Equal Employment Specialist

Summary The incumbent serves as an Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist in the EEO Office at the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center. The incumbent is responsible to perform the duties to include, but not limited to assisting the EEO Manager in planning, development, implementation, evaluation, and monitoring of the affirmative action and equal employment opportunity programs in the VA Medical Center. Responsibilities Duties of the EEO position include but are not limited to: Responsible for coordinating, planning, developing, administering, managing, advising, and evaluating the Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity Program at the medical center level. Serves as a consultant to employees and management officials at the facility level relevant to EEO and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) including the development of affirmative employment plans, identification of initiatives to eliminate barriers, strategizing for resolution of discrimination complaints and other workplace disputes. Monitors and assists in the management of the medical center's overall EEO/Diversity program on an on-going basis. Communicates with a diverse population internal to the Department of Veteran Affairs, with other federal agencies, and the general public. Serves as a subject-matter expert and participates in the administrative review process at the facility level as requested. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00AM-4:30PM Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Ad-Hoc Telework - Telework is at the discretion of the Manager Position Description/PD#: Equal Employment Specialist/PD044930 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/18/2024. 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 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: Comprehensive knowledge of laws, regulations, executive orders, court decisions, and issues related to the Federal equal employment opportunity program and skill to interpret and apply this knowledge to a variety of difficult and complex work assignments. Through knowledge of and skill in applying the operating principles, methods and techniques of the EEO Program to include the fact-finding, analysis, counseling, complaint, and investigative processes, the roles of the EEO Committee and Special Emphasis Programs, as well as all required plans and reports. A high degree of judgement in analyzing and recommending solutions to problems that adversely affect EEO, Affirmative Employment, ADR, Reasonable Accommodation and the Prevention of Sexual Harassment. Ability to provide leadership and guidance to facility employees, managers, supervisors, EEO/Diversity Committees, and Special Emphasis Program Managers. Ability to serve as a trainer in the areas of EEO, ADR, Diversity Awareness, Workplace Harassment (sexual and non-sexual), and Special Emphasis. Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing, and brief management officials at the facility level concerning all aspects of the EEO Program. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described above and a progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree as described above which leads to at least one year. Preferred Experience - Two or more years of EEO related experience You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communication Conflict Management Decision Making Influencing/Negotiating Interpersonal Skills Teaches Others 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary and does not require any special physical effort. Some work may require walking and standing in conjunction with travel and attendance at meetings or conferences away from the work site. Employee may carry light items such as papers, books, and laptop computer as required and may need to drive a motor vehicle relative to attendance at meetings. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information VA Healthcare System Serving Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan (VISN 10) advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being. Receiving Service Credit or 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. 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.