Civil Rights Specialist

The ideal candidate for this position will have comprehensive experience/knowledge of non-EEO Federal Civil Rights programs, developing policies and enforcement and compliance procedures, and providing technical assistance. This position starts at a salary of $102,663 (GS-13) with promotion potential to $121,316 (GS-14). Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Office of Equal Rights team within FEMA.

View common definitions of terms found in this announcement. 

Qualifications:

Current Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the Federal service. The time-in-grade requirement must be met within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

The qualification requirements listed below must be met within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

You qualify for this position at the GS-13 level (starting salary $102,663) if you possess the following:  One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-12) in the Federal Service.  This experience may have been gained in the federal government, a state or local government, a non-profit organization, the private sector, or as a volunteer; however, your resume must clearly describe at least one year of specialized experience.  Specialized experience for this position includes:

• Conducting compliance reviews and civil rights investigations under Title VI or Section 504, and/or other non-EEO Federal civil rights laws
• Understanding and carrying out responsibilities of an external-facing Federal civil rights program and its functions.
• Analyzing statistical data and developing and delivering Federal civil rights training.

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 provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

NOTE: Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. For a brief video on How to Create a Federal Resume, click here.

Current or former FEMA Reservists/DAE employees: To accurately credit your experience for these intermittent positions, make sure to list the dates (from MM/YY to MM/YY) of each deployment, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.  Failure to provide this information may result in disqualification.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees.  If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. 

Responsibilities:

When disaster strikes, America looks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit www.fema.gov for additional information.

EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.

In this position, you will be responsible for ensuring FEMA’s and recipients’ compliance with external-facing Federal civil rights obligations, including for disaster survivors and other external stakeholders, and equal access to FEMA programs, services, and benefits. Typical assignments include:

• Supporting all aspects of administering FEMA’s and recipients’ compliance with external-facing Federal civil rights obligations, including developing civil rights policies and enforcement and compliance procedures to implement Federal civil right statutes, for example; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
• Providing technical assistance to program offices and/or recipients of Federal assistance to address barriers to access for groups protected under Federal civil rights laws.
• Reviewing and analyzing non-EEO Federal civil rights issues and conducting investigations or inquiries into individual or group external-facing civil rights complaints, and applying Federal civil rights laws, regulations, and policies to individual facts and circumstances.
• Representing the Office of Equal Rights within FEMA and externally regarding external Federal civil rights obligations and providing briefings and training.
• Serving as a Lead Equal Rights Advisor when deployed, functioning as principal adviser regarding external Federal civil rights obligations.

Promotion Potential: Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval.