Summary 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 26-WAW-12989655-DE. Responsibilities If selected, you will serve as a Victim Assistance Specialist for the United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for the Western District of Washington. You will be responsible for assisting the Victim Witness Unit in providing routine assistance and liaison services to crime victims to facilitate prosecutions. At the full performance level, typical work assignments will include: Assisting Victim Witness Specialists in identifying routine resources that are available and providing referrals to crime victims and their families; Scheduling appointments, phone conferences and meetings with victims as requested by the assigned attorney or as initiated by the victim; Making transportation and hotel arrangements to facilitate court appearances and providing routine guidance and assistance in preparing victim impact statements; Providing in-court support to victims during and prior to hearings and trials, including courtroom orientation prior to testimony; Assisting crime victims in completing applications and required documents to access victim assistance funding or needed services; Coordinating and managing victim notifications, restitution claims, and other pertinent case information; Assisting in maintaining relationships with a network of Federal, state and local law enforcement personnel, investigative agency victim specialists and social service organizations to increase resources and services that more comprehensively serve crime victims. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications GS-5: To be eligible at the GS-5 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions as defined below: General Experience, Education, OR a Combination of Education and Experience. General Experience: Three full years of general experience, one year of which was equivalent to at least the GS-4 level in Federal service. Examples of general experience include: Analyzing problems to identify significant factors, gathering pertinent data, and recognizing solutions; planning and organizing work; and communicating effectively orally and in writing. Education: Successful completion of a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree. Combination of Education and Experience: Successfully completed post-high school education may be used to meet the total one year of specialized experience requirement equivalent to the GS-4 grade level. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. 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, Education, Superior Academic Achievement, OR a Combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is defined as experience assisting in the administration of a victim program to facilitate prosecutions. Examples of specialized experience include: scheduling appointments, phone conferences, and meetings with victims as requested by the assigned attorney or as initiated by the victim; making travel and hotel arrangements for victims and/or witnesses to facilitate court appearances; assisting crime victims in completing applications and paperwork; identifying routine resources and providing referrals to crime victims and their families; maintaining calendar of active cases, including keeping track of hearings, trial dates, and sentencings; and producing a variety of written documents and materials utilizing a range of office software applications. Education: One full year of graduate level education in a related field (e.g. Criminal Justice, Social Work, Psychology and Sociology) leading to a Master's degree or higher. Superior Academic Achievement: Possess a Bachelor's Degree or expect to complete the requirements for a Bachelor's degree within the next 9 months in a related field (e.g. Criminal Justice, Social Work, Psychology and Sociology) AND possess at least one of the following criteria: class standing in the upper third of the graduating class; an overall GPA of 3.0 OR at least a 3.0 based on courses completed during the final two years of my curriculum; a GPA of at least 3.5 based on the average of required courses completed in my major field OR based on the average of required courses completed during the final two years of my curriculum; OR election to membership in a national scholastic honor society. Combination of Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. This position is considered a career ladder opportunity, with a full performance level of GS-9. If selected, you may be non-competitively promoted to the next grade level at the discretion of your supervisor and is contingent upon meeting regulatory and legal requirements for promotion, satisfactory performance, availability of higher-level work, and funding availability. Promotion is not guaranteed, and no promise of promotion is implied. 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. Additional Information Recruitment incentives may be authorized if this position is determined to be difficult to fill, if supported by the skills of the selected candidate, and subject to the availability of funds. Relocation incentives may be considered as appropriate based on qualifications. Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized. The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/. Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal Agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline. Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.
