Victim Specialist

Summary

Victim Specialists assist people who have suffered direct physical, emotional, psychological, or financial harm. This direct or threatened harm can result from violent crime, crimes against children, domestic and international terrorism, civil rights violations, human trafficking crime, cybercrime, white-collar crime, and/or fraud. Please see "Additional Information" below for more details.

This job is open to
Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.

Federal employees - Competitive service

Current or former competitive service federal employees.

Federal employees - Excepted service

Current excepted service federal employees.

Individuals with disabilities

Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

Military spouses

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Veterans

Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens.

Duties

Provides direct assistance services to persons who have suffered direct or threatened physical, emotional, psychological, or pecuniary harm as a result of violent crime, severe trauma, acts of terrorism, and/or fraud.
Contacts victims, conducts needs assessment and develops an action plan for immediate and on-going services as indicated by the needs assessment.
Provides crisis intervention services, which are directed toward de-escalating a situation, establishes physical and emotional safety, and provides concrete/basic needs services, emergency needs and reinforcing the victim's ability to make choices regarding possible courses of action.
Maintains involvement either through outreach or membership on multidisciplinary teams, with local agencies that provide services to federal crime victims.
Develops and implements trainings and presentations related to victim concerns and coordination with other federal and local law enforcement agencies, health, social services, schools, and advocacy organizations.

Requirements
Conditions of Employment

Must be a U.S. Citizen.
Must have, or be able to obtain, a valid driver's license.
Must be able to obtain Top Secret/SCI clearance.
Selectee will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450 annually.
Selectee will be required to complete form FD-887, Request for Access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).
Travel will be required for victim assistance, special deployment, and/or conferences/training.
Basic Requirement

Bachelor's degree (or higher) in behavioral or social science, or a discipline related to the victim assistance field, including but not limited to: Criminal Justice, Social Work, Counseling, Human Services, Psychology, Sociology, Victimology, Gender and Women Studies.

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.

Or

Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.

Selective Placement Factor: The Victim Services Division requires applicants to possess a minimum of 3 years of full-time work experience in which the applicant is providing direct services to victims of violent crimes, severe trauma, acts of terrorism, and fraud. Volunteer work experience may be considered supplemental to the 3 years of full-time, primary experience, but it will not be credited as meeting the selective placement factor.

Qualifications

Specialized Experience (SE):
GS 11: Applicant must possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level. SE is:
Worked within a law enforcement or victim services agency to provide direct victim assistance to include crisis intervention to victims who have suffered direct or threatened physical, emotional, psychological, or financial harm as a result of violent crime.
GS 12: Applicant must possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. SE is:
Worked within a law enforcement or victim services agency to provide direct victim assistance to include crisis intervention to victims who have suffered direct or threatened physical, emotional, psychological, or financial harm as a result of violent crime.
In the realm of providing direct victim services, managed competing priorities of short-term projects and longer-term strategies with minimal guidance.
Provided direct services to victims in specialized populations such as children, elderly, human trafficking, and mass violence.
Education

All degrees must be from an accredited college or university. Education may be substituted for specialized experience as follows:

Degree must be in behavioral or social science, or a discipline related to the victim assistance field.

GS 11: Education may be substituted for Specialized Experience if Applicant has a Ph.D. OR equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree.

GS 12: Education may not be substituted for specialized experience at this grade level.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above requirements provided you can show foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States.

Additional information

In order to recruit and retain highly qualified candidates, selectees may be eligible for a $7,500.00 or a 25% recruitment incentive depending on location. To be eligible for a recruitment incentive, proof of change in residency will be required. Prior to receiving a recruitment incentive, an employee must sign a written agreement to complete a specific period of employment with the FBI at the agreed upon duty station.

Victim Specialists provide services which can include crisis intervention directed toward deescalating a situation, establishing physical and emotional safety, providing concrete/basic needs assessments, identifying emergency needs, and empowering the victim's ability to make choices regarding possible courses of action.

Victim Specialists also provide information on victimization, crime prevention, legal rights and protections, the criminal justice process, and referrals for services.

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.

Memorandum for Record: Work performed outside assigned duties (that would not normally be documented on an SF-50, i. e., back-up duties), has to be documented in detail by an immediate supervisor in order to receive full credit for amount of time worked in that position. If no documentation is furnished no credit will be given for time worked in that position. The following notations must be specified in the documentation (Memorandum for Record):
Percent of time worked in the particular position (cannot conflict with main duties).
The month/year work began.
Frequency worked (i.e., daily, monthly, etc.)
Specific duties performed.

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 the FBI's Candidate Rating Procedures. Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement and will be compared to your responses to the online assessment questionnaire. High self-assessment in the vacancy questions that is not supported by information in your resume, and/or supporting documents may eliminate you from Most Competitive status.

Your application will then be placed in one of three categories: Most Competitive, Competitive, or Least Competitive. Names of candidates in the Most Competitive category will be sent to the hiring official for employment consideration. Veterans' preference will be applied.

All applicants will be rated on the following Competencies:
Collaboration
Communication
Flexibility/Adaptability
Initiative
Interpersonal Ability
Leadership
Organizing and Planning
Problem Solving/Judgment

Required Documents

Your resume, specifically noting relevant work experience and associated start and end dates
A complete assessment questionnaire

Other supporting documents (if applicable):
College transcripts, if qualifying based on education or if there is a positive education requirement.
Notification of Personnel Action, SF-50; not applicable to current FBI employees.
Memorandum for Record (MFR), Please see Additional Information.
Most recent Performance Appraisal; not applicable to current FBI employees.
Veterans: DD 214; Disabled Veterans: DD 214, SF-15, and VA letter dated 1991 or later.

How to Apply

To apply for the Victim Specialist position, please click here.

Agency contact information
Amy Dunham
Phone

(304) 625-3886

Email

amdunham@fbi.gov

Address

Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20535
US

Next steps

Once your complete application is received we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications and determine your ranking. The Most Competitive candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview. You will be notified of your status throughout the process.

If referred for the position, Victim Services Division will reach out to each candidate to discuss locations of interest and availability for interviews.