Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to all U.S. Citizens. This position may be filled through the Direct Hire Authority for **IT Specialist** positions. All applicants who meet the qualification requirements will be forwarded to the selecting official for further consideration. Category Rating, Veterans Preference, Schedule A and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

This is an open continuous announcement to fill current and future vacancies, until 07/30/2026. This is an open continuous announcement with cutoff dates. Applications will be referred based on receipt of application and established cutoff dates as follows:

1st cutoff date: 07/10/2026

2nd cutoff date: 07/20/2026

Last cutoff date: 07/30/2026

This position is also being announced for Washington, DC as well under announcement FSA-2026-0112.

Conditions of employment

• Relocation will not be paid.
• You may be subject to serve a one-year probationary period.
• Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
• Must be a US Citizen
• Must complete a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• This is a drug testing position.

Condition of Employment:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a probationary period or trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: • your performance and conduct; • the needs and interests of the agency; • whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and • whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period OR trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements

You may meet the minimum qualifications for the GS-14, if you possess the specialized experience.

Specialized Experience for the GS-14

One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-13 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:

1. Experience managing cybersecurity compliance programs (e.g., NIST SP 800 171, Gramm‑Leach‑Bliley Act (GLBA), Federal Tax Information (FTI)) in complex enterprise or higher education environments; coordinating controls, assessments, and audit readiness.

2. Experience leading federal or private cybersecurity audits, producing corrective action plans (CAPs), interpreting findings, and coordinating remediation across multiple stakeholders.

3. Experience developing and executing enterprise cybersecurity training, governance artifacts (risk registers, dashboards), and documentation in support of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and committee reporting.

Basic Experience Requirements
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 nine competencies listed below.
1. Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
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.
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.
7. Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.
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.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).

1. Knowledge of enterprise security programs, risk mitigation, vulnerability management, penetration testing coordination, and executive communication.
2. Ability to interpret federal cybersecurity regulations; experience implementing controls and audit readiness for Federal Tax Information (FTI)/Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) environments.
3. Skill in Risk Management Framework (RMF) / Authority to Operate (ATO), continuous monitoring, and enterprise risk analysis and communication
4. Skill in Incident handling, regulatory reporting, stakeholder coordination, escalation leadership.
5. Knowledge of ERM frameworks, governance, training development, tooling administration.

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your application and documentation submitted to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications and competencies listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), and the result of the Monster Competency Based Assessment(s) required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

Non-Supervisory: Oral Communications, Writing, Interpersonal Skills, Problem Solving, Teamwork, Technology Orientation, Customer Service, Attention to Detail and Self-Management

You will be evaluated to determine if you meet qualifications required, and on the extent to which your application shows that you possess the knowledge, skills and abilities associated with this position as defined in the Qualifications section. Please be sure to give examples in your resume and explain how often you used these skills, the complexity of the knowledge you possessed, the level of people you interacted with, and the complexity and sensitivity of the issues you handled.

Based on the outcome of this evaluation, your application data may be further assessed by a Subject Matter Expert (SME) panel. If your qualifications are not substantiated by your submitted resume, you may be eliminated from receiving further consideration.

If you are found to be amongst the most highly qualified applicants, you will be referred to the selecting official. As part of the assessment and selection process, the selecting official may invite you 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.

• Your resume should include relevant work experience, applicable education and your contact information. For current or previous federal employees, include the pay plan, series and grade.

You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS):

• A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire.

  Please limit your resume to 2 pages with the font size no smaller than 10 points. If your resume is more than 2 pages, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed and considered for the qualifications determination.

• If you are claiming Veteran's Preference, you must submit: A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge, OR A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference; AND/OR Proof of Sole Survivorship Preference (e.g., certificate of death or 100% disability as a result of serving in the armed forces).
• Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP/CTAP)?
• If you are a current or former Federal employee who was displaced (for example, due to a Reduction-in-Force) and want priority consideration, you must submit the documents listed below.
• Required documents for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration (All are required):

1. Proof that you were displaced, such as Reduction-in-Force (RIF) notice or notice of proposed removal.

• • SF-50s (Notification of Personnel Action) showing:

  • RIF as the Nature of Action (Box 5B)
  • Career or career-conditional status (Box 24 must be 1 or 2)
  • Competitive status (Box 34 must be 1)
  • Promotion potential or full performance level of the position from which you were or are being displaced. This is likely your appointment SF-50 for that position.
  • Duty location

3. Your most recent performance appraisal showing a rating of Fully Successful or higher.

• Your Federal position at the time you were displaced must be within the local commuting area for a location listed in this announcement. The definition of local commuting area varies based on duty location and hiring agency policy. To receive priority consideration, you must also be found well-qualified, which means you score 75 or higher based on this announcement's assessment rating criteria.

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