Instructional Systems Specialist

Job Details

Position Overview

Duties

• Designs, develops, and implements training programs. These programs utilize all appropriate media (classroom, interactive television, videotape productions, computer based and web-based training).
• Teaches, coordinates and provides guidance to instructors and subject matter experts. Independently plans and oversees administration of day-to-day training integration and coordination activities, to include the development, justification and execution of training, education, and professional development.
• Identifies training needs using performance needs analysis tools, including but not limited to, surveys, focus groups and task analysis that provide feedback and priorities from employees, managers, supervisors, and program participants.
• Develops, reviews, and revises instructional materials for courses or occupations in accordance with specific learning objectives and/or employees to include lessons plans, training texts, presentations, guides, and all other instruction related materials.
• Analyzes, designs and develops training curricula for various position types in Insurance Service Central Office and field operations. Implements training delivery and evaluates learning outcomes to measure effectiveness and revise materials.
• Determines the learning objectives and task learning relationships, cluster learning events, organizes course content, and develops instruction design plans.
• Conceives and drafts training aids on new systems and components and reviews charts and drawings for technical accuracy. Reviews modifications to existing training to determine impact on training aids and lesson plans being used by stakeholders. Revises aids and courses and prepares instructions for revisions by SMEs.
• Plans and coordinates related training and development activities to ensure that component parts of major items and quantities specified will meet program requirements for training classes.
• Plans, promotes, and develops educational design strategies for educational programs/events and products by leading effective teams and providing clear direction. Evaluates program effectiveness by review of reports, direct observation, discussion with team members and consultation with customers.

Qualifications & Requirements

• For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 level.
• For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 level.
• If you are a current VBA employee requesting a reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-13 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-13.

The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

AND

This position has an Individual Occupational Requirement IOR/basic requirement. Applicants must clearly demonstrate in their application how the standards are met. Applicants who do not meet basic requirements will not receive further consideration.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

Degree: that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours appropriate to the work of the position to be filled. The course work must have included study in at least four of the following five areas:

1. Learning theory, psychology of learning, educational psychology: Study of learning theories as they relate to the systematic design, development, and validation of instructional material.
2. Instructional design practices: Study of the principles and techniques used in designing training programs, developing design strategy and models, and applying design methods to the improvement of instructional effectiveness.
3. Educational evaluation: Study of the techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of instructional/educational programs, including developing written and performance tests and survey instruments, and determining reliability and validity of evaluation instruments.
4. Instructional product development: Study of the techniques appropriate for developing training materials, including identifying learner characteristics, specifying objectives, applying training strategy, validating training materials, and evaluating training.
5. Computers in education and training: Study of the application of computers in education and training, including selecting appropriate computer software.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT:

GS-12 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level or higher. Specialized experience is defined as: (1) designing, developing, or reviewing training curricula, course materials, instructional aids, and learning tools, and conducting evaluations to determine training effectiveness and learner performance.; (2) collecting, analyzing, and interpreting training related data, reports, and performance measures to identify trends and recommend improvements; and (3) administering or managing components of a training or learning program.

GS-13 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level or higher. Specialized experience is defined as: (1) designing, developing, or reviewing training curricula, course materials, instructional aids, and learning tools, and conducting evaluations to determine training effectiveness and learner performance.; (2) collecting, analyzing, and interpreting training related data, reports, and performance measures to identify trends and recommend improvements; (3) administering or managing components of a training or learning program; (4) work in the occupation or subject-matter field requiring training or instructing others; and (5) effective communication skills across various audiences.

There is no education substitution for experience at the GS-12 or GS-13 grade levels.

Education

Requirements

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the Agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the Agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary or trial period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements I-9 Acceptable Documents.
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Evaluations

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

• MANAGES AND ORGANIZES INFORMATION: Identifies a need; gathers, organizes, and maintains information; determines its importance and accuracy, and communicates it by a variety of methods.
• EDUCATION AND TRAINING: Knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories of instructional methods such as teaching, training, research, making presentations, lecturing, and testing.
• ORGANIZATIONAL AWARENESS: Knows the organization's mission and functions, and how its social, political, and technological systems work and operates effectively within them; this includes the programs, policies, procedures, rules, and regulations of the organization.
• PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Ability to prioritize, plan, organize, and conduct complex studies or training initiatives under strict deadlines, applicable when developing curricula, rolling out national training, or coordinating multi-stakeholder efforts.
• COMMUNICATIONS: Effectively expresses information to multiple audiences through clear, convincing oral and written communications; demonstrates logical thinking when describing facts and concepts, and shapes communications to meet the needs of a specific audience; actively listens to others and demonstrates understanding of their comments and/or questions.

Required Documents

• Resume, limited to 2-pages, detailing specialized experience and competencies as they relate to this position
  • For each position in your resume, you must specify the start and end dates (month/year) and a description of duties. If the position was Federal, you must also indicate the grade level. Resumes containing a general summary of all positions held, not specifying start/end dates, and/or not including Federal grade level(s) are insufficient to determine basic qualifications.
• Transcript if you are using education to qualify.
  • Your transcript must show coursework and the total number of credits earned to include graduation date and degree. A diploma is NOT sufficient to determine qualifications.
• Veterans: Member-4 DD-214 and disability rating letter (if applicable)
  • If you are currently on active duty to be released within 120 days, you may submit an armed forces certification in lieu of a Member-4 DD-214.
• Current Federal Employees: A copy of your most recent NON-AWARD SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status (for example, you are a career or career-conditional employee) and should identify your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).
  • To verify you meet Time-in-Grade requirements, also submit a SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade held (e.g. Promotion, Appointment, etc.).
• Current VBA Employees: If you are outside the commuting area and seeking a reassignment/change to lower grade, you must submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (non-award) AND the SF-50 placing you into your current position
• Military Spouse of Active-Duty Military Member: A copy of your marriage license AND your spouse's active duty orders
• Military Spouse of Separated Veteran: A copy of your marriage license, Member-4 DD-214 AND either your spouse's 1) 100% disability rating, or 2) documentation of death during active duty.
• Other Status Candidates: Evidence of eligibility to apply (e.g. Peace Corps verification letter, Schedule A letter, PS-50, etc.).

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
• An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade
• Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

How to Apply

1. Click the Apply Online button.
2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
4. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
5. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
6. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
7. Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
8. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.

• Prioritize most relevant and recent experience
• Use concise, results focused language
• Align language from the job announcement
• Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies
• Remove outdated or unrelated experience
• Use the USAJOBS resume builder

• USA Jobs Help Center - Resume Page Limit
• Applicant Guidance on the Two-Page Resume Limit