Operations Analyst 3

Job Title

Assignment Responsibilities: Note: All official drafts, documents and recommendations, as listed below, must be reviewed, finalized and approved / accepted by appropriate BPA manager or other federal personnel with the authority to do so.

Reliability Compliance:

• Provide monitoring, review, analysis and support for the Vulnerability Management Program – verifying compliance evidence is collected in a timely manner and that information is reliable, consistent, and useful; providing recommendations for improvement as necessary.
• Serve as a process point of contact for the organization.
• Provide recommendations to management to mitigate, comment on, or provide further review for NERC and WECC proposed rulemaking and policies.
• Utilize J-OT's library publishing process to verify documentation is up-to-date and of adequate quality; performs data tracking.
• Provide recommendations for changing/enhancing organization and information navigation in J-OT's library structure.
• Identify and engage subject matter experts regarding programmatic cybersecurity, compliance, for completions of assessments for completion set by current timetables for regulatory compliance.
• At the direction of BPA Management, draft and recommend processes and procedures to support NERC Mandatory Reliability standards and DOE NIST/FISMA security requirements for review and approval by BPA management.
• Final documents will be reviewed and approved by BPA staff.
• Assist in development of training materials and job aids to support above.
• With oversight of the BPA manager/BPA staff, provide quality assurance support to verify that vetted and established compliance standards and guidelines are followed; alert BPA manager of any noted concerns or potential issues.
• Provide support to NERC annual certification process and any other spot audit or compliance requests.
• Support the development of documentation necessary for reporting and audit requirements.
• Draft and recommend procedures to accomplish reliability compliance tasks for the Control Center program for review and approval by BPA management.
• Assist BPA managers with the promotion and implementation of approved recommendations and/or adopted procedures.
• Provide support to BPA management / BPA staff in the Control Center audits by providing technical expertise, data call response coordination and data gathering.
• All materials related to audit responses must be reviewed by BPA management / BPA staff.
• Participate as a technical member of the team performing cyber security reviews and analysis.
• With oversight of the BPA manager/BPA staff, work with the team to develop and recommend cyber strategies and action plans to improve the team's cyber security maturity.
• Provide expert-level insight on cyber security best practices and architecture for data center operations.
• Review process and procedure documentation to identify gaps and potential improvement areas.
• Develop reports, graphs and other informational materials to present and support improvement recommendations for management review and approval.
• Provide program support to the Performance Analysis manager, including:
• Technical writing and coordination: Draft initial System Security Plans (SSP)s and work with BPA resource managers to finalize SSP for Authorization to Operate (ATO) certification.
• Validate that Plan(s) of Action and Milestones are linked to asset strategies. All drafted materials must be reviewed and finalized by BPA management / BPA staff.
• Time management: Provide primary monitoring of key POAM milestone efforts and mitigation efforts dealing with compliance. Verify that these efforts contribute to the asset strategies.
• Report on performance and accomplishments: Monitor Technical Feasibility Exceptions (TFE) and verify TFEs are updated and retired in a timely manner.
• Data Call and Survey Coordination:
• Provide direct support for data calls and industry surveys. This may entail review and analysis of existing documentation and any new/changing requirements, enlistment of appropriate subject matter expert input, and drafting of Control Center responses.
• All drafted materials related to responses must be reviewed and edited by BPA management / BPA staff.
• Organize, monitor, analyze, and report on performance / metrics pertaining to data call artifacts collection and processes.
• Maintain and update process artifacts, verifying they are up-to-date and of adequate quality (reliable, consistent, and useful).
• Control Center Cyber Vulnerability Management Program Support:
• Define, identify, and classify the security holes (vulnerabilities) in a computer, network, or communications infrastructure.
• Interact with business units to Client, triage and resolve security vulnerabilities and/or patch implementation with manual and automated tools to enforce security criteria as part of a Secure Development Life Cycle on a continuous basis.
• Conduct vulnerability assessments (application, OS and/or infrastructure Hardware such as physical servers and routers, switches, firewalls, etc) and articulate security issues to technical and non-technical audience.
• Conduct vulnerability assessments using output from tools such as; NMAP, Nessus, Splunk, SolarWinds or other related tools
• Compile vulnerability and/or Patch information data from many sources and track technical resolution and mitigation times, to include POAM's, development and tracking with other organizations within BPA.
• Provide support for Patch Program implementation, documentation and support for FISMA/NERC-CIP compliance requirements.
• Provide support for Discovery, Identification and evaluation, as well as governance of testing, implementation, and verification of security related patches.
• Provide support for evidence and reporting necessary to demonstrate compliance within regulatory laws, standards, and requirements (i.e. FISMA and NERC-CIP).
• Report findings and maintain on-going assessments for regulatory reporting.
• Alert BPA manager and generate system vulnerability and Patch reports; interface and collaborate with internal groups to identify, discuss and develop remediation recommendations.
• Present recommended remediation plans for BPA management / stakeholder review and approval.
• Track and follow through to completion assigned remediation activities; may need to seek BPA manager guidance with prioritization questions or concerns.
• Assist with vulnerability assessments including evaluation of specific configurations of network devices, operating systems, and network enabled software applications on both Windows and Linux platforms
• Perform network discovery and comparison with known cyber assets.

Requirements:

Education & Corresponding Experience (required on matrix): A degree in Business Administration, Management, Organizational Development, Accounting, Engineering, Computer Science or a directly-related discipline is preferred. With an applicable Associate's degree, 10 years of experience is required. With an applicable Bachelor's degree, 8 years of experience is required. Without an applicable degree, 12 years of experience is required. Experience should be consistent with the specific requirements of operations analysis and progressively more technical in nature.

Required Technical Skills & Experience (required on matrix): Intermediate level proficiency in MS Excel 2016 sufficient to provide dashboard metrics in a variety of formats including charts and graphs using macros and pivot tables. Proficiency in automated data systems to include SharePoint and Visio and a high degree of efficiency in technical dynamics of software output (e.g. use of advanced printing such as to plotters, capabilities of cross-software embedding for purposes of presentations, technical webinars, etc.). Knowledge of patching programs of major hardware/software manufacturers. Knowledge of secure configuration and hardening of systems. Knowledge of methods for on-going evaluation of the effectiveness and applicability of information security controls (e.g., vulnerability testing, and assessment tools).

Preferred Skills & Experience (optional on matrix): Experience with the following: IT Monitoring/Reporting tools (i.e. SNMP, Tripwire, Nessus, NMAP, Splunk, SolarWinds, etc.); Trouble ticket/change request tools and processes, IT asset, and/or configuration management suites; 2 years of experience implementing and adhering to FISMA standards, knowledge of the application of Cyber Security practices within the Federal Environment. 2 years of experience implementing and adhering to NERC-CIP regulatory standards of compliance and documentation.

Additional Requirements (not required on matrix): Valid U.S. Driver's License is required.