Jobs Corner

Job of the Week

For the High Priority Job of the Week click here.

Employment Opportunities – An Up to Date Listing of Intelligence Jobs

It is important to note that timely access to current jobs in the Intelligence Community is required to properly perform on contracts.

Those companies that are successful maintain current job openings that are accurate and relevant. But time is of the essence since most jobs in the Intelligence Community are premium, are in demand and are fill rapidly.

For a list of current job openings please click on the link below click here.

Intelligence Community Jobs and the Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) – Software Migration Jobs

The United States Military has proven itself as the best in the world and has clearly adapted to asymmetrical warfare. Opting for quality over quantity the Department of Defense has altered the basic make up and organization of the military.

A part of this effort is the Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) that oversees existing military base closures, realignments and mergers. A number of BRAC efforts have been completed with the BRAC 2005 being the latest effort.

This is a multi year, substantial effort and creates significant opportunities for software companies capable of database migration with cleared personnel. These jobs often require advanced degree and state of the art skilled individuals and often high level clearances.

In the Intelligence Community two locations are expected to grow substantially as commands from other locations are consolidated with existing Intelligence capabilities: Fort Meade, Maryland and Ft. Belvoir, Virginia.

Fort Meade, Maryland

Fort Meade is best known as the home of the National Security Agency but NSA is the largest tenant on what is a large army base. Because of the proximity to the NSA and for other reasons Ft. Meade was chosen to receive functions and employees from BRAC reductions.

The Defense Information Systems Agency accounts for the largest share of the BRAC jobs moved to Ft. Meade with more than 4,200 jobs now in Northern Virginia. Most of these jobs are information technology and communications specialists. Other commands will add to the increase.

Fort Belvoir, Virginia

Fort Belvoir is the home of Army Intelligence but supports a number of other tenant agencies. As a result of the BRAC, Fort Belvoir will add a net 12,000 employees and contractor FTE’s (full time equivalents) to its campus.

A major transition of an IC agency is the transition of a major portion of National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency from the Washington Navy Yard (WNY) to an entirely new facility. NGA is included in the 2005 BRAC and will be moving its Washington, D.C. based facilities to the Engineer Proving Ground of Ft. Belvoir in Northern Virginia. Under the BRAC law, the move must be completed by September 15, 2011.

As a result of the2005 BRAC Fort Belvoir, already a major employer in the Washington, D.C. metro area is scheduled to expand significantly. The facility relies heavily on contractors.

The Information Technology directorate at Fort Belvoir is sophisticated and effective and manages a large information network. As the BRAC proceeds, a large number of high level Information Technology and Cyber Security jobs will be created.

Skills Required

Both the military and the Intelligence Community manage their business using high performance databases that are networked for maximum performance. The physical movement of these databases requires planning, execution and familiarity with hardware and required network interfaces.
Vendors with required clearances and experience in high performance database migration will add significant value to the process.

Each BRAC move and migration has unique requirements, software and hardware standards and network interfaces so a variety of diverse skills is required. In depth experience in the following areas adds value:
Software Development
Software Testing
Software Engineering
Integrated Hardware & Software Testing
Data Preparation
Engineering Services
Distributed Processing
Analytics/Information Retrieval
Natural Language Processing
Software Analysis
Visualization/Human-Computer Interface Design & Development
Database/Knowledge Base Research & Development
Quality Control Inspection
Documentation
Multimedia Processing
Geo Location
High Speed Access
Emerging Mobile Technologies
Equipment Procurement, Storage, & Field Deployment

The Value of High Level Clearances

Both Fort Meade and Fort Belvoir are heavily involved with the collection, analysis and distribution of intelligence. Because of this vendors with staff that have high level clearances (TS/SCI, SI/TK and full scope polygraph) along with state of the art technical skills should be in demand.
Defense contractors specializing in the Intelligence Community now offer high salaries and excellent benefits related to BRAC redeployment efforts. For a list of Intelligence Community Jobs click here.

Intelligence Community Jobs – Benefits

Intelligence Community Jobs: Benefits Count in a Competitive Environment

Intelligence Community jobs are a premium in the market place and the benefits package make a real difference in the hiring decision. This reflects an overall trend of the increasing role of benefits in overall recruiting efforts. But not all recruiting is equal and smaller companies often gain an advantage with richer benefit offerings.

Background

Since World War II, when employers solved the price freeze restrictions imposed on all contractors by offering paid benefits, items like heath insurance and paid time off have emerged as major factor in the recruiting process for Federal Agencies.

At the beginning of the war there was a large labor surplus because of the Great Depression but the supply quickly evaporated because of the war mobilization. Eventually the demand for labor exceeded the supply and inflation of labor rates was threatened. Price controls were instituted and employers were forced to find new ways to attract qualified employees.

Benefit packages were developed to solve the labor problem, particularly for those contractors supplying labor for Federal Government programs.

The Federal Labor Market

The Federal Government is the largest employer in the world but direct employees constitute only a portion of the workforce. For most Federal agencies, many tasks and requirements are contracted out to private contractors. There are many contracting companies, large, medium and small, that contribute significantly to the efforts of the Federal Government.

Contracted work is dispersed among hundreds of contractors and the competition among contractors, for contract awards and employees is intense. Since most wages vary little across the contracting industry because of competition, benefits emerge as a key factor in recruiting and career opportunities. This is particularly true in the Intelligence Community.

The Federal Intelligence Community

Of all the agencies in the Federal government, The Intelligence Community (16 agencies dedicated to the collection and dissemination of tactical and strategic intelligence) is heavily engaged in the recruiting process and IC contractors must put forth a robust and focused effort.

As a result of the War on Terrorism, the Intelligence Community and its contractors have recruited heavily to provide the technical skills necessary to win the fight. The jobs created in this effort are highly skilled and well paid but the requirements are rigorous and the barriers to entry in this lucrative job market are high.

In addition to state of the art technical standards, every job applicant must possess a Top Secret/ Special Compartmentalized Information (TS/SCI) security clearance and often pass a lifestyle polygraph test.

Those who meet the requirement are in demand by all contractors serving the Intelligence Community and large and small contractors alike must offer attractive compensation and benefit packages.

Types of Benefits

Generally speaking, existing benefit programs can be classified as tangible and intangible. Tangible benefits are quantifiable (health care and life insurance, paid time off and holidays, pension plans, bonuses etc.) while intangible benefits relate to job satisfaction, advancement and the working environment.

A sample benefit offering is listed below:

Tangible Benefits

Health Care:

• Medical Coverage:
• Dental & Vision Coverage:

Income Protection

• Short-Term Disability Insurance:
• Long-Term Disability Insurance:

• Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance

Retirement:

• 401(k) Plan:

Work/Life:

• Paid Time Off:
• Holidays:
• Health Club Reimbursement:
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Matching Gifts:
• Referral Bonus:

Intangible Benefits

• Job Satisfaction
• Individual Recognition
• Opportunity for Advancement
• Stability
• Work Environment

Although most Federal contracting companies offer many of the listed benefits, the total package often varies widely. Experience has shown however that there is no definite correlation between the size of the contractor and the quality of the benefits package and often, smaller companies offer better benefits. This is especially true for jobs in the Intelligence Community.

The job seeker should examine the websites of contractors with business in the Intelligence Community and evaluate the total compensation package including the benefit offering. A competitive analysis will enhance your career.

Jon M. Stout

Aspiration Software – Benefits