Summary

This position is located in the Vulnerability Management and Cyber Threat Emulation Branch (VMCEB), its main function is to prevent cyberattacks before they happen and determine how they happened when they do occur. This is performed through expertise in advanced intrusion detection, vulnerability management, and penetration testing. This position serves as the Vulnerability Management and Cyber Threat Emulation Branch Chief.

Duties

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The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria, Virginia. Presence at the Alexandria, VA campus is required for this role, as it includes on site functions that must be performed in person. Position may be eligible for situational telework in accordance with agency policy/business unit discretion. The agency currently allows for 52 hours of telework per calendar year.

Our team is excited to welcome you and your expertise if ...

• You are passionate and dedicated serving as Branch Chief, providing executive leadership, strategic direction, and operational oversight for enterprise vulnerability management, cyber threat emulation, red team operations, threat hunting, attack surface management, and cybersecurity risk reduction activities.
• You are inspired and resilient directing the planning, execution, and continuous improvement of agency-wide vulnerability management programs designed to identify, assess, prioritize, remediate, and validate cybersecurity weaknesses across enterprise information systems, cloud services, applications, networks, and emerging technologies.
• You enjoy overseeing proactive threat hunting operations that leverage threat intelligence, behavioral analytics, forensic analysis, and cybersecurity telemetry to identify malicious activity, advanced threats, insider risks, and unauthorized activity before significant organizational impact occurs.
• You are excited developing policies, procedures, standards, and operational guidance supporting cyber defense, vulnerability management, threat hunting, adversary emulation, and continuous monitoring activities.
• You are a great leader, directing technical teams responsible for vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, cyber threat emulation, threat hunting, attack surface analysis, and cybersecurity engineering activities.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Applications will only be accepted from United States Citizens and Nationals.
• Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related competencies.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
• Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
• Suitable for Federal Employment
• Must obtain one of the following within 120 days of Entry on Duty: (ISC)2 CAP or CISSP; ISACA CISM; GIAC GISF or GSLC.

Qualifications

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. OPM Qualifications Standards are available at Competency-Based Qualification Standard for the Information Technology Management Series, 2210

Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped applicants with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the federal service. For this position, the next lower grade level is a GS-14.

Specialized experience for this position includes:

1. Experience in leading enterprise vulnerability management and cyber risk reduction initiatives, applying NIST, CISA, and federal cybersecurity guidance to prioritize remediation, validate fixes, and strengthen organizational security posture; AND

2. Experience managing proactive cyber defense capabilities, such as threat hunting, red team operations, penetration testing, adversary simulation, attack path analysis, and control validation to identify threats and improve resilience; AND

3. Experience providing supervisory leadership and executive advisory support, overseeing cybersecurity teams and developing policies, procedures, metrics, and governance frameworks while briefing leadership on threats, vulnerabilities, and investment priorities.

Basic Requirement Competencies: 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 competencies, as defined:

1. Attention to Detail
2. Customer Service
3. Decision Making
4. Information Management
5. Interpersonal Skills
6. Oral Communication
7. Problem Solving
8. Teamwork
9. Technical Competency

In addition to the GS-2210 competency-based qualification competencies, applicants must demonstrate the following supervisory competencies to be successful in this position:

1. Accountability
2. Customer Service
3. Decisiveness
4. Flexibility
5. Integrity/Honesty
6. Interpersonal Skills
7. Oral Communication
8. Problem Solving:
9. Resilience

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.

Education

Education may not be substituted for specialized experience at this grade level.

Additional information

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position.

If selected for this position, you may be required to complete the Fair Credit Act Memo, which gives consent so that one or more consumer credit reports may be obtained for employment purposes.

ENHANCED SECURITY REQUIREMENT: Sensitivity Level is critical sensitive. The incumbent of this position will require a Top Secret Compartmented Information clearance to be able to attend Top Secret briefings with other Department of Commerce and Department of Homeland Security entities to assess cyber threats and vulnerabilities that are Top Secret SCI in nature.

Background Investigation - If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.

Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued.

All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

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.

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.

Review our 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.