- Position Title
- IT Specialist (Applications/Software)
- Agency
- Food and Nutrition Service
- Announcement Number
- ST-12503042-24-TF Opens in new window
- Open Period
- Thursday, August 8, 2024 to Wednesday, August 21, 2024
For preview purposes only. To apply, please return to the USAJOBS announcement and click the Apply button.
Eligibilities
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING ELIGIBILITY QUESTIONS CAREFULLY. Your answers will be used to determine your eligibility to apply to this job opportunity announcement. You will be considered under the eligibility option(s) to which you answer YES. Select YES to all eligibility options for which you want to be considered. If you respond NO to meeting the criteria for all the eligibilities, you will not be considered for the position(s) under this announcement.
NOTE: You must submit the required supporting documentation to receive consideration for EACH selected eligibility. Failure to provide the required documents will result in an ineligible rating and your application will be excluded from consideration.
NOTE: You must submit the required supporting documentation to receive consideration for EACH selected eligibility. Failure to provide the required documents will result in an ineligible rating and your application will be excluded from consideration.
1.
Do you claim Veterans’ Preference?
2.
Are you a veteran who separated from active duty under honorable conditions (this means an honorable or general discharge) AND you either:
• retired from active military service with a disability rating of 30 percent or more; OR
• rated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) since 1991 or later to include disability determinations from a branch of the Armed Forces at any time, as having a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more.
For more information, review USAJOBS Veterans resources.
• retired from active military service with a disability rating of 30 percent or more; OR
• rated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) since 1991 or later to include disability determinations from a branch of the Armed Forces at any time, as having a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more.
For more information, review USAJOBS Veterans resources.
3.
Are you a current USDA employee who meets the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee, in which received official notice that your job is no longer needed or that you will lose your job by Reduction-in-Force (RIF)? If yes, confirm:
• you are located in the same local commuting area as the vacancy; AND,
• you are applying to a position that is at or below the grade level of the position from which you will be separated; AND,
• you are applying to a position that does not have greater promotion potential than the position from which you will be separated; AND,
• your last performance rating of record is at least fully successful or the equivalent.
For more information, review the USAJOBS Help Center.
• you are located in the same local commuting area as the vacancy; AND,
• you are applying to a position that is at or below the grade level of the position from which you will be separated; AND,
• you are applying to a position that does not have greater promotion potential than the position from which you will be separated; AND,
• your last performance rating of record is at least fully successful or the equivalent.
For more information, review the USAJOBS Help Center.
4.
Are you the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces on active duty?
-OR-
Are you the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces who retired with a disability rating of 100 percent at the time of retirement or the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces who retired or separated from the Armed Forces and has a disability rating of 100 percent from the Department of Veterans Affairs?
-OR-
Are you the un-remarried widow or widower of a member of the Armed Forces killed while in active duty status?
For more information, review USAJOBS Veterans resources.
-OR-
Are you the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces who retired with a disability rating of 100 percent at the time of retirement or the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces who retired or separated from the Armed Forces and has a disability rating of 100 percent from the Department of Veterans Affairs?
-OR-
Are you the un-remarried widow or widower of a member of the Armed Forces killed while in active duty status?
For more information, review USAJOBS Veterans resources.
5.
Are you a current Federal employee who currently holds a career or career conditional appointment?
6.
Are you a Federal employee who currently holds a career or career conditional appointment AND you have held or currently hold a position on a permanent basis in the competitive service with the same or higher promotion potential of the position being advertised?
7.
Have you completed at least 1 year of continuous service immediately before separation from one or more nontemporary Foreign Service appointments; AND, your separation from a Foreign Service career-type appointment occurred in the last 3 years (individuals entitled to veteran's preference do not need to meet this 3-year requirement)?
-OR-
Have you completed at least 3 years of substantially continuous service under one or more nontemporary appointments in the Foreign Service immediately before separation from an unlimited, career-type appointment in that Service?
-OR-
Are you a current career or limited non-career appointee in the Foreign Service with at least 48 months of continuous service and a most recent performance rating of satisfactory or better?
