Guidance Counselor (School Counselor)

Summary

Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

Functions as a School Counselor within the secure confines of a Bureau of Prisons (BOP), federal correctional facility.

Acts as the primary liaison between the Education department, Unit Team, as well as other departments, to provide counseling and direction of the educational process for offenders.

Provides the necessary skills, abilities, training, and experience to counsel offenders through the educational process in a successful manner, including those requiring special services.

Promotes positive social-emotional-behavioral supports for offenders while ensuring necessary accommodations, interventions, and modifications are implemented as needed.

Helps to create a safe, proactive educational experience, strengthens community partnerships and improves Bureau-wide accountability. Along with all other correctional institution employees, incumbent is charged with responsibility for maintaining security of the institution. The staff correctional responsibilities precede all others required by this position and are performed on a regular and recurring basis.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is Required.
• See Special Conditions of Employment Section.
• Selective Service Requirement:

Career Transition Programs (CTAP or ICTAP): These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:

• 1. Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria;
• 2. Be rated well-qualified for the position, scoring at least half of the total possible points for the vacancy KSAs or competencies; and
• 3. Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility:
  • A copy of the agency notice (i.e., separation notice or agency RIF letter),
  • Most recent performance appraisal, and
  • Most recent SF-50 showing current/former position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location.
  • See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information.

NOTE: Applicants claiming CTAP or ICTAP eligibility must complete all assessment questions to be rated under the established ranking criteria.

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:

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

Degree: that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours appropriate to the position to be filled in one or a combination of the areas described below. At least one course must have been from (1) or (2) below. For guidance counselor positions, a college or university-sponsored practicum in counseling is also required.

1. Test and measurement: Study of the selection, evaluation, administration, scoring, interpretation, and uses of group and individual aptitude, proficiency, interest, and other tests.
2. Adult education: Study of the adult as a learner, teaching-learning theories for adults, models and procedures for planning, designing, managing, and evaluating adult learning activities.
3. Educational program administration: Study of the foundation and methods in organizing for adult and continuing education programs.
4. Curriculum development or design: Study of the principles and techniques for development of curricula for adult or vocational education programs.
5. Teaching methods: Study of teaching strategies and learning styles of the adult learner.
6. Guidance and counseling: Study of the purposes and methods in counseling and guidance, the role of the counselor in various settings, approaches to counseling, and the uses of tests in the counseling situation.
7. Career planning: Study of career development, learning activities, systems, approaches, program coordination, use of educational and community resources, and vocational counseling systems..
8. Occupational information: Study of theories of occupational choice and vocational development and their application to the guidance process. Identification and utilization of various types of occupational information and resources.

AND

In addition to having the above Basic Requirements, applicants must also meet the following:

Education:

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

OR

Experience:

One year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular qualifications to perform successfully the duties of the position and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled.

Some examples of this qualifying experience could be:

• Experience in serving as a school counselor and delivering evidence-based school counseling practices to students while independently creating school counseling lesson plans, instructional materials, student worksheets, and progress monitoring charts and graphs as well as documenting all student progress for learning and social-emotional-behavioral indices.
• Experience in serving as lead school counselor and supervising graduate practicum students in their completion of required university program assignments.
• Experience in developing and delivering in-service training to fellow school counselors on the four sets of school counseling standards as defined by the American School Counselors Association (ASCA).
• Experience in developing and delivering in-service training to school faculty and staff on American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success.
• Experience administering, scoring and interpreting criterion-referenced and standardized academics test, followed by developing intervention strategies to address individual academic and social-emotional-behavioral needs of students.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience:

Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience. This experience must have equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the major duties of this position as described above.

If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**

Education

See Qualifications Section for education requirements, if applicable .

ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). 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, Click Here.

Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.

If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.

Additional information

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 3307, a maximum entry age of 36 has been established for original appointment to a position in a Bureau of Prisons institution. If you are above the maximum entry age and have prior federal law enforcement coverage, you MUST submit an SF-50 to verify prior coverage.

Qualified Preference Eligible Veterans may be exempt from meeting the maximum age. Please refer to the Required Documents Section for the appropriate documentation to submit to validate veteran eligibility.

Special Conditions of Employment Section:

Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a pre-employment and panel interview, urinalysis, physical, and background investigation.

All applicants are subject to, and must satisfactorily pass all screening requirements in relation to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit check.

All applicants not currently working in an institution will be required to complete a qualification inquiry regarding convictions of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence in order to be authorized to carry a firearm.

Successful completion of the "Introduction to Correctional Techniques", three-week training course at Glynco, Georgia is required.

Additional selections may be made if vacancies occur within the life of the certificate.

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.

Help

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.

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.