Operations Analyst 3 - Information Security and Compliance

Job Title: Operations Analyst 3 - Information Security and Compliance
Job Number: 12121
Location: Vancouver, WA
Remote: Remote Restricted Eligible - Must live within 125 miles of the Work Group Location. Official Duty Station is the home address
On Call: No
Overtime: 10%
Travel: Up to 10% for meetings and training
Length: Up to 5 years
 

MUST be US Citizen to be eligible to apply for Federal Background Check 
Requires Real ID and or Valid Passport to interview 


SUMMARY
 
This contract Operations Analyst 3 position serves Operational Technology (OT) as a programmatic technical expert for the development and implementation of varied and complex operational cybersecurity and compliance practices for OT systems used in control of the Bulk Electric System (BES) in close collaboration with the technical subject matter experts throughout J-OT to develop and monitor strategic regulatory compliance, cyber security, and IT/OT programs. This position will also provide analytical support to FISMA/NERC-CIP security assessments and authorizations within J-OT supported systems. This position will work closely with internal and external OT customers to provide business process development and support, aligned with CLIENT and organizational goals, priorities, and any Key Strategic Initiatives (KSIs).   This position concentrates on collecting and analyzing data, analyzing workflow, and developing information and documents to support process analysis and decision-making frameworks in the completion of assessments and documentation for regulatory compliance and audit review. The Operations Analyst will work with internal business stakeholders and facilitate gathering and analyzing information using standard tools and approaches, or developing new when needed, to: clarify business operations and functions, document and map current and future states, perform gap analysis, identify solution alternatives, evaluate the alternatives, provide weighted recommendations and develop / draft associated processes and procedures for management approved direction.  Additionally, the position will provide technical expertise, support and assistance to more junior personnel and co-workers on a variety of ad hoc and formal projects & programs requiring policy/procedure/process analysis
 
 
POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES
 
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 CLIENT Management, draft and recommend processes and procedures to support NERC Mandatory Reliability standards and DOE NIST/FISMA security requirements for review and approval by CLIENT management. Final documents will be reviewed and approved by CLIENT staff.
  • Assist in development of training materials and job aids to support above
  • Support the development of documentation necessary for reporting and audit requirements.
•  With oversight of the CLIENT manager/CLIENT staff, provide quality assurance support to verify that vetted and established compliance standards and guidelines are followed; alert CLIENT 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 CLIENT management. Assist CLIENT managers with the promotion and implementation of approved recommendations and/or adopted procedures.
• Provide support to CLIENT management / CLIENT 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 CLIENT management / CLIENT staff.
• Participate as a technical member of the team performing cyber security reviews and analysis.  With oversight of the CLIENT manager/CLIENT 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 CLIENT 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 CLIENT management / CLIENT 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 CLIENT management / CLIENT 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 discover, 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 CLIENT.
• 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 CLIENT 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 CLIENT management / stakeholder review and approval.
• Track and follow through to completion assigned remediation activities; may need to seek CLIENT 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

 
Education & Corresponding Experience
 

• 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 Skills & Experience 
 

• 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 
 

• 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:
 

• Valid U.S. Driver’s License is required

 
 
Pre-Employment Requirement
All employment offers are contingent upon successful completion of our pre-employment screening that may include drug testing, background/criminal check, and if applicable, must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.
 
APR Staffing is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
 
About APR Staffing
APR Staffing was born from the merger of two well-respected technical staffing firms in Portland. ieSolutions and Data Resource Group. Both companies have recently been award winners for the Portland Business Journal's Fastest-Growing Private Companies. The two firms, now as APR Staffing, make for one of the fastest-growing and most-respected professional and technical staffing companies in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
 
Collaborating with our customers, we augment their workforce with technical and administrative professionals. We provide only high-caliber, professional-grade resources throughout the Pacific Northwest.