-OR-
Are you a former career or limited non-career appointee in the Foreign Service with at least 48 months of continuous service, the most recent performance rating of satisfactory or better, and no more than a one year break in service since your qualifying appointment?
NOTE: If you are a current Foreign Service employee curtailment of an overseas assignment remains subject to the provisions and processes specified in the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) and/or collective bargaining agreements.
-OR-
Have you completed at least 3 years of substantially continuous service under one or more nontemporary appointments in the Foreign Service immediately before separation from an unlimited, career-type appointment in that Service?
-OR-
Are you a current career or limited non-career appointee in the Foreign Service with at least 48 months of continuous service and a most recent performance rating of satisfactory or better?
-OR-
Are you a former career or limited non-career appointee in the Foreign Service with at least 48 months of continuous service, the most recent performance rating of satisfactory or better, and no more than a one year break in service since your qualifying appointment?
NOTE: If you are a current Foreign Service employee curtailment of an overseas assignment remains subject to the provisions and processes specified in the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) and/or collective bargaining agreements.
8.
Are you a current or former federal employee displaced from a position in a Federal agency other than USDA? If yes, confirm:
• you are located in the same local commuting area as the vacancy; AND,
• you are applying to a position that is at or below the grade level of the position from which you were or will be separated; AND,
• you are applying to a position that does not have greater promotion potential than the position from which you were or will be separated; AND,
• your last performance rating of record is at least fully successful or the equivalent.
For more information, review the USAJOBS Help Center.
• you are located in the same local commuting area as the vacancy; AND,
• you are applying to a position that is at or below the grade level of the position from which you were or will be separated; AND,
• you are applying to a position that does not have greater promotion potential than the position from which you were or will be separated; AND,
• your last performance rating of record is at least fully successful or the equivalent.
For more information, review the USAJOBS Help Center.
9.
Are you a current or former employee of a land management agency (Forest Service; Bureau of Land Management; National Park Service; Fish and Wildlife Service; Bureau of Indian Affairs; or Bureau of Reclamation) who is claiming eligibility under the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act and:
• was originally hired to a time-limited position under a competitive appointment; and,
• served one or more time-limited appointments at a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a single break in service of two or more years; and,
• performed at an acceptable level during each period of service; and,
• if no longer employed by the land management agency, have been separated for no more than two years, and whose most recent separation was for reasons other than misconduct or performance.
Note: Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Part-time and intermittent service will be credited only for time actually worked. Non-pay status (such as LWOP) is credited for up to six months in a calendar year; anything beyond six months is not credited. Applicants are responsible for providing sufficient information/documentation to determine if the 24 month criteria is met.
• was originally hired to a time-limited position under a competitive appointment; and,
• served one or more time-limited appointments at a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a single break in service of two or more years; and,
• performed at an acceptable level during each period of service; and,
• if no longer employed by the land management agency, have been separated for no more than two years, and whose most recent separation was for reasons other than misconduct or performance.
Note: Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Part-time and intermittent service will be credited only for time actually worked. Non-pay status (such as LWOP) is credited for up to six months in a calendar year; anything beyond six months is not credited. Applicants are responsible for providing sufficient information/documentation to determine if the 24 month criteria is met.
10.
Are you a current Excepted Service employee of a Federal Agency that has a valid interchange agreement with the Office of Personnel Management?
For more information, review Interchange Agreements with Other Merit Systems.
For more information, review Interchange Agreements with Other Merit Systems.
-OR-
Are you a current:
• Postal Career Service Employee;
• Postal Rate Commission Employee;
• Government Accountability Office (GAO) Employee; or,
• Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Employee?
For more information, review Miscellaneous Authorities Not Regulated By U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
• Postal Career Service Employee;
• Postal Rate Commission Employee;
• Government Accountability Office (GAO) Employee; or,
• Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Employee?
For more information, review Miscellaneous Authorities Not Regulated By U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
11.
