IT Specialist (Policy & Planning)

Summary

In this position you will work as a member of the Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center (MWEOC), IT Services Division. The facility is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, 60 miles west of Washington, D.C. The ideal candidate for this position will have experience analyzing and managing complex IT requirements and developing IT policies, procedures and governance documents that support mission requirements.

Duties

All MWEOC staff have emergency assignments and are considered deployed in place. Exercises and activations are planned and unplanned, and may require long hours, nights, weekends and holidays. All MWEOC employees are: (1) required to use a government-issued electronic device (to include cellular phones); (2) subject to recall during emergency situations; and (3) required to perform work in locations both above and below ground. What will I do in this position if hired? In this position, you will serve as an Information Technology Specialist (Policy & Planning) responsible for developing and maintaining strategic plans, providing policy guidance to IT management, staff and customers, and assesses policy needs to govern IT activities in accordance with the agency mission and any changes that affect the organization. Typical assignments include: Supporting IT policy and planning activities by reviewing, developing, and interpreting IT policies, procedures, standards, and guidance for organizational systems and services. Managing and coordinating IT projects by developing project plans, schedules, milestones, resource estimates, and status reports to support timely completion of assigned initiatives. Analyzing IT requirements and recommending solutions by evaluating business needs, system capabilities, emerging technologies, and cost-benefit considerations. Providing technical guidance to stakeholders by advising management, IT staff, contractors, and partner organizations on complex IT planning, architecture, policy, and implementation issues. Monitoring IT program performance and compliance by assessing IT systems, plans, and procedures against applicable laws, regulations, policies, and mission requirements. What else do I need to know? At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management. Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.

Qualifications

You must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the ten 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 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. Reasoning - Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions. 9. Teamwork - Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals. 10. 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. AND in addition to meeting the above competencies, you must also meet the specialized experience and time in grade for the General Schedule (GS) listed below in order to be found qualified for the position. Current Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the Federal service. The qualification requirements listed below must be met by the closing date of this announcement. To qualify for this position at the GS-13 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following: Developing or interpreting IT policies, plans, procedures, or standards AND, Analyzing IT requirements and recommending technical solutions AND, Managing or coordinating IT projects. Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application: Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. Please limit your resume to two pages. The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an application that includes a resume over two pages. Your resume serves as the basis for experience related qualification determinations, and you must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity. Please use your own words, be clear, and specific when describing your work history. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Are you qualifying based on your work experience? Qualifications are based on your ability to demonstrate in your resume that you possess one year of the specialized experience for this announcement at a comparable scope and responsibility. To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS online Resume Builder. If you choose to use your own resume, it must contain the following information organized by experience/position: (1) job title, (2) name of employer, (3) start and end dates of each period of employment (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY), (4) detailed description of duties performed, accomplishments, and related skills, and (5) hours worked per week (part-time emplo