Equal Opportunity Investigator

at  US Department of Justice

Summary
This position is located in the Special Litigation Section, Civil Rights Division. The Section has the delegated authority to conduct investigations into allegations of unconstitutional conditions in correctional and juvenile facilities and disability institutions run by state and local governments. The Section’s enforcement of these statutes generally requires extensive fact-finding prior to opening a formal investigation, during the investigation, and prior to filing a lawsuit.
This job is open to
Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
Federal employees who meet the definition of a “surplus” or “displaced” employee.
Family of overseas employees
Family members of a federal employee or uniformed service member who is or was, working overseas.
Federal employees - Competitive service
Current or former competitive service federal employees.
Individuals with disabilities
Land & base management
Certain current or former term or temporary federal employees of a land or base management agency.
Military spouses
Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista
Special authorities
Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed above, but defined in the federal hiring regulations.
Veterans
Clarification from the agency
You may apply if you are a current or former career/career conditional Federal employee with competitive status, VEOA eligible, or are eligible for a non-competitive hiring authority (i.e. 30% or more Compensable Veterans, reinstatement eligibles, interchange agreements, etc.). Please read the “This job is open to” section above, to ensure you are eligible for consideration.

Assesses the specific nature of the allegations in the assigned matter.
Reviews the allegations and supporting material; conducts preliminary research in computerized databases of newspapers and court decisions.
Drafts a memoranda setting forth analysis of the matter under the applicable civil rights laws and recommendations for further action, if any, including whether to open a full investigation.
Prepares investigative plans and conducts in-depth investigation, in consultation with Section attorneys and managers as appropriate.
Plans and conducts on-site investigation, including interviews of victims, witnesses, and staff.
Plans and manages document and statistical databases cataloging numerous incidents of alleged violations uncovered during the investigation.
Identifies and reviews relevant websites, and other online sources of information; contacts and interviews any complainants, advocates, and others with relevant information.
Assists attorneys in conducting contested litigation in federal court, including interviewing witnesses, gathering additional facts, communicating with expert witnesses to provide necessary factual information, and drafting affidavits, correspondence and other documents.
Tracking and validating defendants’ compliance with settlements, consent decrees, and court orders, recommending appropriate action when deficiencies are identified.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
You may be required to complete a pre-employment security screening to initiate your background investigation, which includes a drug screening. Continued employment is contingent upon successful completion and adjudication of your investigation.
Selective Service registration is required for males born on, or after, December 31,1959. Those not registered should have an approved exemption on file.
You may be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
Status candidates must meet time-in-grade requirements (52 weeks at the next lower grade level) by the closing date of this announcement. Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
ALL APPLICANTS, regardless of eligibility(ies) selected, MUST submit their most recent (within the past 15 months) performance evaluation or appraisal, which shows a final rating. If an evaluation or rating is not available, you must provide a statement indicating the reason. If you do not submit an appropriate appraisal or statement, you WILL NOT receive consideration for this position.
DOJ uses E-Verify, an internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, by visiting www.e-verify.gov/.
DOJ’s Residency Requirement applies to all DOJ applicants whose job location is within the U.S. In addition, for a total of three years (not necessarily consecutive years) of the five years immediately prior to applying for a position, the applicant must have: 1) resided in the U.S.; 2) worked for the U.S. overseas in a Federal or military capacity; or, 3) been a dependent of a Federal or military employee serving overseas.
Qualifications
Specialized Experience Requirements
To qualify at the GS-12 grade level, candidates must have one (1) year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, public or other private sectors that is directly related to the position as listed above and which has equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience for this position includes ALL of the following:
Preparing investigative plans and conducting investigations to discover civil rights violations; AND
Reviewing, summarizing and analyzing data and documents; AND
Interviewing, advocating or conducting outreach to persons with disabilities.
In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the specialized experience requirement - please be sure to include this information in your resume. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled.
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, religious, 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.
Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees applying for a higher grade must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. You MUST provide an SF-50, which shows type of service appointment, tenure group, grade, and salary. If your most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year (52 weeks) time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. Consider providing an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade (examples of appropriate SF-50s include: Promotions; Within Grade/Range Increases; and SF-50s over one year old. No award SF-50s will be accepted). Failure to submit the required SF-50 document will result in an ineligible rating under merit promotion procedures.
Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement and current Federal employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.
