Conciliation Specialist

: Summary This is a Conciliation Specialist position in the Department of Justice, Community Relations Service (CRS). CRS' mission is to provide tension reduction and conflict resolution services to diverse stakeholders to both resolve and prevent community-level disputes. CRS provides facilitated dialogue, mediation, training, and consultation to assist these communities to come together, develop solutions to the conflict, and enhance their capacity to independently prevent and resolve future conflict. This job is open to Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL) Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee. The public U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S. Clarification from the agency This position is being advertised under delegated examining procedures and is open to all U.S. Citizens. Preference for eligible veterans will be applied. Duties This job allows telework in accordance with agency policy. The selected applicant will report to their assigned CRS worksite when not teleworking, attending local meetings/events, or on travel. As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service. As a Conciliation Specialist, you will provide facilitation, mediation, and conciliation services for communities facing conflicts and tensions arising from jurisdictional categories included in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) of 2009, you will mitigate conflicts, and support communities working to prevent or respond to bias incidents and hate crimes committed on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or religion. More specifically: You will provide complex facilitation, mediation, and conciliation services for communities facing conflicts and tensions related to race, color, or nationality, pursuant to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related to race, color, nationality, LGBTQ status, gender, disability status, or religion, pursuant to the HCPA of 2009. You will complete conflict assessments and develop action plans in order to determine CRS jurisdiction, identify key stakeholders and issues, and to determine appropriateness of CRS services. You will provide training and consultation services to public officials and community representatives and provide them with the skills and mechanisms necessary to prevent and resolve future tensions. You will lead regional projects or initiatives, as assigned by leadership, to improve CRS's ability to deliver services, and ability to anticipate and prevent conflict in jurisdictional communities. You will develop and implement comprehensive outreach plans for each state/location assigned to you that target all jurisdictional communities. You will serve as a mentor to staff by modeling professional behavior. Provides advice regarding mediation, facilitation, conflict resolution practices and procedures, and identifies areas needed for improvement. You will speak at various formal and informal briefings, workshops, and events to provide information on conflict resolution activities and hate crime prevention. You will perform other duties as assigned in accordance and within scope of the position description. The duties listed above are generally written for one grade level. If the position is advertised at multiple grades, the duties will be adjusted in difficulty, complexity, and level of supervision, for higher or lower grades, as appropriate. Organizations may also add other duties as assigned' once you are hired, based on what is included and allowed by the position description. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a United States Citizen or National. You will be required to complete a pre-employment security investigation and background check which includes a drug screening. You may be required to complete a one-year probationary. Selective Service registration is required for males born on, or after, December 31st 1959. Those not registered should have an approved exemption on file. You must meet all eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement and continue to meet these requirements throughout the hiring process. Offers can be rescinded if requirements are not met. Additional selections may be made from this announcement, for up to 90 days, if openings occur within the duty location's stated on this announcement. COVID vaccination status may be requested for the purposes of implementing workplace safety protocols. Physical Demand - You will be required to be active and mobile for long periods during activities, such as demonstrations and responses to civil disturbances. Work Condition - You may be subjected to moderate risk, such as dealing with persons who are stressed, hostile, or mentally unstable, and may work in public venues, such as parks, stadiums, or streets. A USA Hire assessment is required. An email will be sent with additional information after you submit your application. You will have 48 hours from the closing date of this announcement to complete the assessment. Position requires availability for significant and frequent travel, sometimes on short notice for response to high level community tension and/or civil disorder. Generally requires up to 25% travel but may exceed if tensions or conflicts occur. The incumbent must possess a valid driver's license and operate government motor vehicles in accordance with all applicable government regulations. Qualifications To qualify for the position of Conciliation Specialist, (GS-0101-11/12/13), you must meet the basic qualification requirements listed below AND possess the required specialized experience specific to the series and grade you are applying to. Basic Requirement: Degree: Bachelor's degree or higher that included at least 24 semester hours of course work in a major field of study or specific course requirements in the behavioral or social sciences, or a degree in a related discipline appropriate to the position. ( You must have a degree from an accredited college or university that included a major field of study in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and conflict/dispute resolution majors. You must submit transcripts to prove completion of four full-years of course study) OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience that included at least 24 semester hours of course work in the behavioral or social sciences that provided the applicant with knowledge of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. (NOTE: You must provide a copy of your transcripts) OR Experience: Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Specialized Experience for GS-0101-11: You must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-09 grade level or equivalent pay band in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is defined as: Evaluating conflicts or the potential for conflicts within communities based on civil rights-related tensions; AND Assisting with facilitation and mediation services to groups with civil rights-related tension. (Examples include conflicts or disputes related to police-community relations; tensions or hate/bias incidents (real or perceived) related to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability status; or civil rights tensions in educational environments.) OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. Specialized Experience for GS-0101-12: You must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-11 grade level or equivalent pay band in the Federal Service. To qualify at the GS-12 grade, your resume must show experience in at least two of the following: Evaluating conflicts or the potential for conflicts within communities based on civil rights-related tensions. Providing facilitated dialogue, trainings, mediation, or consultation services to community groups experiencing civil rights-related conflicts or tensions. (Examples include conflicts or disputes related to police-community relations; tensions or hate/bias incidents (real or perceived) related to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability status; or civil rights tensions in educational environments.). Developing positive working relationships with governmental and non-governmental officials, for example, law enforcement officials, community leaders, civil rights organizations, faith-based groups, educational institutions, and/or other community groups. Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For the GS-12 level, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone. No substitution of education for experience is permitted. Specialized Experience for GS-0101-13: You must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-12 grade level or equivalent pay band in the Federal Service. To qualify at the GS-13 grade, your resume must show experience in at least two of the following: Leading trainings, mediation, or consultation services to community groups experiencing civil rights-related conflicts or tensions. (Examples include conflicts or disputes related to police-community relations; tensions or hate/bias incidents (real or perceived) related to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability status; or civil rights tensions in educational environments.) Developing and maintaining positive working relationships with governmental and non-governmental officials, for example, law enforcement officials, community leaders, civil rights organizations, faith-based groups, educational institutions, and/or other community groups. Conducting and drafting conflict assessments of communities based on civil rights-related tensions and developing recommended agency actions and strategies. For the GS-13 level, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone. No substitution of education for experience is permitted. You MUST meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/12/2024Your resume must support your responses to the questionnaire and qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating. See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume. Education Positive Education Requirements: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelors or higher degree that included a major field of study in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position such as psychology, sociology, anthropology and conflict/dispute resolution majors. (Must submit transcripts) OR Combination of Education and Experience that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. (Must submit transcripts) OR Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. (This must be demonstrated in your resume) Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For more information about this requirement, please visit the U.S. Department of Education website for Foreign Education Evaluation. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation. Additional information CAREER TRANSITION PROGRAMS (CTAP or ICTAP): For more information visit: USAJOBS Career Transition Programs VETERANS AND MILITARY SPOUSES: Please see USAJOBS Veterans Preference for more details. DOJ EEO STATEMENT: The U.S. Department of Justice fosters an inclusive and diverse workforce, find our EEO statement online at: SELECTIVE SERVICE: If you were born male, on or 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. Additional information is found at: REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS: DOJ policy can be found at: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations 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. 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 Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: Benefits How You Will Be Evaluated You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. Your application will be evaluated and rated under DOJ's Category Rating and Selection Procedures. Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the Occupational Questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. If it is determined you meet minimum qualification requirements, your application will then be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for Veterans' Preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles. When addressing the specialized experience statement, applicants must present evidence of the experience in their resume. If the specialized experience statement is repeated, in the applicant's resume, Human Resources will deem the applicant as ineligible. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Community/Cultural Awareness Conflict Assessment Customer Service Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Planning and Evaluating Policies and Procedures Program Delivery Reading Comprehension Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. 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: Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; Be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above based on the competencies listed above; and Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. Required Documents Documentation requirements may vary from applicant to applicant based on your eligibility claims. For example, Veteran documents would be required only from applicants claiming Veteran's Preference. It is your responsibility to carefully review the list of document descriptions below, to see which documents are required for your application. ALL APPLICANTS: You must submit a detailed resume containing the following pieces of information for each job entry listed in your employment history: Official position title, Employer name and contact information, Start and end dates (including month and year), A detailed list of duties & accomplishments, Your grade/step achieved, and The number of hours worked per week (or indicate full-time). If you're unsure about what to include in your resume, please review the USAJOBS Resume Writing Tutorial on YouTube. You are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder, as this will ensure you're including everything that is required. If you are claiming a Veterans Preference eligibility: When claiming a Veteran's Preference, you must submit your last DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) form, specifically the Member #4 Copy, indicating dates and character of service and discharge type. If you are a Veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30% or more, you will need to additionally submit the SF-15 (Application for 10-point Veterans Preference) and a copy of your VA Letter stating your disability rating. If you are the qualifying parent or spouse of a disabled, deceased, or deployed Veteran, and are seeking a derived preference eligibility, you must submit appropriate supporting documentation such as the Veterans DD-214, SF-15, VA Letter, and/or Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders. See Veteran Family Preference for more information. For more information on each type of Veterans Preference, and the documentation required for each, see FedsHireVets. If you are a displaced Federal employee claiming eligibility under CTAP or ICTAP: You must submit your separation notice or agency RIF letter from your agency. If you have not yet been separated, you can provide the letter of intent to separate you from the agency because of reduction-in-force. See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information. If you are using education to qualify for this position, or education is required: You must submit a transcript, which may be unofficial, as long as it contains a full listing of courses, credit earned, grade and grade-point-average, subject area, degree(s) earned, and dates of award. Your transcript must come from a nationally-accredited educational institution recognized by the Department of Education. If submitting a foreign transcript, you must have the transcript reviewed by an approved foreign education review organization recognized by the Department of Education. Please do not submit electronic transcripts with documentation security protection, these may prevent our application system from accepting and processing the document. More Info: USAJOBS - What documents might I need to provide? Application Manager - Documents How to Apply Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 02/12/2024 to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: If you would like to preview the assessment questionnaire, please see: To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on 02/12/2024. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements ( Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account. To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account ( There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application, including the invitation to take the USA Hire assessment. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: Agency contact information Natalia Kenigsberg Email View email address on us.edajobs.com Address Community Relations Service 2 Constitution Square 145 N Street NE Room 9W.300 Washington, DC 20530 US Next steps Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Your assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.