This position is located in the Educational Opportunities Section, Civil Rights Division (EOS or Section), which enforces federal statutes that protect students from discrimination or otherwise ensure equal educational opportunities. The Section's enforcement often involves extensive fact-finding through formal investigations. The Section may also file suit or intervene in private suits alleging violations of education-related anti-discrimination statutes and the Fourteenth Amendment.

Duties

As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service. The incumbent will serve as a Equal Opportunity Specialist (Investigator/Victim-Witness), focused on the Section's enforcement of prohibitions on the unnecessary segregation of students with disabilities in educational settings. Duties include, but are not limited to: Plan, coordinate, and conduct investigations, and work with victims and witnesses. Prepare memoranda recommending what action, if any, the Section should take, and potentially assist the attorney(s) in planning and conducting litigation. Identify potential victims of discrimination and witnesses and document the substance of complaints clearly and concisely. Conduct sensitive telephone and in-person interviews of victims and witnesses, prepare cogent summaries of these interviews, assist with preparing these individuals for depositions and court appearances, and exercise appropriate discretion in handling the information gathered. Collect, evaluate, and analyze evidence to assess the credibility and evidentiary value of statements of potential victims during investigation, discovery, and in the compliance phase. Prepare and edit written products, such as correspondence and court documents. Develop, extract, and analyze information contained in databases and prepare appropriate reports. Monitor defendants' compliance with judgments, settlement agreements, and consent decrees, and where appropriate, recommend targeted compliance monitoring or enforcement action.

Requirements

Qualifications

Specialized Experience Requirements To qualify at the GS-12 grade level, candidates must have one (1) year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, public or other private sectors that is directly related to the position as listed above and which has equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience for this position includes ALL of the following: Supporting enforcement of federal civil rights obligations in the K-12 or higher education context (e.g., Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act) or in the context of employment, disability rights, housing, law enforcement, or voting; AND Conducting outreach to students or other individuals, advocacy groups, or other stakeholders about conditions related to federal civil rights obligations in the K-12 or higher education context or in the context of employment, disability rights, housing, law enforcement, or voting; AND Using Relativity, CaseMap, or similar databases to organize evidence and run reports on patterns of evidence in large documentary collections; AND Assisting with locating, making, and maintaining contact with prospective witnesses and interviewing witnesses. To qualify at the GS-13 grade level, candidates must have one (1) year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service, public or other private sectors that is directly related to the position as listed above and which has equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience for this position includes ALL of the following: Supporting enforcement of federal civil rights obligations in the K-12 or higher education context (e.g., Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act) or in the context of employment, disability rights, housing, law enforcement, or voting; AND Conducting outreach to students or other individuals, advocacy groups, or other stakeholders about conditions related to federal civil rights obligations in the K-12 or higher education context or in the context of employment, disability rights, housing, law enforcement, or voting; AND Using Relativity, CaseMap, or similar databases to organize evidence and run reports on patterns of evidence in large documentary collections; AND Independently locating, making, and maintaining contact with prospective witnesses and interviewing witnesses; AND Conducting civil rights investigations into allegations of discriminatory practices. In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the specialized experience requirement - please be sure to include this information in your resume. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees applying for a higher grade must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. You MUST provide an SF-50, which shows type of service appointment, tenure group, grade, and salary. If your most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year (52 weeks) time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. Consider providing an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade (examples of appropriate SF-50s include: Promotions; Within Grade/Range Increases; and SF-50s over one year old. No award SF-50s will be accepted). Failure to submit the required SF-50 document will result in an ineligible rating under merit promotion procedures. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement and current Federal employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. All qualifications, time-in-grade, and education requirements, if applicable, must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume. YOUR RESUME MUST support your responses to the online questionnaire and provide specific details as to how your experience meets the specialized experience as described in the vacancy announcement. If you are using experience to meet all or part of the qualification requirements, please ensure that your resume includes the month and year that you began and ended each position held or that position will not be credited toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. Part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience. Failure to provide details will result in an ineligible rating. Your latest resume submitted for this vacancy announcement will be used to determine qualifications and supersedes previous submissions.

Education

This position does not have an education qualification requirement.

Contacts

• Address Civil Rights Division 950 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20530 US
• Name: Gail Starks
• Email: [email protected]