Information Technology Specialist (Customer Support)

• Provides technical advice and assistance to USMA students (Cadets) utilizing a variety of educational-specific computing systems and the associated automated data processing equipment (ADPE).
• Identifies hardware, software, cybersecurity, configuration, network, or Cloud-based Educational management system problems and takes corrective action to ensure students are able to meet academic and military coursework requirements with minimal service interruption.
• Serves as the first line technical expert on the maintenance and troubleshooting of network connectivity, hardware and software problems on cadet mobile devices, laptops and peripherals to include adjustment of edu-based cloud management software and mobile device management platforms.
• Serves as Help Desk support personnel for the United States Military Academy cadets.
• Provides expertise on edu-configured computing and peripheral equipment and hardware components (e.g., LCDs, CPUs, expansion slots, memory chips, storage devices, power supplies), and data communications devices to detect and resolve computing, access, or other problems impacting access to edu-systems or impeding student ability to operate computing devices in support of academic and military requirements.
• Installs new or replaces bad customer replaceable units such as memory chips, internal batteries or SSDs on personal computers, laptop computers, or other peripheral devices where necessary.
• Performs preventive maintenance on the USMA Cadet computer systems, including cleaning the boards, heat sinks and fan, and interface connections, as required.
• Develop knowledgebase articles on troubleshooting and solving educationally specific technical problems as well as updating existing articles to reflect the changing technology including essential tips on preventing breakdowns before they occur and workarounds for a variety of problems encountered at the computer, edu-service, cloud-service, and West Point Research and Education Network (WREN) network levels.
• Conducts one on one training on Office 365 desktop and web applications, E-mail, and other desktop software procedures with Cadet/Customers as needed in order to ensure optimal use of software packages needed in support of Educational and Military requirements.
• Responds to users’ notification of computer Cybersecurity concerns (e.g. malware, viruses, incorrect computer security settings) and uses standard software tools to remediate the issue and ensure that the problem is adequately contained.

Conditions of Employment:

• Appointment to this position is subject to a background investigation to determine the incumbent’s suitability for Federal employment.
• This position requires the incumbent to obtain and maintain required certifications (Level II, Security+ CE or Alternative) in accordance with Department of Defense Publication 8570.01-M Information Assurance Workshop Improvement Program within 6 months of entry into the position.
• This position has a requirement to lift up to 45 pounds in the regular performance of duties.
• This position may require a pre-employment physical.
• This position may require the incumbent to work an alternate work schedule.
• Appointment to this position is subject to a one year probationary period unless the appointee has previously met the requirements as described in 5 CFR Part 315

Do you have experience in Microsoft Office?, Do you have a Bachelor’s degree?, In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application., Specialized and Other Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes 1) assisting in installing, configuring, troubleshooting, and/or maintaining customer hardware or software; and 2) assisting in resolving problems in response to customer reported incidents. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05).

The specialized experience must include, or be supplemented by, information technology related experience (paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training, as appropriate) which demonstrates each of the four competencies, as defined:

(1) Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: completing work independently that rarely requires editing or review by others.

(2) 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. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: resolving simple and routine problems, questions, or complaints and providing support and guidance to customers on non-routine issues; serving as a primary resource for customers, requesting assistance with complex issues when necessary; and participating in meetings and providing advice to customers in own area of expertise.

(3) 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. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: expressing facts and ideas in a clear, concise, convincing, and organized manner; clearly conveying moderately complex ideas, concepts, and information to customers; exhibiting active listening by demonstrating understanding of audience comments and/or questions.

(4) Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: identifying and solving problems by gathering and applying information from a variety of materials or sources that provide several alternatives; recognizing and taking action to address non-routine problems; soliciting feedback from multiple stakeholders to understand an issue or problem and accurately assess its root causes and potential solutions; seeking supervisory review where appropriate.

-OR-

Education: One full year of graduate level education from an accredited or pre-accredited institution in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management; or, graduate level education from an accredited or pre-accredited institution 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.

-OR-

Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor’s degree from an accredited or pre-accredited institution in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management; or, bachelor’s degree from an accredited or pre-accredited institution 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. Superior Academic Achievement is based on: (1) Class Standing - You must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR (2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - You must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 (“B” or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 (“B+” or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR (3) Honor Society Membership - You may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies ( https://www.achsnatl.org/).

GS-09:

Specialized and Other Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes 1) installing, configuring, troubleshooting, and/or maintaining customer hardware or software; 2) researching or resolving problems in response to customer reported incidents; and 3) advising customers on the basic use or operation of information technology hardware or software. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07).

The specialized experience must include, or be supplemented by, information technology related experience (paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training, as appropriate) which demonstrates each of the four competencies, as defined:

(1) Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: completing work independently that rarely requires editing or review by others.

(2) 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. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: resolving simple and routine problems, questions, or complaints and providing support and guidance to customers on non-routine issues; serving as a primary resource for customers, requesting assistance with complex issues when necessary; and participating in meetings and providing advice to customers in own area of expertise.

(3) 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. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: expressing facts and ideas in a clear, concise, convincing, and organized manner; clearly conveying moderately complex ideas, concepts, and information to customers; exhibiting active listening by demonstrating understanding of audience comments and/or questions.

(4) Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: identifying and solving problems by gathering and applying information from a variety of materials or sources that provide several alternatives; recognizing and taking action to address non-routine problems; soliciting feedback from multiple stakeholders to understand an issue or problem and accurately assess its root causes and potential solutions; seeking supervisory review where appropriate.

-OR-

Education: Master’s or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree from an accredited or pre-accredited institution in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management; or, two full years of graduate education from an accredited or pre-accredited institution 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., FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show 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 an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html, * Bachelor’s (Preferred), * Microsoft Office: 1 year (Preferred)

• Software troubleshooting: 1 year (Preferred)
• IT Support: 1 year (Required)

License/Certification:

• CompTIA Security+ (Preferred)

Pulled from the full job description

• Professional development assistance
• Parental leave
• Health insurance
• Retirement plan
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance, * Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• One year trial/probationary period may be required.
• Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
• This is a Digital Technology Career Field (CF) position.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.
• This position is not eligible for regular and recurring telework. This position is eligible for situational telework only, including emergency and OPM prescribed “unscheduled telework”. Situational telework is sometimes also referred to as episodic, intermittent, unscheduled, or ad-hoc telework. Situational telework is approved on a case-by-case basis, where the hours worked were not part of a previously approved, ongoing, and regular telework schedule.

Required Documents:

1. Your resume: * Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. * If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy. * For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position.

2. Academic Transcripts * This position has an individual occupational requirement and/or allows for substitution of education for experience. If you meet this requirement based on education you MUST submit a copy of your transcript with your application package or you will be rated ineligible

3. Other supporting documents: * Applicants may also submit the following supporting document type(s), which may not be required for all applicants: * DD-214, for verification of veterans’ status. * Statement of service from your unit, if currently serving on active duty.

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person’s personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $60,348.00 - $94,563.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Civilian employees serve a vital role in supporting the Army mission. They provide the skills that are not readily available in the military, but crucial to support military operations. The Army integrates the talents and skills of its military and civilian members to form a Total Army.

The Army values diversity of perspectives, backgrounds, cultures and skills, which connects employees to organizations that are committed to building an inclusive work environment where they can contribute to their fullest potential., The U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY is an academic institution located in the Hudson River Valley, 50 miles from New York City. The historic site is the oldest continuously occupied military post in America. West Point is a self-contained city with housing, a Department of Public Works, libraries, hospital, fire department, chapels, and restaurants. Employees have access to Eisenhower Hall Theater, Hudson Valley’s performing arts center, and recreational facilities.