Information Technology Specialist (Network)

Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience includes working with network operations to evaluate and resolve user problems related to computer, network, and communication services and/or potential systems administration or compliance issues; developing modifications to parts of a system that required significant revisions. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09).

OR EDUCATION: You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D.

OR equivalent doctoral degree in computer science, information science, information systems management, mathematics, statistics, operations research, engineering or technology management; OR equivalent doctoral degree in one or more of the fields identified above that provided a minimum of 24 semester hours in the development or adaptation of applications, systems or networks. OR COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: At least 1 year of combined graduate education and experience as defined in paragraphs above.

The OPM Qualification Standard provides the following definition: specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the competencies/knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Such experience is typically gained in the IT field or through the performance of work where the primary concern is IT.

The specialized experience must include, or be supplemented by, information technology related experience (paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training, as appropriate) which demonstrates each of the four competencies, as defined: (1) Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.

Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: completing thorough and accurate work independently, even in the most difficult or stressful situations; occasionally reviewing work completed by others. (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.

Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: resolving routine and non-routine problems, questions, or complaints; developing and maintaining strong, mutually supportive working relationships with customers; conducting evaluation of support to determine quality of services and customer satisfaction, and recommending procedural changes based on customer need or changes in policy and/or regulation. (3) 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.

Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: convincingly conveying complex information to customers; presenting thoughts that are well-organized and demonstrating confidence in the facts and ideas; adjusting style when working with individuals with different levels of understanding; using various methods to explain and convey information. (4) Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: solving complex or sensitive problems by developing and proposing strategic alternatives; identifying possible conflicts and shared benefits; helping team anticipate problems and identifying and evaluating potential sources of information; providing feedback and coaching to others to help solve problems; engaging appropriate stakeholders when developing solutions in order to understand and incorporate multiple perspectives and needs; evaluating the effectiveness of decisions and adjusting future decisions as appropriate.

Execute procedures and coordinate corrective action to optimize network performance.,Implement plans and procedures for remote installation of applications and upgrades using state of the art software distribution methods.,Analyze equipment and software reliability and utilization reports to identify and define problem areas and to establish end-to-end systems performance levels.,Analyze equipment and software reliability and utilization reports to identify and define problem areas and to establish end-to-end systems performance levels.,Document and tracks changes to configuration, protocol and user/system files.,Use remote management software tools to maintain and update configuration, protocol and user/system files.,Evaluate the performance of network devices such as servers, workstations, and peripheral devices, and remote access systems.,Coordinate the development and implementation of configuration management plans for complex LANs and WANs.