting official will make a final decision. NOTE: If you receive a zero (0) rating on any evaluation factor or on the interview, you will be considered NOT MINIMALLY QUALIFIED for the position and rated ineligible. Applicants for this position may be interviewed one or more times as part of the hiring process. During interviews, applicants may not use any AI tool or virtual assistant (such as ChatGPT) to help them answer questions, except for accessibility tools used as part of a reasonable accommodation. Applicants who fail to follow these rules will be disqualified from the hiring process. Other Information

Pay is only part of the compensation you will earn working for the USPS OIG. We offer a broad array of benefits programs: As a result of the passage of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 (PSRA), USPS employees (including USPS OIG) and retirees will transition from the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program to the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program effective January 1, 2025. Detailed information about eligibility and enrollment will be provided upon hiring. For more information, visit the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program website at https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/pshb/. We offer Health, Dental, Vision, Life and Long-Term Care Insurances with Flexible Spending options as well. For more information about these programs visit: https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/Guide-Me/Federal-Employees/ Retirement and Thrift Savings. For more information about these programs see https://www.opm.gov/retirement-center/ and tsp.gov/. Flexible Work Schedules. USPS OIG offers a range of family-friendly flexibilities including flexible work schedules, telework and employee assistance programs. Leave and Holidays. In addition to eleven (11) paid holidays each year, you will earn thirteen (13) days of paid sick leave and thirteen (13) to twenty-six (26) paid vacation days each year depending on your years of service. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Status: Exempt (Nonexempt employees are entitled to overtime pay; Exempt employees are not). This agency provides Reasonable Accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you require accommodations for any part of the application and/or hiring process, please send an email to [email protected]. The decision on granting an accommodation request will be made on a case-by-case basis. For further information, please refer to our website at: https://www.uspsoig.gov/frequently-asked-questions