Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to individuals who graduated from a college or university with an advanced degree (i.e., master's or higher degree), or any degree and who possess at least one year of specialized experience, directly related to the position. Your degree conferred date must be within two years of the closing date of this announcement.

This vacancy is open to RECENT GRADUATES, who have completed an academic program of study or degree program from a college, university, or vocational school within two years from the closing date of this announcement. If you are appointed to a position under this program, you will need to complete a requisite number of work and training hours, based on the agreement you will complete with the hiring office and the agency Pathways program coordinator. After completing the required number of work and training hours, and meeting all other program requirements, you may be eligible for a conversion to a term or permanent appointment.
To learn more about the specific requirements and conditions of the Pathways Recent Graduate program, please see the USAJOBS Students & Recent Graduates page, or the OPM Pathways Program site...

The Community Relations Service (CRS) serves as "America's Peacemaker" for communities facing conflict based on actual or perceived race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability. CRS works toward its mission by providing facilitated dialogue, mediation, training, and consultation to assist these communities to come together, develop solutions to the conflict, and enhance their capacity to independently prevent and resolve future conflict. You will serve as Conciliation Specialist working remotely in a region assisting with facilitation, mediation, and conciliation services for communities facing conflicts and tensions arising from jurisdictional categories pursuant to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) of 2009. You may also assist higher-level Conciliation Specialists with conflicts and support communities working to prevent or respond to bias incidents and hate crimes committed on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or religion. Specific duties are:

1. Manage cases by developing and implementing case strategies and completing case management forms.
2. Prepare reports detailing conciliation efforts, complexity of case issues, and services provided.
3. Shadow senior staff and participate in coaching opportunities and certification training; mediation and consulting services; and outreach events/activities.
4. Conduct research related to community relations services, such as community policing and hate crime issues.
5. Engage in external and internal written and verbal communications that represent your Region positively.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a United States Citizen or National.
• You must successfully pass a security/background investigation and drug screening.
• You may be required to complete a one-year trial/probationary period.
• Selective Service registration is required, see the announcement for full details.
• Under Pathways Recent Graduate regulations, you are eligible only if you have graduated from an academic program of study or earned your degree within the last two years.
• You will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, regardless of the employee's duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.) subject to such exceptions as required by law.
• You will be required to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in which you agree to telework full-time from an approved telework site that is in your set duty location.

Qualifications

You must meet the specific qualifications requirements for this announcement and the occupational series and grade of this position as described below. Please pay careful attention to the entire announcement to ensure you understand these important requirements.
To qualify for the position of Conciliation Specialist (Recent Graduate) (GS-0101-9/11), you must meet the basic qualification requirements listed below AND possess the required specialized experience specific to this series and grade.

BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
For the GS-9, you must possess:
1. An advanced degree in social science or a related discipline, such as Sociology, Anthropology, History, Psychology, or Political Science;
OR

2. Two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree related to the position;
OR

3. Any degree with at least four years of appropriate experience that demonstrates you have acquired the knowledge of one or more social sciences equivalent to a major in the field of social science. At least one of the four years must demonstrate specialized experience equivalent to a GS-7 in Federal service, such as:

1. Knowledge of conflict resolution and violence prevention in community settings.
2. Ability to prepare written assessments, surveys, or other plans to address and resolve issues.
3. Communicate with work or civic groups, senior-level officials, or peers, to share information, exchange knowledge, or resolve issues.

For the GS-11, you must possess:
1. A Ph.D or equivalent doctorial degree in social science or related discipline, such as Sociology, Anthropology, History, Psychology, or Political Science;
OR

2. Three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree;
OR

3. Any degree with at least four years of appropriate experience that demonstrates you have acquired the knowledge of one or more social sciences equivalent to a major in the field of social science. At least one of the four years must demonstrate specialized experience equivalent to a GS-9 in Federal service, such as:

1. Ability to resolve conflicts and prevent violence in community settings.
2. Prepare written reports, assessments, surveys, or other plans to resolve issues.
3. Serve as a mediator or have knowledge of mediation to bring parties together to settle differences.

You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/04/2022.
Your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating.See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the job opportunity announcement closes (at 11:59 pm ET on01/04/2022), a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be conducted. Applicants who are found tentatively qualified will receive a message with a link to take an USA Hire assessment as a secondary screening. If you pass the USA Hire assessment, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the Occupational Questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. You will be placed in one of three categories, Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for Veterans' Preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles. Best Qualified applicants will be referred to the Hiring Official for employment consideration.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, and other characteristics):

• Attention to Detail
• Conflict Management
• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Planning and Evaluating
• Program Delivery
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

Please Note: Additional selections may be made from this announcement for up to 90 days should additional similar openings occur in this, or any other office within DOJ.