This position is in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Resolution Management, Diversity & Inclusion (ORMDI) - North Atlantic District 1 (NAD1). As an Equal Employment Specialist (Counselor), the incumbent counsels Agency management on findings, implements corrective measures, evaluates action taken, develops and makes presentations on the complaint system and related matters to managers, supervisors, and employees to explain/clarify, and further Agency, Departmental policies.

Duties

Specific duties include: Interpret, research, and apply Federal, Agency, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) laws, policies, and procedures relative to complaints of varying complexity. Assist in conducting interviews of personnel to gather information regarding EEO complaints. Work with employees and managers in resolving work related problems which result in EEO complaints. Gather evidence (documents, testimony) to create EEO case files and ensures accurate and timely updates to the EEO databases. Conduct counseling, negotiation, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques, remaining neutral at all times. Advise aggrieved parties on their rights and responsibilities in the informal complaint (counseling) process. Prepare the requisite number of counselor reports for review by the aggrieved party, their representatives, ORMDI Management, and other external customers Timely conduct and complete informal counseling for cases that is accurate and meets expected quality standards in accordance with EEO regulations, ORMDI's standard operating procedures (SOP), and/or Counselor Supervisor guidance for complaint processing. Respond to verbal and written communications with external customers with timely and accurate information that is responsive, acceptable in tone and content, and acceptable for release. Respond to work pressure or changes in work priorities and accepts tasks that creates synergy and benefits the team effort. Prioritizes work and completes a variety of tasks within established timeframes. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. The grade progression for this position is GS-7,GS-9, G-S-11. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 8 am - 4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Available in accordance to agency policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position Position Description/PD#: Equal Employment Specialist (Counselor); 41017A,41018A Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:01/13/2025. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who are current Federal employees, former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, or a current federal employee applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment must meet time in grade requirements. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. NOTE: This does not apply to Non-Federal Applicants, or applicants applying for consideration under Non-Competitive Authority (i.e.... "30% or more Disability", VRA, and/or Schedule A). To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50). You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50 that indicates proof of status, and shows Time in Grade (for example, you were a career or career-conditional employee) and identifies your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must also submit your most recent promotion or within-grade increase in addition to your recent SF-50. If you previously held a higher grade, you must also submit any SF-50 showing that grade. DO NOT submit Award SF-50's and/or General Adjustment SF-50's as they cannot be used to prove time-in-grade. Time-in-grade: Applicants who are/were federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at GS-6. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at GS-7. To support your claim of time in grade, you must submit your most recent appointment, promotion, or within grade increase SF-50. Some applicants may have to submit more than one SF-50 to demonstrate their eligibility. See the required documents section for more information. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience:GS-7:To qualify, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-06). Specialized experience for this position is defined as work that involves (1) Assisting in the interview process involving allegations of equal employment opportunity (EEO) infractions; (2) Gathering evidence (documents, testimony) to create EEO case files and; (3) Researching EEO laws and regulations. OR Applicants may substitute education for experience: GS 7: A bachelor's degree and superior academic achievement. Completion of a full four-year course of study (120 credit hours) leading to a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in a field related to the position and fulfillment of one of the following under Superior Academic Achievement provisions: Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) is a means of qualifying on the basis of education, based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. It is the applicant's responsibility to submit the documentation that is appropriate in relationship to providing proof that the SAA criteria is met(I.e., College transcripts that include GPA, proof of honor society membership, proof of class standing). OR Graduate education: one full year (18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours) of graduate level study. You must submit a copy of your GRADUATE level college transcript. Specialized Experience:GS-9:To qualify, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07). Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07) in the federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as: work that involves (1) Researching EEO regulations and laws; (2) Maintaining and monitoring EEO complaints tracking data base; (3) Developing presentations to management that enhance EEO policies; (4) Drafting professional correspondence and counselor reports. OR Education GS-9: A master's or equivalent graduate degree (such as an LL.B. or J.D.) from an accredited college or university, or two full years (36 semester hours) of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree may be substituted for experience at the GS-09. This graduate degree or education demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work for this position. Note: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. OR Education Combination GS-9: Applicants may substitute a combination of graduate education and specialized experience to qualify for the position at the GS-9 grade level. To calculate, first identify the education you have earned beyond your first year of study as a percentage of a total of two years of study. Then identify the number of months of specialized experience you have as a percentage of 12 months. Add the two percentages. The total must equal at least 100 percent in order to be qualifying. For example, an applicant who has 27 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e., 50% of graduate education required beyond the first 18 credit hours earned) and who has 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e., 50% of the one year of specialized experience required) would meet 100% and thus be qualified for the position. Note: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information. Volunteer Experience: 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; religions; 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. Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited towards qualifications. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
All education claimed by applicants will be verified upon appointment. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript to receive credit.

Contacts

• Address Exec Dir Office of Resolution Management 810 Vermont Ave Washington, DC 20420 US
• Name: Katrina Ward
• Phone: 512-550-9708
• Email: [email protected]