The incumbent serves as a Conflict Resolution Specialist and will be responsible for convening settlement negotiations with the parties involved in the dispute in an attempt to resolve the situation before it moves to arbitration. In addition to serving as the conflict resolution specialist for the Randolph-Sheppard team, this individual will also participate in team reviews of proposed rules submitted to RSA by state licensing agencies for approval, participate in the monitoring of state Randolph-Sheppard programs, provide technical assistance and participate in conferences related to the Randolph-Sheppard program.



Conflict Resolution Job Functions:

• Review all Randolph-Sheppard program arbitration requests;
• Schedule and participate in conference/settlement calls between the parties;
• Provide status updates settlement discussions and decisions to the Randolph-Sheppard team;
• Participate in the review of proposed state rule changes;
• Monitor implementation of the Randolph-Sheppard Act by state licensing agencies;
• Participate in conferences related to the Randolph-Sheppard Program;
• Respond to inquiries and provide technical assistance to Randolph-Sheppard programs to assure effective management in the States;

• Negotiate with Federal entities with respect to vending facilities as set forth in the Act;
• Serve in a leadership capacity in the preparation and promulgation of program regulations and revisions related to policy and procedures (especially those which administer the Vending Facility program).

Conditions of employment

• Must complete a Background Investigation and fingerprint check.
• Must complete a One-year Probationary Period.
• Relocation Expenses will not be paid.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

If you are a current federal employee, you must meet all time-in-grade and time-after competitive appointment qualifications within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement. To verify that you meet these requirements, we will review your responses to the core eligibility questions on the occupational questionnaire, as well as your submitted resume and required documents. To make an accurate determination, you will need to include on your resume your federal position title, pay plan, occupational series, grade level, agency, dates for which you held the grade level (stated as MM/YYYY to MM/YYYY, OR MM/YYYY to PRESENT), and total hours worked per week.

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).

Qualifications

Basic Requirements

OR

Combination of education and experience that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.

OR

Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.

AND

Specialized Experience for the GS-13

One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 performing all three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:

1. Experience conducting analysis and recommending solutions to specific problems, analyzing the forces and practices that cause problems; and recommending corrective measures to eliminate the cause.
2. Experience providing information to parties and conducting timely follow up to assure commitments resulting from mediations are met; conducting meetings and briefings to bring parties involved to an agreement; and facilitating coordination of efforts between an organization.
3. Experience negotiating changes to guidance and procedures; mediating or facilitating resolution; defending recommendations on controversial issues to top managers; and briefing managers on organizational issues or similar topics.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)



The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).

1. Knowledge of the laws and regulations governing the Randolph-Sheppard program and the organization and administration of State vocational rehabilitation programs for persons who are blind and visually impaired.

2. Knowledge of business enterprise programs for persons who are blind and visually impaired, Federal, State and local health and safety standards and National cafeteria and other business groups

3. Knowledge of evaluation techniques and methods used to assess and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the program.

4. Knowledge of the arbitration process and ability to gather, assemble, consolidate and analyze facts, draw conclusions and devise solutions to complex problems and orally communicate controversial and complex information through formal and informal presentations.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

We use a multi-step process to review and evaluate applicants:

1. Eligibility and Minimum Qualifications
Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your submitted resume and documents to determine if you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, including any required education, experience, and/or selective placement factors. You will be rated as ineligible if you are outside of the area of consideration (i.e., who may apply) or your application is missing any required documents. You will be rated as not qualified if you do not possess the minimum qualification requirements.

2. Rating and Ranking
If you are found to meet both the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, we will assess the quality of your experience and the extent to which you possess the required KSAs by comparing your submitted resume and documents against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. (The occupational questionnaire is the list of questions in the automated system that you will have an opportunity to answer once you apply for the position).

Based on the outcome of this evaluation, you will be assigned a numerical score (out of 100 possible). If your responses to the occupational questionnaire are not substantiated by your submitted resume, you may be eliminated from receiving further consideration.

3. Referral and Selection
If you are found to be amongst the most highly qualified applicants, you will be referred to the selecting official. As part of the assessment and selection process, the selecting official may invite you to participate in a structured interview, check your references, and/or request that you submit a writing sample or complete a written assessment or exercise to further evaluate your qualifications for this position.
To preview questions please click here.