IT Specialist

Job Details

Position Overview

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo.  This position is located in the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a national museum for the study and exhibition of African American history and culture. 

More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

Duties

The IT Specialist (Sys Admin) is responsible for installing, configuring, troubleshooting, and maintaining hardware and software to ensure the availability and functionality of the Museum's IT systems.

In this position, you will:

• Support and maintain the Museum's systems consisting of network, hardware, software applications, technology services and devices.
• Using the System Development Lifecycle Process, plan for the acquisition, installation, and support of new systems or modifications to systems.
• Provide customer service and technical assistance to customers on computer and other IT related programs. 
• Provide guidance and training to authorized individuals who have access to the Museum's Information Technology (IT) systems.
• Serve as COTR for assigned contracts.
• Evaluate contractor performance, service levels, acceptance of service and products.
• Prepare acquisition materials including but not limited to statements of work (SOWS), sole source justifications, cost estimates, and other documentation in support of acquisition requests for services. 
• Conduct studies or analysis on existing and new systems that encompass one or more areas of IT (security, applications, LAN/WAN, customer support, audio/video, etc.).
• Work to identify operational improvements, and ways on developing and maintaining the enterprise architecture. 

Qualifications & Requirements

Basic Requirements:
For all positions individuals must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the five 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.
• 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.
• Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.
• Teamwork - Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.
• 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. 

In addition to the basic qualification requirement above:

You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience maintaining and supporting networked IT systems including associated hardware and software applications or cloud-based systems; diagnosing and resolving issues affecting network connectivity, system availability or authentication services; implementing and maintaining system backups, disaster recovery procedures, and continuity-of-operation capabilities; and proven experience overseeing assigned contracts.

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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.  

Education

This position has no basic education requirement.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website.

Evaluations

Applicants for this position may be evaluated in multiple stages. The first stage is an evaluation of your responses to the online multiple-choice questions that assess your experience, education, and/or training for the job-related competencies below:

1. Knowledge, skill & exp. in installing, configuring, troubleshooting, testing & maintaining hardware & software to IT systems.
2. Knowledge & exp. in selecting and using rules, regulations & procedures for lifecycle processes.
3. Knowledge & exp. in rules, regulations and procedures related to Federal Contracting & providing oversight to outside vendors.
4. Knowledge & exp. with assisting in the study & analysis of one or more areas of IT (security, applications, LAN/WAN, customer support, audio/video, etc.).
5. Knowledge & exp. with assisting with mgmt. of IT property.

Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria:

• Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above.
• Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above.
• Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree.

This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position.

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Required Documents

Your application package should include the following documents:

• Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), and hours worked per week, for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position.

  For assistance with creating a resume, please click USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?
• Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy), if you are a veteran. Additionally, applicants claiming 10-point preference must complete Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, as well as additional documentation required by the SF-15, such as a VA letter.
• Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
• Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.

How to Apply

Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page. Please Note:

• You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you).
• Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages.
• You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process.
• The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
• If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.

At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt. The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process. You may also check your application status by logging into www.usajobs.gov and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing [email protected]; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed. Additional Information:

• Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at https://www.si.edu/OHR/howtoapply.
• The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses but recruitment incentives may be authorized.
• The Smithsonian Institution is an equal opportunity employer. Additional information can be found on our website at (www.si.edu/oeesd).