Summary

This position is located in the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Federal Student Aid (FSA), Financial Management Systems Group (FMSG), Finance Office (FO). The FMSG is responsible for the operation, maintenance, enhancement, and security of FSA’s Financial Management System (FMS).

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Duties

As a Lead IT Specialist (INFOSEC), GS-2210-14, you will be responsible for:

• Formulating, documenting, implementing, executing, monitoring, recommending improvements, and enforcing Financial Management Systems (FMS) Security and Configuration procedures, including but not limited to the following activities: System Security Plan updates, Self Assessments, Independent Risk Assessments, Certification and Accreditation (C&A), Disaster Recovery testing, Contingency & Continuity planning, security scans and quarterly patch assessments, and the coordination of system access paperwork.
• Representing Finance security interests at FSA enterprise meetings (e.g. Bi-monthly System Security Officer (SSO) Meetings, FSA Security Team Meetings, etc.) to ensure proper enterprise sequencing; and at new FSA initiatives project meetings (e.g. Secure File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Federal Desktop Core Configuration, etc.) to provide and/or collect FMS requirements that strengthen internal controls, enhance auditing, and meet customer's business needs.
• Providing timely, accurate, and complete responses to auditor/reviewer (e.g. IG financial statement, A123-A, etc.) requests for specific security and configuration artifacts that demonstrate sufficient evidence of FMS compliance with Department policies and regulations.
• Monitoring FMS help desk and change request activity for security impacts, providing assistance and management guidance to assist in the resolution of help desk tickets, identifying possible training needs, and assisting in the formulation and/or delivery of training material.
• Managing resources (e.g. time, staff, contractors, funding) to ensure that FMS findings identified during general control reviews, assessments, audits, and database scans are recorded into the Federal Student Aid or Department of Educations’ tracking system, and that appropriate action is taken to document, remediate and close findings in accordance with established corrective action plan policies. Provides input, reviews, and/or approves security changes for FMS. Participates and/or assists users during requirements gathering and testing. Validates development approach (design) and documentation for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with FMS Security and Configuration Management (CM) procedures and Financial Systems Integration Office (FSIO) standards.
  
  
  

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a US Citizen
• Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
• May be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period.
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
• This is a remote position.
• This position is considered essential for purposes of reporting to work during federal government closures.
• This position does not require financial disclosure.
• This position is included in the bargaining unit (American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252).
  
  
  

Qualifications

ALL QUALIFICATIONS MUST BE MET BY THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support that you meet the minimum qualification requirements and specialized experience statements as outlined below. Failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: All applicants must meet the qualification requirements outlined below to be considered minimally qualified for this position. The qualification requirements are in accordance with the OPM Qualification Standards.

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/2200/information-technology-it-management-series-2210-alternative-a/

You must possess IT related experience (paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training (e.g., IT certification), as appropriate) demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below.

• Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
• Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (i.e., 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 (e.g., ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (e.g., 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:

Specialized experience for the GS-14 is demonstrated by performing one year of experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the following three (3) duties or work assignments:

• Experience coordinating and/or managing common security controls (e.g., Access Control, Audit and Accountability, Configuration Management, Incident Response, and Contingency Planning of an information system) in a federal environment.
• Experience independently applying the security CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability) triad principles to determine and implement the correct security controls and document configurations to demonstrate compliance with Federal policies and regulations.
• Experience leading an IT Security team in applying program/project management principles and the software development lifecycle (SDLC) to address findings identified during control reviews, assessments, audits, and database scans, and documenting, remediating and closing findings in accordance with established corrective action plan policies.
  
  
  

Global Security Leadership Certification (GSLC), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), and/or Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) are preferred.

Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; 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.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience.

For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Education

Education cannot be substituted for experience for this position and grade level.

Additional Information

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Equal Employment Opportunity: We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a parent, marital status, or political affiliation.

People with Disabilities: We are committed to expanding access to employment by hiring people with disabilities; providing reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities; and, identifying and removing barriers to work. Persons with disabilities, including disabled veterans, may apply for jobs filled either competitively (where qualified individuals compete with one another through a structured process), noncompetitively (where a qualified individual may be selected based on a special hiring authority), or through an excepted appointing authority for people with disabilities (i.e., Schedule A). If you require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process, please contact us. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation is made on a case-by-case basis. For more information, please visit: http://opm.gov/disability/PeopleWithDisabilities.asp

Veterans’ Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email [email protected] to schedule a session with a career counselor (“Veterans Counseling Session” should be placed in the subject line of the email).

Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and subject to a pre-appointment investigation/background check.

Level of Risk and Sensitivity: Level of this position T4 and the sensitivity is High.

Time After Competitive Appointment: Candidates who are current Federal employees serving on a non-temporary competitive appointment must have served at least 90 days in that appointment before the agency can promote, transfer, reinstate, or detail an employee to a different position or different geographical area. When moving employees is consistent with open competition principles, OPM may waive the restriction against movement to a different geographical area upon written request from an agency.

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FSA is a great place to work. We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including paid vacation and sick leave, federal holidays, health and life insurance, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), including the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). As an FSA employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a productive balance between work and home, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you, may include teleworking and alternative work schedules.

For more information about the many benefits available to Federal employees, please visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/benefits/.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

We use a multi-step process to review and evaluate applicants:

• Eligibility and Minimum Qualifications: Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your submitted resume and documents to determine if you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, including any required education, experience, and/or selective placement factors. You will be rated as ineligible if you are outside of the area of consideration (i.e., who may apply) or your application is missing any required documents. You will be rated as not qualified if your resume does not include detailed information sufficient to support that you possess the minimum qualification requirements.
• Rating and Ranking: If you are found to meet both the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, we will assess the quality of your experience and the extent to which you possess the required competencies by comparing your submitted resume and documents against your responses to the assessment questionnaire. Your application may be referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation. Based on the outcome of this evaluation, you will be assigned a numerical score (out of 100 possible). If your responses to the assessment questionnaire are not substantiated by your submitted resume, you may be eliminated from receiving further consideration.
  
  
  

Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your responses to the online assessments completed during the application process. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

• Skill in working with of common security control areas (i.e. Access Control, Awareness and Training, Audit and Accountability, etc.).
• Knowledge of other security control areas (i.e. Application Development Security, Cryptography, Legal, Regulations, Investigations and Compliance, and Security Architecture and Design).
• Knowledge of the security CIA triad principles (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability).
• Knowledge of Federal IT cybersecurity government standards and mandates (e.g. NIST).
• Knowledge of program/project management principles and the software development lifecycle.
• Referral and Selection: If you are referred to the selecting official, you may receive an invitation to participate in a structured interview, check your references, and/or request that you submit a writing sample or complete a written assessment or exercise to further evaluate your qualifications for this position.
  
  
  

If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the interview process or written assessment or exercise, please inform the selecting official at the time of scheduling.

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