Summary This position is located in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information and Technology (OIT) serving as an IT Specialist (PLCYPLN) providing technical oversight, IT services, systems development and contract oversight in regard to network related issues that ultimately affect the plans, goals, and effectiveness of the VA nationwide. 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: Serves as a senior IT specialist and technical authority in regard to all unified communications technologies, including, but not limited to Voice over IP (VoIP), Video teleconferencing, and Contact Center management and monitoring. Applies an IT system development approach resolving problems as they relate to Unified Communications (UC) Technology which is a group of highly complex technologies centered around telephony, voice over IP (VoIP), clinical/administrative video, and Contact Center Solutions. Initiates and provides technical oversight to IT systems development studies and analyses (including modeling and simulation efforts) concerning the introduction of new UC technologies, products and topologies and to find solutions to critical problems in design of solutions that have national impact. Provides IT consultation and guidance to VA executive management on unusual, complex and/or controversial problems in Unified Communications. Develops UC solution test plans and test configurations, completes evaluations of testing outcomes. Provides mastery technical oversight and continues IT systems development support throughout the networking solutions lifecycle, with regard to implementation, maintenance and disposal of IT solutions and considerations. Provides IT system development services and technical oversight to critical, national initiatives related to enterprise unified communications solutions and associated issues and contributions to organizational mission of providing complex services by shaping the underlying IT architecture. Provides coordination, collaboration, technical oversight and an IT systems development approach to the analysis, design and implementation of reliable, secure and cost-effective unified communications solutions across the enterprise. Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist (PLCYPLN)/PD18683A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Telework: ADHOC telework may be authorized at management discretion. Travel Required: Up to 25% travel may be required, as needed, for this position. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm; Tour of duty may be subject to change based on organizational needs. Compressed/Flexible: As determined by the Agency Policy. Virtual: This is NOT a virtual position. Physical Demands: The work may require some physical effort, such as standing, walking, bending or sitting. The work often requires long hours to meet project deadlines and to devise corrective action and solutions to unexpected technical and/or management crises resulting in sometimes highly stressful work situations. The work requires almost constant use of a video display terminal. Working Conditions: Work is performed in an office setting. Designated Drug Testing Position: Not applicable This is a non-bargaining unit eligible position. Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 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. This is not a remote position. OI&T has multiple worksites at various duty locations, and the individual(s) selected may be assigned to any federal government work site. Only resumes up to TWO total pages will be accepted. Applicants with resumes exceeding the two page limit will be removed from consideration. 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. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which you will be evaluated for continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: 1) Your performance and conduct; 2) The needs and interests of the agency; 3) Whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and 4) 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. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/25/2026. 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. 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 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: experience and advanced proficiency in configuring and supporting Unified Communications collaboration platforms such as Genesys Cloud CX and Cisco Collaboration products. Comprehensive knowledge of IT infrastructure to support Voice, Video and Contact Center platforms. Experience with systems development, lifecycle methodologies, and requirements analysis to recommend technical requirements to plan, design, implementation, and support of Unified Communications systems. Proficiency with web programming, scripting, API integration and associated technologies such as HTTP/HTTPS, REST and JSON.Strong ability to write technical standards and to provide oral and written briefings, presentations to key officials and stakeholders throughout VA. Experience using various monitoring tools to ensure optimization and proper voice and video operation, availability, and security. 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. 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 substitution of education for experience at the grade level of this announcement. Additional 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. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. 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: Little Rock, AR North Little Rock AR Phoenix, AZ Long Beach, CA Los Angeles, CA San Francisco. CA Denver. CO Washington DC Miami, FL Orlando, FL St. Petersburg, FL Tampa, FL Atlanta, GA Chicago, IL Hines, IL North Chicago, IL Bedford, MA Boston, MA Baltimore, MD Detroit, MI Minneapolis, MN St. Louis, MO Eatontown, NJ Albany, NY Cleveland, OH Philadelphia, PA Pittsburgh, PA Nashville, TN Arlington, TX Austin, TX Dallas, TX Houston, TX San Antonio, TX Salt Lake City, UT SeaTac, WA Seattle, WA Shepherdstown, WV 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.
