The SSA Recent Graduates Program (Program) provides Recent Graduates with entry-level developmental experience and is designed to lead to a career in the Federal government. Program participant(s) are placed in excepted service appointments, not-to-exceed 1 year. Note: This is entry level/trainee position leading to the full performance level, IT Specialist GS-2210-12. After successful completion of the program, you may be non-competitively converted to a term or permanent appointment.

Duties

Serves as a systems architect in the front-end analysis of requirements for the development and modification of systems in the assigned area. Develops the logical structure for automated problem solutions. Provides program design and coding specifications for implementation by self or other Computer Programmers, including: software development strategy, descriptions of data and file organizations, file layouts and record narrative, (Cont'd) program flow and subroutine composition modules, operating system and hardware interface plans and linkage requirements. Develops software development strategy and analytical approaches. Carries out investigative and research projects, usually consisting of several interrelated work processes, either with a view to developing new approaches, plans, (Cont'd) and schedules for converting manual operations to automated processes, or determining the source of problems with existing computer programs. Communicates with the affected user community to develop the most appropriate approach and provides detailed written or oral recommendations. This in turn affects the nature and/or scope of the work that is or will be automated. Writes, debugs, and maintains programs and related documentation. Determines output formats, designs user interfaces and works with users to test applications for quality and functionality. Recommends needed program redesign activities. Consults with the affected user community in OHO to determine the extent of existing problems, constraints on changes, both organizational and technological, (Cont'd) internal reporting requirements, and potentially relevant developments in application programming techniques. Makes recommendations to supervisor and/or higher level management officials regarding priority areas of emphasis for improvement of current applications.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Must have a qualifying degree or certificate at the time of appointment.
• Fingerprinting and background and/or security investigation may be required.
• Job offers are contingent on fingerprinting and background / security investigation results.
• Selectees are required to serve a trial period.
• Relocation expenses will not be paid.
• Selective Service Registration, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
• All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

To be considered for selection, you must be eligible for the Recent Graduate Program AND meet the qualifications specified below: Recent Graduate Program Eligibility To qualify for appointment to the Recent Graduates Program, you must have completed all requirements of an academic course of study leading to an associate's, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational, or technical degree or qualifying certificate program from an accredited educational institution. Your graduation (degree conferred) date must be within the 2 years preceding your application to this announcement OR no later than 3/1/2024. Note: See the Required Documents section to ensure you provide the correct documentation to prove your Recent Graduates Program eligibility. Preference-eligible veterans who, due to military service obligations, were precluded from applying to the Program during any portion of the 2-year eligibility period are entitled to a full 2-year period of eligibility upon release or discharge from active duty. In no event, however, may the eligibility period extend beyond 6 years from the date on which the preference eligible veteran completed the requirements of an academic course of study, when a qualifying degree or certificate was conferred. Note: See Required Documents section to ensure you provide the correct documentation to prove your Recent Graduates Program and preference eligibility. Qualifications You must also meet the below qualifications for the posted position(s) by the closing date of this announcement, 09/01/2023. Applicants must qualify for the series and grade of the posted position. Your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, abilities, and proficiency of any required competencies to perform the specific position for which you are applying. Experience must be IT-related; the experience may be demonstrated by paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training (for example, IT certification), as appropriate. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your experience, education, knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies as they relate to this position. Your resume and supporting documents must specifically address the evaluation criteria for the position. Describe duties you perform (not just knowledge, skills and abilities) as they relate to the specialized experience required for this position. Be clear, accurate and specific when describing your experience; e.g., list all positions separately, include full start and stop dates for each position, your work schedule (number of hours per week), your grade (if your position is federal), and a comprehensive description of the relevant duties you performed in each position. This information is instrumental in determining the highest quality candidates to be referred to the Selecting Official. Please submit a thorough resume that directly relates to this position. If your application materials do not demonstrate the knowledge, skills, abilities, experience, and/or education needed for this position, your application will be ineligible for consideration. To qualify for the 2210 IT Specialist series, applicants must demonstrate the following IT-related competencies: 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. In addition, to qualify for this GS-7 the applicant must have at least one of the following: A bachelor's degree AND superior academic achievement. Superior academic achievement is defined as: (1) graduating with at least a 3.0/4.0 GPA; (2) graduating in the top third of the graduating class; or (3) membership in a national scholastic honor society (see Education section); OR One full year of graduate level study, or possess a Master's or higher degree, e.g., LL.B., J.D., LL.M., Ph.D., etc. (see Education section); OR At least 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-5, or equivalent, which must include: (1) testing, diagnosing, and resolving software-related problems; (2) computer application analysis and development; AND (3) creating, reviewing, and revising technical documentation. You may substitute education for experience at the GS-7 level. To be qualified based on your educational degree, it must be in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management; or a 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. NOTE: Transcripts must be provided to demonstrate claimed education (see the Required Documents section for more information).

Education

Combining Education and Experience:GS-7: Experience and graduate level education as described above may be combined to meet the minimum qualification requirements.

Providing Proof of Education or Substituting Education
For information on providing proof of education or substituting education for experience, visit http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/2200/information-technology-it-management-series-2210-alternative-a/

Proof of education or education substitutions must be submitted with your application package and received by the closing date of the announcement. You must submit your transcripts according to the application submission details of this announcement. Documents will not be accepted via email or regular mail. Note: See Required Documents section to ensure you provide the correct documentation.

Applicants selected for the position must provide an official transcript(s) including the date the degree or certificate was conferred prior to being appointed.

Foreign Education: If your transcripts show education completed in foreign colleges or universities, you must also provide documentation that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in a conventional/accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. NOTE: It is your responsibility to acquire U.S. Certification and provide it at the time of application. For a list of Credential Evaluation Services, log on to: Credential Evaluation Services.

Contacts

• Address DCHO - OESSI 6401 Security Blvd Baltimore, MD 21235 US
• Name: OPE Staffing DCHO
• Phone: 410-965-1234
• Email: [email protected]