Equal Employment Specialist

Summary

The primary purpose of this position is to perform work that involves planning, developing, administering, evaluating, and advising leadership on the facility's Affirmative Employment and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) program. The position serves as the EEO manager with full responsibility for establishing, organizing, and directing all of the facility EEO programs. Incumbent informs and advises management officials and employees on basic EEO program requirements.

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Duties

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Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Managing the overall EEO complaints process (includes: coordinating, planning, developing, implementing, administering, managing, advising and evaluating the Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity Management Program at AVAHCS).
• Interpreting policies, laws, and regulations, and the development and implementation of policy and training programs (EEO training for Supervisors/Managers, No Fear Act, etc.).
• Developing and providing training programs and providing advice regarding the broad range of EEO and Affirmative Employment issues impacting the facility.
• Consulting employees and management officials at the facility level relevant to EEO and ADR including the development of affirmative employment plans, identifying initiatives to eliminate barriers, and strategizing for resolution of discrimination complaints and other workplace disputes.
• Communicating with a diverse population internal to the Department of Veterans Affairs, with other federal agencies, and the general public.
• Participating in meetings, conference calls, workgroups and training to maintain a high level of knowledge, skill and ability in the field of EEO; conducting special studies as identified by themedical center, VISN or VHA Central Office.
• Arranging formal hearings by EEOC Complaint Examiners when a hearing is requested by the complainant.
• Recommending decisions to the Medical Center Director on formal discrimination complaints based on the complainant's file, reports of investigations and other documents and interviews.
• Ensuring that Final Agency Decisions are complied with and are certified as complete through the EEOC's Office of Federal Operations.
• Determining innovative approaches and methods for resolutions for EEO complaints.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Equal Employment Specialist/ PD06160O

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/31/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement : Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-09, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Identify problems, gather relevant data, assess the data, develop and implement ideas for improvement, and evaluate efficacy of improvements; Communicate verbally and in writing explaining the recommendations and providing guidance and advice to leadership, responding to inquiries, preparing reports and interacting with high-level officials; Perform EEO related program management to include training, management of EEO complaint processes, policy writing, and monitoring effectiveness of program.. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.M. if related to this position that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation.. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of successfully completed graduate education (beyond the first two graduate years or 36 semester hours) and specialized experience as outlined above to meet the total experience requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. Note: Transcripts are required.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary. There may be some lifting of boxes or pushing of carts for meetings or media presentations, but most of the time is spent walking or sitting at a desk, in meetings, or at a computer terminal.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit:

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave : Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

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.