Summary This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information and . Technology (OIT). within theses services: Software Product Management, Product Engineering Service, Chief Technology Office, Compliance, Risk and Remediation and End User Operations. The incumbent will serve as Senior Information Technology (IT) Specialist. Responsibilities 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 Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) or internally developed software business applications. The product may be developed internally with IT staff resources or procured from commercial sources and integrated into the enterprise. Evaluating project schedules and developer resource allocations to ensure successful development of approved software applications. Tracking, analyzing and coordinating multiple, complex applications development projects using principles and guidelines oft he Project Management Institute (PMI) and Capability Maturity Model® Integration (CMMI) methodologies. Facilitating cross-functional and cross-team planning sessions to ensure integration of critical path development activities. Participating in formal change and configuration management processes as a senior technical analyst to ensure adherence to approved VA processes and to identify cross product configuration issues for resolution. Develop and communicate project plans and schedule system scope based on cost estimates for new or modified application systems on a clear understanding of customer requirements and information on project costs, schedule, quality, and performance. Provide expert oversight of cost resource estimates. Participate in future strategic planning budget developing projects. Managing projects based on the approved plans to ensure the successful implementation of software solutions. Provide oversight for the development of information systems testing strategies, plans or scenarios working with stakeholders and Test and Software Quality Assurance Services representatives. Identifying risks within ongoing or proposed development projects to ensure VA goals and objectives are met and to provide mitigation strategies to reduce or eliminate the identified risks Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist (APPSW)/PD18421A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Travel Required: Occasional travel may be required as needed for this position. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00AM-4:30pm; Tour of duty will be determined based on organizational needs. Compressed/Flexible: As determined by the Agency Policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Physical Demands: The work is sedentary. Some work may require walking and standing in conjunction with travel and to attendance at meetings and conferences away from the work site 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. Designated Drug Testing Position: Not Applicable Requirements 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 You may be required to serve a probationary period 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. 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. Qualifications To qualify for this position, all qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement 08/18/2025. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For the GS-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Applicants must meet all requirements when a request is received to fill a vacancy. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: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. Problem Solving: Identifies and analyzes problems; uses sound reasoning to arrive at conclusions; finds alternative solutions to complex problems; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information to make logical judgements Attention to Detail: Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail Customer Service: Works and communicates with clients and customers (e.g., any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit provides, including individuals who work in your agency or in other agencies or organizations outside the Government) to satisfy their expectations. Committed to quality services Information Management: Identifies a need for and knows where or how to gather information; organizes and maintains information or information management systems. Oral Communication: Expresses ideas and facts to individuals or groups effectively; makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others; facilitates an open exchange of ideas. Budget Administration: Knowledge of the principles and practices of budget administration and analysis; including preparing, justifying, reporting on, and executing the budget; and the relationships among program, budget, accounting, and reporting systems. 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. 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. 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. 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. Education There is no substitution of education for experience at the grade level(s) of this announcement. Additional Information VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. 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 well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. 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. 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. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay. 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.
