Summary This position is located in the Small Business Administration, Office of the Chief Information Officer in Washington, DC. The incumbent serves as an Information Technology (IT) Cybersecurity Specialist for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
This vacancy is open to CTAP and ICTAP eligible candidates only. If you are not eligible for one of these you will be made ineligible for consideration for this position. Duties As an IT Cybersecurity Specialist at the GS- 2210-14, some of your typical work assignments may include:
- Lead risk and vulnerability assessments of enterprise information systems to identify vulnerabilities, risks, and protection needs and support remediation.
- Provide technical oversight of cybersecurity requirements and implementations, develop long-range security plans, and design enterprise security controls.
- Evaluate enterprise security programs, assess compliance, identify gaps, and recommend improvements to minimize vulnerabilities and strengthen program effectiveness.
- Investigate security incidents, develop security resolutions, implement remediation measures, and strengthen authentication and authorization controls.
Qualifications
GS-14: You must demonstrate the competencies required to successfully perform the duties of the position. These competencies are normally attained through one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level of the position being filled but may be obtained through other means. Experience may be paid or unpaid (internships, volunteerism). Experience must be validated through the assessment process, consistent with OPM's skills-based hiring policy.
Qualifying specialized experience includes:
- Leading risk and vulnerability assessments, such as directing comprehensive risk assessments and vulnerability analyses of enterprise systems, networks, and software to identify systemic weaknesses and inform mitigation strategies.
- Building cybersecurity architecture, such as developing long-range system security strategies to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of enterprise systems.
- Evaluating cybersecurity programs, such as assessing enterprise cybersecurity programs to identify gaps, ensure compliance with organizational requirements, and recommend improvements to enhance overall program effectiveness.
Specialized experience must show demonstrable competencies aligned to the position's job analysis and the IT-2210 standard.
These qualifications must be clearly referenced in your resume.
Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's Qualifications web site:
Information Technology Management Series, 2210
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.
Generally, time in Non-Pay status as a federal employee is not creditable towards the specialized experience requirement listed above.
All qualification requirements must be met by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on 11/11/2026. Education APPLICANTS PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement.) Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Verify School accreditation. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.
*** If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. *** For further information, click on: Foreign Education.How you will be evaluated Applicants meeting basic eligibility requirements will be further evaluated based on additional assessments. One of these assessment is USA Hire. Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Your USA Hire assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.
The assessments relate to the following Competencies required to do the work of this position:
- Accountability
- Attention to Detail
- Customer Service
- Decision Making
- Flexibility
- Influencing/Negotiating
- Information Technology Architecture
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Learning
- Reading Comprehension
- Reasoning
- Self-Management
- Stress Tolerance
- Teamwork
In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. One of the required assessments for this position is an online assessment that measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.
All qualified Non Competitive applicants and the best qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. How to apply Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions will affect your rating. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience your rating may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities.
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
- To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
- Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
- Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
- After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email notification.
- If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements
- Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account.
To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account. There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account at https://www.usajobs.gov/
All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/ Other information This is a bargaining unit position with AFGE Local 228.
This is not a (drug) testing designated position (TDP).
Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations 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. 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 Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments
Career and InterAgency Career Transition Assistance Programs: Are programs that applies to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed.
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job in their current agency (intra-agency, i.e. SBA employees only).
Inter-Agency Career Transition Assistance (ICTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job at another agency (inter-agency; i.e. not applying to their current or former agency).
You are eligible for CTAP/ICTAP if:
- You are a current federal employee who meets the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee meaning you have received official notice that your job is no longer needed or that you will lose your job by Reduction-in-Force (RIF).
- Your agency, or the agency to which you are applying, is accepting applications from within or outside of the permanent workforce.
- The position to which you are applying MUST BE in the Local Commuting Area of the position of record from which you are being displaced.
- You meet the qualifications and other requirements of the job for which you are applying. This includes being rated as well-qualified for the position (score of 85 or better based on your responses to the competencies and associated questions listed within the assessment)..