VA Racing To Fill 705 IT PositionsVA Racing To Fill 705 IT Positions

Obama's Tech Tools

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to fill 705 "high-priority" IT positions by April 22, according to a department internal memo.

The memo -- issued by Angelia H. Weldon, co-chair for a joint task force in charge of hiring the staff for office of information and technology -- characterized the VA's IT hiring needs as "critical" and called the hiring spree the "race to 705."

The memo also suggested that the 705 new positions are just the beginning of an effort to add new talent to its IT staff.

"Lower priority positions will not be filled until the high priority positions are filled," according to the memo. "However, if the 705 high priority recruitment efforts identify top talent for lower priority positions or unexpected backfill requirements, we will work with hiring managers and supervisors to maximize those opportunities to hire the best and brightest with speed and efficiency."

The VA plans to use an expedited two-week process to complete the hiring. At the end of fiscal year 2010, the department had 7,580 IT staff.

VA did not respond to a request for more information on specifics about the positions the department is seeking to fill.

Like all federal agencies and departments, the VA has been seeking to cut costs through more savvy uses of technology. Fiscal responsibility is a particular concern for the department, as its budget for fiscal 2011 is $3.16 billion, $145 million less than the agency asked for.

The VA's IT department has certainly had its ups and downs over the past few years, but has been getting back on track in the last year and a half under the direction of CIO Roger Baker, who has instituted substantial IT reform.

In a project that has been lauded as an open government success story by the Obama administration, the VA saved $54 million in fiscal 2010 through an accountability program that flags IT projects behind schedule, over budget, or both. The VA slashed 12 of the 45 projects it initially evaluated under the program before extending it to all of its projects.

Accountability also is behind Baker's move to be more transparent about department data breaches, which have been a persistent problem for years. In August, the VA began posting monthly reports about data breaches on its Web site, as well as compiling them for Congress.