IT Cybersecurity Specialist (INFOSEC) - Insider Risk Data Analyst

Summary

This position is in the National Security Division (NSD) in the Office of Homeland Security (OHS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). As an Insider Risk Data Analyst, the incumbent will leverage User Activity Monitoring (UAM) tools and other data analytics to identify and analyze potential insider risks to the Department.

Duties

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• Assists the Insider Risk Program Manager by evaluating existing capabilities of User Activity Monitoring tools.
• Prioritizes the review and response on User Activity Monitoring alerts marked as critical or high severity.
• Capturing relevant user activity data to identify potential insider risks.
• Triages critical and high severity alerts generated by monitoring tools for the protection against insider risks.
• Contributes to the development and improvement of insider risk training, policy, and procedures that are consistent with law, policy, and regulation.
• Responsible for data collection and applying critical thinking to draft case reports, referral letters, and annual reports in support of the Insider Risk Program.
• Briefs National Security Division leadership on highly technical and/or complex data for review and acceptance.
• Duties described above are at the full performance level, duties at the GS-09 and GS-11 levels will be developmental.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• If selected, you may be required to serve a probationary or trial period as applicable to appointment type.
• Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• You will be required to sign a Mobility Agreement as mobility is a factor in this occupation. You may be reassigned to a new location during your career based on the needs of the service.
• Selected applicant must undergo and successfully obtain and maintain a background investigation for a Top Secret SCI clearance. You must meet initial and periodic suitability determinations based on favorable background investigations and updates.
• This position requires pre-employment urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use. Drug testing must also be passed on an ongoing basis after appointment, as directed. Appointment to this position is contingent upon negative drug test results.
• This position is considered critical-essential, and as such may be required to return to his/her assigned duty station outside of normal duty hours to provide support to USDA policymakers, particularly during crisis periods.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, basic IT competencies, and specialized experience and/or education substitution, as defined below.

Time in grade

Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

Basic Requirements: Applicants must meet the following individual occupational requirements in order to be considered for the 2210, Information Management Series:

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 meeting the basic requirements, applicants must also meet:

Minimum Qualifications: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements as shown above, applicants must also meet the Specialized Experience and/or Education requirements as shown below. If qualifying based on experience, your application or resume must clearly show that you possess the specialized experience requirements. Specialized experience is defined as experience that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.

GS-09: Qualifying experience for GS-09 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-07 which included experience performing all of the following: applying requirements, methods, and techniques of security incident investigation, to include fact-finding, analysis, risk assessment, resolution of security problems.

OR

Master's degree or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree; Graduate Education: Degree in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management or 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.

OR

A combination of education and experience as described above.

NOTE: Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for the GS-09 grade level.

GS-11: Qualifying experience for GS-11 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-09 which included experience performing all of the following: applying requirements, methods, and techniques of security incident investigation, to include fact-finding, analysis, risk assessment, resolution of security problems; and performing system administration on cyber defense applications and systems.

OR

Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree: Doctoral Education: Degree in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management or 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.

OR

A combination of education and experience as described above.

NOTE: Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for the GS-11 grade level.

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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

Education may be substituted for specialized experience at the GS-09 and GS-11 levels as described above.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA).

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.

For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the Veteran's Recruitment Act (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses, Schedule A Disabled, etc., explore the different Hiring Paths on the USAJOBS website.

Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Refer to PUBLIC LAW 114-47-AUG. 7, 2015 for more information.

This is a Testing Designated Position (TDP). Selectee must submit to a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and random testing thereafter. Final appointment and continued employment is conditional on negative results for illegal drug use.

If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.

In the event of an emergency, USDA's Office of Homeland Security (OHS) employees may be subject to 24 hour on-call availability. This service may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites that require functioning under intense physical and mental stress.

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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.