Are you a Peace Corps Volunteer or AmeriCorps VISTA Alumni who completed your service within the past 12 months; OR,
Are you a Peace Corps Volunteer or AmeriCorps VISTA Alumni who completed your service within the past 36 months AND you are requesting an extension of your non-competitive appointment eligibility due to your military service; study at a recognized institution of higher learning; or involvement in another activity, which the hiring agency may view warrants extension? OR,
Are you a current or former Peace Corps employee who completed at least 36 months of continuous service without a break in service of 3 days or more AND has been separated from the Peace Corps for less than three years?
Are you a Peace Corps Volunteer or AmeriCorps VISTA Alumni who completed your service within the past 36 months AND you are requesting an extension of your non-competitive appointment eligibility due to your military service; study at a recognized institution of higher learning; or involvement in another activity, which the hiring agency may view warrants extension? OR,
Are you a current or former Peace Corps employee who completed at least 36 months of continuous service without a break in service of 3 days or more AND has been separated from the Peace Corps for less than three years?
12.
Do you have a severe intellectual disability, severe physical disability, or psychiatric disability that qualifies you for a Schedule A Disability appointment?
For more information, review USAJOBS Individuals with Disabilities resources.
For more information, review USAJOBS Individuals with Disabilities resources.
13.
Have you registered for reemployment consideration AND meet one of the below:
• Are you a current or former competitive service USDA employee who will be or was separated by Reduction-In-Force (RIF) and received a rating of satisfactory or above as your last annual performance rating?
OR
• Are you a former USDA competitive service employee who separated due to a compensable injury or disability?
• Are you a current or former competitive service USDA employee who will be or was separated by Reduction-In-Force (RIF) and received a rating of satisfactory or above as your last annual performance rating?
OR
• Are you a former USDA competitive service employee who separated due to a compensable injury or disability?
14.
Are you a former Federal career or career-conditional employee AND
• has reinstatement eligibility; AND
• has not held a position on a permanent basis in the competitive service with the same or higher promotion potential of the position being advertised?
• has reinstatement eligibility; AND
• has not held a position on a permanent basis in the competitive service with the same or higher promotion potential of the position being advertised?
15.
Are you a former Federal career or career-conditional employee AND
• has reinstatement eligibility; AND
• has held a position on a permanent basis in the competitive service with the same or higher promotion potential of the position being advertised?
• has reinstatement eligibility; AND
• has held a position on a permanent basis in the competitive service with the same or higher promotion potential of the position being advertised?
16.
Are you:
• a veteran whose latest discharge was under honorable conditions AND you served three or more years of continuous active duty service in the military (Note: if released shortly before completing a 3-year tour, you are considered to meet the eligibility); OR,
• eligible for veterans' preference?
Note: If you are currently on active duty you may be considered under the two provisions above provided you submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted.
For more information, review USAJOBS Veterans resources.
• a veteran whose latest discharge was under honorable conditions AND you served three or more years of continuous active duty service in the military (Note: if released shortly before completing a 3-year tour, you are considered to meet the eligibility); OR,
• eligible for veterans' preference?
Note: If you are currently on active duty you may be considered under the two provisions above provided you submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted.
For more information, review USAJOBS Veterans resources.
17.
Are you a current or former permanent Farm Service Agency County employee?
Preferences
1.
Are you a current or former Political appointee, Presidential appointee, and/or non-career Senior Executive Service (SES) appointee?
Assessment 1
Your responses to this questionnaire, in conjunction with the other portions of your completed application, will be evaluated in determining your eligibility and qualifications for this position. Please note that your answers will be verified against the information you provided in your resume, transcripts, or other application materials and information provided by your references.
Select “Yes” or “No” to the following question(s).
1.
To qualify at the GS-13 you must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-12 or pay band in federal service or equivalent experience. Specialized experience includes:
- Evaluating system performance to identify impact and risk to meet requirements cost and schedule;
- Translating business requirements into technical products, using communication tools appropriate to the audience; AND
- Conducting Client Engagement and Change Management throughout IT Projects, assessing the impact of change on people, processes and the organization.
