Victim Assistance Specialist

Summary

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As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.

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Duties

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If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team and serve as the Victim Assistance Coordinator for the United States Attorney's Office (USAO), Western District of Missouri. The Victim Assistance Coordinator serves as the technical subject matter expert responsible for developing and implementing specific program activities within the District by providing a variety of support services for victims and witnesses.

Program activities include communicating with victims and witnesses; providing resource referral counseling; serving as a liaison with prosecutors; and performing outreach and collaboration with law enforcement, community organizations, and other support services. The Victim Assistance Coordinator ensures USAO program activities comply with Federal laws and guidelines, Department of Justice (DOJ) policy, EOUSA requirements, and USAO procedures.

Duties include:

• Identifying resources and providing referrals to crime victims, their families, and witnesses.
• Responding to victim inquiries, assessing concerns, and determining program eligibility for victim-witness services.
• Assisting attorneys in locating victims and witnesses and assessing their ability to testify in court proceedings.
• Providing information to victims on schedule changes, status of defendant's pleas, results of trial, and their rights under Federal law.
• Providing victims and witnesses with information about the criminal justice process and court proceedings, as well as in-court support during and prior to hearings and trials.
• Speaking to public, civic, industry and special interest groups on victim's issues, and conducting victim assistance workshops, seminars, presentations, and meetings.
• Developing a network of victim service providers to increase resources and services to better support federal crime victims in the Southern District of Illinois.
• Maintaining program records, reports and documents; generating statistical and quantitative reports and analysis of program activity.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement.
• You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.

Qualifications

GS-12: To be qualified at the GS-12 grade level, your resume must demonstrate at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in Federal service.

Specialized Experience is assisting in conducting workshops, presentations and/or meetings with law enforcement personnel and/or related officials; providing in-court support to victims during hearings /trials; providing a variety of information and assistance to victims and their families in navigating victim assistance programs and/or available resources (i.e., crisis intervention resources, assistance in securing medical treatment for injuries, information on legal rights and resources, etc.); and responding to victim inquiries and/or providing information to victims regarding status of their case/trial.

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

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

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

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:

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.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.