Summary
This position is aligned with the Office of the Secretary, Department of Energy. As an Ombudsman Specialist, you will serve as a confidential, independent, neutral, and informal resource for helping to prevent, address, and resolve conflicts and concerns.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
All U.S. Citizens, Nationals, and Foreign Nationals who meet both Immigration and Annual Appropriations Laws who also meet the requirements of the Pathways Recent Graduate Program. See the Requirements, Qualifications, and Education sections of this announcement for more information.
Duties
The following are the duties of this position at the GS-13. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties and will receive training to help you grow in this position. As an Ombudsman Specialist, you will:
- Serve as a confidential, neutral, independent, and informal resource for preventing, addressing and resolving conflict.
- Seek the resolution of problems and differences between employees, supervisors, and other Departmental officials (career and political) and programs to facilitate effective problem resolution and prevention in a neutral third-party role.
- Develop and deliver custom designed training to provide the DOE workforce with knowledge and ability to identify and resolve workplace challenges quickly and enhance collaboration, teamwork, and communication.
- Identify and analyze trends, patterns, and systemic issues identified through casework, and make recommendations for organizational improvements.
- Analyze relevant data to develop annual marketing, outreach, and training objectives and strategies.
- Assist in the development and implementation of practices, procedures, and guidelines related to the ombudsman function.
- Stay updated on best practices, industry standards, and legal developments related to conflict resolution and ombudsman services.
- Performs administrative functions in support of data, records, and websites management.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Must be a U.S. Citizen, National, or Foreign National who meets both Immigration and Annual Appropriations Laws.
- This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
- Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
- Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
- A Pathways Recent Graduate Participant Agreement is required.
- Recent Graduates serve a trial period for the entire duration of their excepted service appointment.
- Applicants must provide documentation of completion within the previous 2 years of a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution.
- Veterans precluded by a military service obligation have up to 6 years after completion of degree or certificate to apply.
- This position is approved to work remotely full-time, but you must reside within a realistic commuting distance of the DOE Worksite (125 miles). A remote agreement will be required after entrance on duty.
Qualifications
GS-09 - To qualify at this grade level, you must meet one of the following requirements below:
EXPERIENCE: One-year specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in federal service. Specialized experience for this grade level is defined as:
1. Assisting in the development and delivery of training in the areas of collaborative and informal conflict resolution; AND
2. Assisting as a neutral third party assessing key aspects of workplace conflicts and issues and to help generate potential options; AND
3. Researching and analyzing data in the area of conflict resolution.
OR EDUCATION: 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. Graduate education must provide the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform in the position. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED)
OR COMBINATION: A combination of experience and graduate level education that when combined meet the requirement for this position. Only graduate level education in excess of the first 18 semester hours (27 quarter hours) may be combined to be considered for qualifying education. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED).
GS-11 - To qualify at this grade level, you must meet one of the following requirements below:
EXPERIENCE: One-year specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in federal service. Specialized experience for this grade level is defined as:
1. Assisting, as a neutral third party, in leveraging dispute resolution tools and techniques such as mediation, facilitation, conflict coaching, and providing options of resolution to involved parties; AND
2. Assisting in the development and delivery of training in the areas of collaborative and informal conflict resolution; AND
3. Assisting in analyzing alternative dispute resolution or ombuds trend data and developing recommendations for management to make workplace improvements. AND
4. Practicing to the International Ombuds Association's Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics.
OR EDUCATION: 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. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position.
OR COMBINATION: You may qualify on a combination of education and experience, the total percentage of experience at the required grade level compared to the specialized experience requirement, as well as the percentage of completed education compared to the educational requirement must equal at least 100 percent. Only graduate level education in excess of 36 semester hours (54 quarter hours), may be used to combine education and experience.
Your resume must contain the specialized experience as described above to meet the experience requirement.
Education
To be eligible for the Pathways Recent Graduate program you must be a:
- Recent graduate who has completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution.
-OR-
- Student who within 1 month of the closing date of this announcement will meet the education requirements and will graduate with a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution. A student may not be appointed to a position until they have graduated.
-OR-
- Preference eligible veteran who was precluded from applying due to their military service obligation begin their two-year eligibility period upon release or discharge from active duty. Eligibility for these veterans cannot exceed six years after degree or certificate completion. You MUST submit a copy of the DD214 showing the duration and dates of service that precluded you from applying due to the military service obligation.
If substituting education for specialized experience, you must submit proof of your qualifying education.
Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. While not required, examples of preferred degrees in the field of conflict resolutions such as:
- Conflict Resolution
- Conflict Management
- Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
- Dispute Resolution
- Conflict Analysis and Dispute Resolution
CERTIFICATE: A Certificate program is a post-secondary educational program, in a qualifying educational institution, equivalent to at least one full- time academic year of study, that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational or business school curriculum. Transcripts would need to be provided.
FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website. If you are qualifying on foreign education, you MUST submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to OPM Instructions.
Failure to provide college transcripts may result in a rating of 'Ineligible'.
Benefits
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.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Once the application process is complete, your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications. If you are minimally qualified for this job, your responses to the self-assessment questions (True/False, Yes/ No, Multiple Choice questions) will be evaluated and you will be placed into one of two pre-defined quality categories under Category Rating procedures. These categories are "Highly Qualified" and "Qualified". 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.
Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):
- Conflict Management
- Oral Communication
- Problem Solving
- Technical Competence
Application of Veterans' Preference: If you are a preference eligible candidate, you will be listed at the top of whichever quality category your rating places you in. CP/CPS veterans are placed at the top of the highest category for all positions except professional and scientific positions at GS-9 and higher.
To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click here https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12452257
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you MUST provide a complete application package which includes:
- Your RESUME showing all relevant work experience (paid and unpaid) including duties performed; full name and address of each employer; start and end dates (month/day/year); work schedule (part-time, full-time, number of hours if intermittent); salary; and any completed education and training (program title, subject area, number of hours completed, and completion date). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position. ** For additional information on Resumes see: What to include in your resume or Resume Writing **
- Cover Letter, optional
- Education Documentation:
- Transcripts are required at the time of application submission for Pathways positions. Unofficial transcripts or a report listing institution, course title, credits earned (semester or quarter hour), final grade, and overall GPA is acceptable. A degree audit is unacceptable and Word format will not be accepted.
- Official transcripts WILL BE required if you are selected. Official transcripts will need to be emailed to Human Resources directly from the Registrar's office. If you upload an Official Transcript with your original application package, please note another one will need to be requested and sent directly from the registrar's office prior to your onboarding.
- Veterans' Preference documentation,if applicable, DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; current active-duty members certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation. If you are claiming preference eligibility as a disabled veteran, you must submit proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally a valid letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability. If you are a current service member, in lieu of a DD-214, you may submit a statement from your military personnel center certifying the nature and dates of your service and expected date of separation. For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center & OPM CHCOC website for VOW information.
Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
If you exaggerate or falsify your experience, education and/or your responses to questions, your ratings are subject to change or you may be removed from employment consideration.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
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 submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the announcement closing date to receive consideration.
The application process is as follows:
- You must have a login.gov account to sign into USAJOBS: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/account.
- To begin the application process in USAJOBS, click the Apply Online button.
- Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all required and supporting documentation.
- You must click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 pm (ET) on the announcement closing date.
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To verify the status of your application, during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account; applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each application status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.
If you need help with login.gov or USAJOBS (e.g., account access, Resume Builder) visit the USAJOBS Help Center: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/
If you experience difficulty applying on USAJOBS, after clicking the Apply Online button, or you are experiencing a significant hardship hindering your ability to apply online, the Agency Contact listed in the announcement can assist you during normal business hours. If you receive any system error messages, take screenshots if possible, to aid technical support.
If applying on-line poses a hardship to any applicant, the Servicing Personnel Office listed on the announcement will provide assistance to ensure that applications are submitted on-line by the closing date. Applicants must contact the Servicing Human Resources Office PRIOR TO THE CLOSING DATE to speak to someone who can provide assistance for on-line submission. Requests for extensions will not be granted.
Next steps
Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. The status of your application will be updated in USAJOBS as it is evaluated.
Please note that the Department of Energy may share lists of applicants among its internal Departmental Elements and organizations. You may be referred for consideration to other DOE Hiring Managers throughout the Department for more than one position based on this application. By applying to this announcement, you understand your application materials may be shared with multiple Hiring Mangers throughout DOE. If additional positions are filled from this announcement conditions of employment may differ. You will be notified if you are referred for additional positions.
You can check the status by logging into USAJOBS. You may also sign up to receive automatic emails anytime the status of your application changes by logging into your USAJobs Account and editing the Notification Settings.
You will be contacted directly if an interview is required.
If you are interested in being added to our Schedule A or 30% or more Disabled Veterans repository, please submit your information by using the below links.
https://www.usajobs.gov/job/789178500 - 30 Percent or More Disabled Veteran Repository 2024 for Department of Energy
https://www.usajobs.gov/job/789179000 - Schedule A Repository 2024 for Department of Energy
|