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: leading others by setting the standards for the quality of work, even in the most difficult and/or high pressure circumstances; reviewing and editing work completed by others to ensure that the quality of work meets acceptable work standards.
(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: using expertise and experience to address complex problems, questions, or complaints; anticipating customer needs and modify the team's work activities, processes, and practices to meet these needs; collaborating across team and outside of own team to organize planning sessions that elicit ideas for improving customer service and support.
(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: clearly explaining and defending complex ideas, appropriately adapting to each audience's level of knowledge; actively listening and clarifying points when presenting highly complex and controversial findings; using well-constructed, fact-based arguments to persuade stakeholders/officials to take action on suggestions for improvement.
(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: providing precedent setting solutions to unique problems not previously encountered; helping team make decisions which are complicated by the number and nature of existing policy, guidelines, and organizational goals; identifying the root causes of problems; developing systemic solutions to address them and prevent them from reoccurring.
Will you have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level by the closing date of this announcement?
- Evaluating system performance to identify impact and risk to meet requirements cost and schedule;
- Translating business requirements into technical products, using communication tools appropriate to the audience; AND
- Conducting Client Engagement and Change Management throughout IT Projects, assessing the impact of change on people, processes and the organization.
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: leading others by setting the standards for the quality of work, even in the most difficult and/or high pressure circumstances; reviewing and editing work completed by others to ensure that the quality of work meets acceptable work standards.
(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: using expertise and experience to address complex problems, questions, or complaints; anticipating customer needs and modify the team's work activities, processes, and practices to meet these needs; collaborating across team and outside of own team to organize planning sessions that elicit ideas for improving customer service and support.
(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: clearly explaining and defending complex ideas, appropriately adapting to each audience's level of knowledge; actively listening and clarifying points when presenting highly complex and controversial findings; using well-constructed, fact-based arguments to persuade stakeholders/officials to take action on suggestions for improvement.
(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: providing precedent setting solutions to unique problems not previously encountered; helping team make decisions which are complicated by the number and nature of existing policy, guidelines, and organizational goals; identifying the root causes of problems; developing systemic solutions to address them and prevent them from reoccurring.
Will you have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level by the closing date of this announcement?
Select the one statement that most accurately describes your training and experience carrying out each task using the scale provided.
2.
Select the response that best describes your experience developing and implementing program solutions using the features of SharePoint.
3.
Select the response that best describes your experience providing easy to use, intuitive and accessible navigation and pages (UX/UI Design) to address a wide-range of system users.
4.
Select the response that best describes your experience in managing agile development projects to include the use of Scrum, Kanban, or similar application lifecycle management methodologies.
5.
Select the current certification(s) you possess. Must include a copy of the certification verification in resume package. (Select all that apply).
Select the one statement that most accurately describes your training and experience carrying out each task using the scale provided.
6.
Select the response that best describes your technical or developmental experience using the SharePoint Online platform.
7.
Select the response that best describes your experience developing and implementing program solutions using the tools and features of the Microsoft Power Platform (Power Apps, Power BI, and Power Automate).
8.
Select the response that best describes your experience using management tools for the design, implementation, operations and maintenance, and the management of SharePoint and/or Microsoft Power Platform projects.
9.
Select the response that best describes your experience using tools and technology to test applications and sites so that they meet 508 accessibility standards.
10.
Select the response that best describes your experience in developing program solutions conforming to good development practices and an organization's governance and systems life cycle management standards.
11.
Select the response that best describes your experience extending communication across all client stakeholders within a project and/or IT program initiative.
12.
Select the response that best describes your experience using visualization tools to aid in building communications artifacts during a project (i.e., Visio, Power BI, Tableau).
13.
Which of the following statements best describes the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), up to 5 years, of one or more projects that you have managed?
14.
Your responses to the Announcement and Assessment Questionnaires, along with your resume and all supporting documentation are subject to evaluation and verification to ensure accuracy.?Submitting false information or attempts to falsify information may be grounds for disqualifying you or for terminating you after you have been hired. Please take this opportunity to review your responses to ensure their accuracy.