Information Technology Specialist

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. 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 judgement to generate and evaluate alternatives and make recommendations. AND in addition to meeting the four competencies listed above, all applicants must meet the following minimum qualification requirements: GS-09 Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-09 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-07 which is directly related to the work of this position, and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience installing and maintaining specialized research software; conducting data transfer from (laboratory and field) research sensors; supporting data retrieval and maintenance operations such as Stewarts, LIM system, and Local SCCM; maintaining, operating and developing software such as Veritas backup exec software suite, Hyper-V virtual environment, Firewall and switch, Java Scripting, and PowerShell. OR Education: Completion of a master’s degree or equivalent graduate degree in a related major field of study; or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master’s degree or equivalent graduate degree in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management or degree that provided a minimum of 24 semester hours in one or more of the fields identified above and required the development or adaptation of applications, systems or networks. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
This position is in the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Administrative and Financial Management (AFM), Information Technology Services Division (ITSD) organization located in Ames, IA. In this position, you will provide support and administer scientific data systems and operations to meet research-specific information technology (IT) requirements.