Information Technology Specialist (Customer Support)

Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Information and Technology, Enterprise Cloud Services Division, located in Springfield, VA and Ashburn, VA.

Additional selections may be made to include other organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Current U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees who are currently working in a permanent competitive service position within the local commuting area; Career Transition Assistance Plan DHS employees

Duties

Joining the Customs and Border Protection Office of Information and Technology will allow you to use your expertise in the planning and delivery of customer support services. This position starts at a salary of $84,601.00 (GS-11, Step 1) to $131,826.00 (GS-12, Step 10) with promotion potential to $131,826 (GS-12 Step 10). Apply for this exciting opportunity to strengthen Homeland Security by providing customer assistance and training along with customer support for IT systems in response to customer needs.

GS Salary: Visit to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position.Please visit to view special pay rate charts.

In this Information Technology Specialist (Customer Support) position, you will become a key team member of Homeland Security professionals by providing customer assistance and training in response to customer needs. 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.

Requirements

Conditions 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 .

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 including your rights and responsibilities.

Bargaining Unit: This is a bargaining unit covered position, represented under the National Treasury Employees Unions - NTEU. For local chapter contact information see . This vacancy has a local commuting area requirement, as defined below:

The area surrounding the duty station by which people reasonably travel back and forth from home to work; Or

The employee's permanent duty station is located within the reasonable travel area surrounding the duty station of this vacancy; Or if applicable

For employees who are detailed or temporarily promoted for more than 1 year to another duty location, the detailed or temporary duty location is considered to be the duty location of record for commuting area purposes. For employees detailed or temporarily promoted for less than one year, the permanent duty location is considered the duty location of record for commuting area purposes.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: Individuals qualifying based of experience must have Information Technology (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-11 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

Analyzing, planning, integrating and configuring network systems hardware.

Diagnosing and resolving network and interoperability problems.

Evaluating new technologies for potential inclusion into the enterprise. Experience: You qualify for the GS-12 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

Adjusting, modifying and improving IT systems.

Diagnosing and resolving problems in response to customer reported incidents involving different platforms, operating systems, applications and desktop configurations.

Installing, configuring, integrating, troubleshooting, optimizing and monitoring network performance.

Providing guidance and solutions in planning and implementing migration activities to ensure successful deployment of technologies. 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:

GS-11: Successful completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in an accredited college or university, may be substituted for experience at the GS-11 grade level. Such education must demonstrate the skills needed to do the work. For this position a degree 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 is qualifying. One year of fulltime graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 54 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 3 years of full-time study requirement.

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; and

Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 05/16/2025. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information on the pre-employment process, review the following link:

Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:

Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military

A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government

Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university

Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP eligible. View information about on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. You must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this announcement. To be considered well qualified under CTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position.

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.

Additional information

Promotion Potential: Positions with known promotion potential do not guarantee promotion, nor is the promise of promotion implied.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments .

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707., /, and possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Applicants will only be considered for the Eligibilities for which they claim in the job questionnaire AND must provide the supporting documentation. Applicants will not be considered for Eligibilities for which they did not claim, regardless of the documentation submitted with the application.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics).

This self-assessment will be used to assess the following technical competencies or KSAs:

Knowledge of customer support principles and IT security principles.

Knowledge of troubleshooting methods, communication methods, and techniques to assist in implementing and maintaining network and system services.

Knowledge of methods for evaluating, implementing, and disseminating IT security tools and procedures to develop, implement, and coordinate activities designed to ensure, protect, and restore IT systems, services, and capabilities.

Ability to support or manage system resources including performance, capacity, availability, serviceability, and recoverability to ensure the delivery of IT services. To be considered for this position