Equal Employment Specialist (Officer/Counselor)

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Commissioner, Privacy and Diversity Office, Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity Division, located in: Indianapolis, IN, Tampa, FL, Baltimore, MD, Washington, DC, Detroit, MI, Tucson, AZ, San Francisco, CA, Blaine, WA or Chicago, IL.
Qualifications: Experience: You qualify for the 11 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Developing and presenting lesson plans, speeches, outlines, and briefing/training materials;
• Preparing quarterly and annual reports for timely submission to leadership on complaint trends and diversity and inclusion initiatives;
• Supporting compliance with EEO and civil rights requirements pertaining to the agency discrimination complaints, affirmative employment programs, or diversity and inclusion programs; and
• Maintaining contacts with officials of community schools, businesses, socially oriented organizations, and women's and minority groups to exchange information, share resources, or leverage opportunities for advancement of EEO and diversity.

You qualify for the GS-12 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Advising managers and officials of the organization on their responsibilities for all aspects of the EEO and diversity and inclusion management programs;
• Reviewing Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) counselors' reports to ensure they are comprehensive and well documented prior issuance to the complainant;
• Interviewing complainants, witnesses, and respondents to obtain factual information relevant to a complain of employee discrimination; and
• Searching files and records for evidence relevant to a particular case, analyzing employment statistics and preparing narrative summaries, writing replies to correspondence, and answering factual questions from the general public, agency employees, or others concerned with program objectives or procedures.

NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.
GS-11:Education Substitution: Successful completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in an accredited college or university, or LL.M. degree, may be substituted for experience at the GS-11 grade level. Such education must demonstrate the skills needed to do the work. One year of fulltime graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 54 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 3 years of full-time study requirement.
GS-11:Combining Education and Experience: Appropriate combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience also may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the GS-11 grade level. To combine your education and experience, you must convert each to a percentage and then add the percentages. The combined total of your percentage of education and experience must equal at least 100% in order to qualify. If your education is currently described in quarter hours, convert the quarter hours into semester hours by multiplying the quarter hours by the fraction 2/3. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, divide the number of graduate semester hours by 18. To determine your percentage of qualifying experience, you must divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by the required number of months of experience. Add your percentages of education and 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; 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. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
You must:

• Meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and
• Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 01/12/2024.

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, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.
Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information, review the following links: Background investigation and the e-QIP process.
Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:

• Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military
• A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government
• Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university
• Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government

Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.
Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. View information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibilityon OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this announcement.Education: Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.
Employment Type: FULL_TIME