Clarification from the agency

United States Citizens If you are a current or former federal employee or are eligible under a special hiring authority (VEOA, Schedule A, etc.), you may be eligible to apply under the concurrently advertised merit promotion vacancy announcement: OCR-HQ-2023-0030.

APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 1200 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 1200th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first.  

We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

As an Equal Opportunity Specialist, GS-360-11/12, you will be responsible for:
•  Making civil rights compliance determinations and ensure that complaints and proactive enforcement activities are processed and conform to established case-processing procedures.
•  Conducting investigations (complaints and proactive enforcement activities) and responsible for each phase of the case through resolution.
•  Monitoring implementation of resolution agreements and maintains agreements and maintain a caseload of appropriate size and complexity.
•  Providing technical assistance in the form of information and related services to ED recipients and other parties, regarding their civil rights responsibilities and rights.

*The duties above are at the GS-11 level.  The GS-12 level will have more complexity and less supervision.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a US Citizen
• Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
• You may be subject to serve a one-year probationary period.
• Relocation will not be paid.

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

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. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.

Conditions of Employment

• REMOTE WORK: If selected for a remote work position, you must have access to high-speed internet and cell phone service meeting current Agency policy from the approved work location anywhere in the United States or US territories. Participation must be requested and approved by the supervisor and there must be a signed remote work agreement.

The incumbent will be assigned to one of the regional offices as below.  Please select the regional office you are most interested in the Assessment area of the announcement.

1. Atlanta Regions (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee)
2. Boston Regions (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)
3. Chicago Regions (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin)
4. Cleveland Regions (Michigan, Ohio)
5. Dallas Regions (Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas)
6. Denver Regions (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming)
7. Kansas City Regions (Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota)
8. Metro Regions (North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C.)
9. New York Regions (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands)
10. Philadelphia Regions (Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia)
11. San Francisco Regions (California)
12. Seattle Regions (Alaska, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and the Northern Mariana Islands)

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements
You may meet the minimum qualifications for the GS-11, if you possess the specialize experience, education, or a combination of the two.

Specialized Experience for the GS-11
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-09 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
1.  Experience working with civil rights regulations guidelines, court cases, procedures and principles.
2.  Experience working with the causes and effects of discriminatory practices against members of the protected classes.
3.  Experience utilizing investigative, analytical, fact-finding, problem-solving, evaluative dispute resolution, mediation, negotiation, and compliance techniques.

OR

EDUCATION (see EDUCATION SECTION of the vacancy announcement)

OR

A combination of both education and experience in which the total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) for the GS-11
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 civil rights regulation guidelines, court cases, procedures and principles.
2.  Knowledge of the causes and effects of discriminatory practices against members of the protected classes.
3.  Knowledge of investigative, analytical, fact-finding, problem-solving, evaluative dispute resolution, mediation, negotiation, and compliance techniques.
4.  Ability to exercise independent judgment and latitude in planning and carrying out all assignments within the limits of acceptable practices and administrative policy.

Specialized Experience for the GS-12
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-11 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
1.  Experience working with conducting complex investigations (complaints and proactive enforcement activities).
2.  Experience investigating and analyzing difficult, important, and complex allegation of discrimination in order to negotiate settlements when violations are found.
3.  Experience utilizing civil rights regulation guidelines, court cases, procedures and principles; and experience with investigative, analytical, fact-finding, problem-solving, evaluative dispute resolution, mediation, negotiation, and compliance techniques.

*Education cannot be substituted for experience for this position and grade level.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) for the GS-12
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 civil rights regulation guidelines, court cases, procedures and principles.
2.  Knowledge of the causes and effects of discriminatory practices against members of the protected classes.
3.  Ability to investigate and analyze difficult, important, and complex allegation of discrimination in order to negotiate settlements when violations are found.
4.  Knowledge of investigative, analytical, fact-finding, problem- solving, evaluative dispute resolution, mediation, negotiation, and compliance techniques.

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. Your application may be referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation. Based on the outcome of this evaluation, you will be placed into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. If your responses to the occupational questionnaire are not substantiated by your submitted resume, you may be eliminated from receiving further consideration. Veterans’ Preference: Qualified veterans’ preference eligibles will be ranked ahead of qualified non-preference eligibles within each category for which they are qualified. Qualified veterans’ preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more (CPS and CP) will be placed at the top of the Best Qualified category, except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 grade level or higher.

Based on the outcome of this evaluation candidates will be assigned a numerical score out of a possible 100 and be placed into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified.  The three categories are defined below:

Best-Qualified Category – Applicants who have a score between 95 and 100.  Demonstrates better overall or key knowledge, skills, or abilities for a specific position.

Well-Qualified Category – Applicants who have a score between 85 and 94.99.  Possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities which clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position but does not necessarily meet the definition of best qualified.

Qualified Category – Applicants who have a score between 70 and 84.99. Meets the minimum qualification standards for a specific position.

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. If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the interview process or written assessment or exercise, please inform the selecting official at the time of scheduling.