All qualifications, time-in-grade, and education requirements, if applicable, must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume.
YOUR RESUME MUST support your responses to the online questionnaire and provide specific details as to how your experience meets the specialized experience as described in the vacancy announcement. If you are using experience to meet all or part of the qualification requirements, please ensure that your resume includes the month and year that you began and ended each position held or that position will not be credited toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. Part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience. Failure to provide details will result in an ineligible rating. Your latest resume submitted for this vacancy announcement will be used to determine qualifications and supersedes previous submissions.
Education
This position does not have an education qualification requirement.
Additional information
The bullets below outline the various groups of applicants that fall under the term “status candidates”. This vacancy is open to applicants from any of the groups listed below: When you apply you’ll have the chance to claim an eligibility pathway, be sure you fully read each statement and any links provided to make sure select the applicable eligibilities.
See a full list and learn more at USAJOBS, see: What does Status Candidate mean? or Which Jobs am I Eligible to Apply for?
CURRENT AND FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: For more information, see USAJOBS - Federal Employees.
CAREER TRANSITION PROGRAMS (CTAP or ICTAP): For more information visit: USAJOBS Career Transition Programs
VETERANS : Please see USAJOBS - Veterans Preference for more details.
MILITARY SPOUSES: Please see USAJOBS - Military Spouses
SCHEDULE A, PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES: Learn more at USAJOBS - Individuals with Disabilities. DOJ welcomes and encourages applicants from persons with disabilities and is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advance on the basis of merit. The Civil Rights Division also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes directly to Diane Turner by email to Diane.M.Turner@usdoj.gov.
PEACE CORP & AMERICORPS VISTA: Please see: USAJOBS - PEACE CORP & AMERICORPS VISTA
LAND MANAGEMENT: Please see: USAJOBS - LAND MANAGEMENT
It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test, which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment.
DOJ EEO Statement/Policy: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/page/file/1394116/download
Residency Requirement: The Residency Requirements ensure an adequate background investigation can be completed. It applies to all DOJ applicants, both U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens, whose job location is within the U.S. In addition, for a total of three years (not necessarily consecutive years) of the five years immediately prior to applying for a position, the applicant must have: 1) resided in the U.S.; 2) worked for the U.S. overseas in a Federal or military capacity; or, 3) been a dependent of a Federal or military employee serving overseas.
The Division’s telework policy requires employees to be in the office at least four (4) days per pay period, or as required by the Division’s policy.
Please Note: Additional candidates may be selected if more positions become available in the Division within 90 days after the HR office issues the selection certificate.
Benefits
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
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, subject matter experts (SME) and or Human Resources Specialists will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. Applicants passing the structured resume review will move on to the next phase of the assessment process.
Your application will be evaluated and rated under DOJ’s Merit Promotion Procedures. Once the announcement closes, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be conducted. This information will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your eligibility for Federal employment, and then whether you are qualified for this particular position. If it is determined you meet minimum qualification requirements, you will be further evaluated and placed in one of three groups: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified.
Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.
Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures or special hiring authorities will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.
If a determination is made that you have inflated your responses when compared to your application materials, you may be deemed ineligible, or your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your skills and abilities.
Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies:
Computer Skills
Creative Thinking
Decision Making
Information Management
Interpersonal Skills
Oral communication
Planning and Evaluating
Writing
We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process. You may preview the assessment questionnaire by clicking here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12493988.
APPRAISALS/AWARDS: Hiring Managers use objective methods and consider previous performance appraisals and awards in the selection process. Current Federal Civilian employees should list any relevant performance related rating and/or awards in your resume.
Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: www.usajobs.gov//working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/
Required Documents
The following documents are required for your application to be complete.
Required, Resume - All Applicants: YOUR RESUME MUST support your responses to the online questionnaire and provide specific details as to how your experience meets the specialized experience as described in the vacancy announcement. To receive credit for experience contained in your resume, your employment history must include the start and end dates in the month and year format (MM/YYYY), and include the number of hours worked per week. Failure to follow this format may result in disqualification. Part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience. Failure to provide details will result in an ineligible rating. For additional information: “USAJOBS - What should I leave out of my resume?”.