Job opening: Victim Witness Specialist
Salary: $55 836 - 107 421 per year
Published at: Oct 09 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
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.
This position is also being announced to All U.S. Citizens and Nationals under Vacancy Announcement Number 25-SDCA-12565839-DE.
Duties
If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team that is responsible for performing a wide range of services related to the Victim Witness program for the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of California. Typical work assignments will include:
Direct dissemination of information pertinent to various victim and witness protection laws
Speaking to public, civic, industry, and special interest groups on victim's issues
Coordinating efforts with local victim services providers, social services, law enforcement based victim assistance providers, and prosecution based victim-witness staff
Responding to victim inquiries, assessing concerns, and determining program eligibility for victim-witness services
Advocating on behalf of crime victims in regard to issues and problems caused by crime
Providing information to victims on schedule changes, status of defendant's pleas, results of trial
Providing in-court support during hearings and trials
Obtaining services and assistance for victims and witnesses through specific federal programs and funds
Reviewing literature on victim witness issues
Generating statistical and quantitative reports and analysis of program activity
Analyzing and applying changes in legislation, case law, and court rules
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 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-7: To be eligible at the GS-7 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below:
Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level is defined as performing the following types of duties: assisting in a victim-witness program by disseminating informational materials to the general public or specialized target group; responding to victim-witness issues; responding to victim or witness inquiries; reminding attorneys of court appearances; and notifying witnesses of appearances.
Education: Possess one of the following types of education in a related field (e.g. Criminal Justice, Social Work, Psychology): one full year of graduate-level education leading to a Master's degree or higher; OR a completed Bachelor's degree or equivalent with superior academic achievement (S.A.A.) as defined by the Office of Personnel Management's Qualification Standards. To qualify based on superior academic achievement, you must have completed the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a related field (e.g. Criminal Justice, Social Work, Psychology) or expect to complete within 9 months AND have one of the following: (1) Class standing - must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision based on completed courses. (2) Grade-point Average (GPA) must be 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 on an on official transcript, 4 years of education, or during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or b. 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. (3) Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society. For details, please refer to https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/.
Combining Graduate Level Education and Experience: A combination of specialized experience and education which when combined equal 100% of the requirements.
GS-9:To be eligible at the GS-9 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below:
Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level is defined as performing the following types of duties: supporting ongoing victim-witness communication needs by participating in a comprehensive victim-witness program; disseminating information and responding to victim witness issues by communicating effectively with the public and/or law enforcement agencies; assisting with witness travel services; and providing direct support to crime victims and/or witnesses.
Education: One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Social Work, Psychology): 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 in law, criminal justice or a closely related field.
Combining Graduate Level Education and Experience: A combination of specialized experience and education which when combined equal 100% of the requirements.In order to qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be in excess of 1 full year.
GS-11: To be eligible at the GS-11 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below:
Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level is defined as performing the following types of duties: administering and providing services of special programs and funds for victims and witnesses; providing information to victims and witnesses on schedule changes, status of defendant's pleas and results of trial; serving as speaker to civic, industry and special interest groups on victims issues; conducting training to law enforcement and community service providers on victim's issue and victim-witness matters and reviewing literature regarding developing victim and witness issues.
Education: One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Social Work, Psychology): a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M.
Combining Education and Experience: A combination of specialized experience and education which when combined equal 100% of the requirements.In order to qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be in excess of 2 full years.
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)- The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in the 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 proof of eligibility to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
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/.
Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) -VEOA allows eligible veterans to apply and compete for positions announced under merit promotion procedures when the hiring agency is recruiting from outside its own workforce. To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, a veteran must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed three (3) or more years of continuous active military service. If you are applying for a Merit Promotion announcement and wish to be considered under VEOA, you must submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214, in addition to any other required documents listed on this announcement.
Special Employment Consideration - Persons with disabilities, veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more, certain other veterans, spouses of certain members of the armed forces, and returning Peace Corps volunteers are examples of individuals who are potentially eligible for non-competitive appointments. For further information, click on the links provided below . You must specify in your online questionnaire under what authority you wish to be considered and submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility.
Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities Links:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/competitive-hiring/#url=Types-of-Appointments
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 California
880 Front Street
San Diego, CA 92101
US
- Name: Sylvia Rojas
- Phone: (619) 546-8973
- Email: [email protected]
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