Information Technology Specialist (Recent Graduate Program)

Duties

This is a Recent Graduate appointment in the Pathways Program. Selected individuals are placed in a dynamic one year development program in the excepted service designed to lead to a competitive civil service career in the Federal government. At the successful conclusion of this program, the agency may non-competitively convert individuals to a term (position lasting 1-4 years with an extension up to 120 days) or permanent position within the competitive service. Conversion to a Federal competitive service position will be at the discretion of the agency and is neither guaranteed nor implied.

Joining Customs & Border Protection will allow you to use your expertise in Information Technology principles, concepts and methods to support Information Technology systems and services. This position starts at a salary of $57,164.00(GS-7, Step 1) to $90,898.00 (GS-9, Step 10) with promotion potential to $131,826.00(GS-12 Step 10).

In this Information Technology Specialist position, you will become a key team member of Homeland Security professionals to provide technology service, implement projects and deploy systems to reduce downtime and maintain operational availability. Typical work assignments include:

• Diagnosing and resolving problems in response to customer reported incidents
• Researching, evaluating and providing feedback on problematic trends and patterns to support customer support requirements
• Interacting with internal and external stakeholders as the Subject Matter Expert to provide IT guidance and solutions and providing customer training as required
• Installing, configuring, integrating, troubleshooting, optimizing and maintaining customer hardware and software to maximize system availability and monitors network performance
• Identifying and specifying information system security requirements and ensuring application of information security/information assurance policies, principles and practices

RequirementsConditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
• Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below)
• You may be required to pass a background investigation
• CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures
• As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce that is dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards. Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties. Please review further details via the following link.
• Bargaining Unit: This is a bargaining unit covered position, represented under the National Treasury Employees Unions- NTEU. For local chapter contact information see Chapter Websites - National Treasury Employees Union - NTEU.
• DHS uses E-Verify, an internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify including your rights and responsibilities.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: Applicants must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below.

• Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
• 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.
• 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.
• Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

Along with the four competencies listed above you must possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience described below to qualify based on experience.

Experience: You qualify for the GS-7 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Assisting with the investigation, analyzation, and response to cyber security incidents within a network environment
• Consulting with customers to recommend IT solutions to enhance customer productivity
• Monitoring functionality, security, and integrity of network services
• Assisting with the analyzing and planning of network systems hardware and software installations

Experience: You qualify for the GS-9 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Testing, installing, configuring and maintaining networks including hardware, middleware and software to ensure conformance to national standards consulting
• Ensuring security assurance policies and principals are adhered to
• Developing and administering local databases

NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.

Education Substitution: Please see Education section for details.

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. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 04/15/2025.