IT Specialist (Infosec)

About the role

The Office of Information Security (OIS) provides information security and privacy infrastructure for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The office assures the confidentiality, integrity, and risk management, record management, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

In addition, the OIS team develops, implements, and oversees the training, communication how VA and its partners safeguard the personally identifiable information (PII) of Veterans and VA employees.

What you will do

• Conduct risk and vulnerability assessments of planned and installed information systems to identify vulnerabilities, risks, and protection needs.
• Provide input to the Risk Management Framework process activities and related documentation (e.g., system life-cycle support plans, concept of operations, operational procedures, and maintenance training materials).
• Interpret patterns of non-compliance to determine their impact on levels of risk and/or overall effectiveness of the enterprise's cybersecurity program.
• Provide input in drafting information systems security documentation (e.g., systems security plans, risk assessments, disaster recovery plans, business continuity plans, and user security guides).
• Develop, maintain, and administer a highly complex information security program which involves security program issues and develop VA security program objectives and plans that respond to current and future VA information technology and information security program requirements.
• Mastery knowledge of contemporary information technology including hardware, software, communications, networking, data management and administration, higher order computer languages, and expert knowledge of information security and VA's Information Security Program.
• Mastery knowledge of regulations, federal-wide laws, policies and standards related to CFO and CIO programs generally, and to information security, in particular.
• Incumbent has the ability to complete fact gathering, organizing, and presentations inherent in requirements analysis, alternatives analysis, technical project proposals, project plans, and overall program coordination.
• Evaluate security architectures and designs to determine the adequacy of security design and architecture proposed or provided in response to requirements contained in acquisition documents.
• Ensure that protection and detection capabilities are acquired or developed using the IS security engineering approach and are consistent with organization-level cybersecurity architecture.
• Participate in the development or modification of the computer environment cybersecurity program plans and requirements.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to establish the enterprise continuity of operations program, strategy, and mission assurance.
• The incumbent works under the administrative supervision of the Risk Management Framework Director.
• Supervisor provides administrative direction, making assignments in terms of broadly defined missions, functions, or team goals.
• As a recognized authority, the incumbent is delegated complete responsibility to independently organize, plan, carry out assignments, and coordinate as a peer with experts within and across VA.
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Compressed/flexible schedule available at the manager's discretion Telework: This position may be authorized for telework.
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
• Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist (Infosec)/PD17190A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

Requirements

• 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.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period 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 (***).
• 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.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period (OR INSERT "2-year 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 INSERT "trial period"), your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

How you will be evaluated

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork USA Hire Assessments include a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies.

You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered.

You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC.

WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

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.

Documents you must provide

• Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (Schedule A) Performance Appraisal Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application.
• Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).
• Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.
• You will not be contacted for additional information.
• Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply.
• Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.
• It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
• 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.
• Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan.
• Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position.
• USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job.
• Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying.
• VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.
• Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.
• 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.
• The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

What to expect next

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required assessments and documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met.

After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued, and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.

If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully.

Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

Additional information

This is not a remote position. OIT has multiple worksites at various duty locations, and the individual(s) selected may be assigned to any federal government work site. This announcement will NOT be used for changing duty locations.

If selected, and you are a current VA employee, and not on an approved exemption, you will continue to report to your current duty location.

If selected you will be required to report to one of the following locations: Oakland, CA Washington, DC Hines, IL Eatontown, NJ Albany, NY Philadelphia, PA Austin, TX Salt Lake City, UT Martinsburg, WV 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. 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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.

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 qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy.

To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job.

Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at ***