For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.

Duties

As a Victim Assistance Specialist, you will support the U.S. Attorney's Office by providing routine assistance and liaison services to crime victims to facilitate prosecutions. Duties include: -- Identifying resources and provides referrals to crime victims and their families. -- Providing attorneys with information regarding victims.. -- Providing victims with information about the criminal justice process and court proceedings. -- Informing victims of their rights under Federal law and assists victims with exercising those rights throughout the prosecution. -- Informing victims of significant case events. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
• If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/.
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement.
• You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.

Qualifications

GS-09: To be eligible at the GS-09 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a Combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level. Specialized experience is defined as providing routine assistance and liaison services to crime victims. This assistance includes providing routine community resource referrals to crime victims and their families. Education: One of the following types of education in a closely related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Social Work, Sociology, Behavioral Science): a Master's or equivalent graduate degree (such as an LL.B. or J.D.); OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of a Victim Assistance Specialist. Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, first determine the total number of graduate hours that exceed 18 semester hours (or your school's definition of one year of graduate study), then divide the total number of your excess graduate semester hours by 18 (or your school's definition of one year of graduate study). To calculate your percentage of qualifying experience, divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by 12. Now, add the two percentages together. The sum of the percentages must equal at least 100%. (Only graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used in this calculation.) Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)-The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/

Education

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see http://www.ed.gov
OR
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

Contacts

• Address Southern District of Texas 1000 Louisiana Street Suite 2300 Houston, TX 77002 US
• Name: Doriane Lewis
• Phone: 7135679348
• Email: [email protected]