Victim Advocate

Duties
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• Provide immediate and long-term advocacy services, crisis intervention support, including maintaining 24/7 hotline access for adult victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
• Guide victims through reporting options, ensuring confidentiality, informed consent, and access to appropriate legal and medical resources.
• Maintain accurate case files and official reports in compliance with legal, privacy, and organizational standards.
• Prepare and submit recommendations to commanders addressing victim care, safety concerns, and retaliation issues.
• Coordinate medical, legal, law enforcement, and community resources to address victim safety and supportive service needs.
• Serves as a Victim Advocate providing professional and comprehensive advocacy services to victims/survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment.
• Conduct safety assessments and develop tailored case management plans with short- and long-term goals and document within the case management systems.
• Plan and deliver training sessions for commanders, civilians, first responders, and community stakeholders on sexual harassment and sexual assault response.
• Conduct outreach and awareness activities, including community assessments and prevention campaigns, to promote program effectiveness.

Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position requires the incumbent be able to obtain and maintain a determination of eligibility for a Secret security clearance or access for the duration of employment.
• This position requires regular contact with children under the age 18 and a favorable determination of suitability undergoing specific initial background checks, investigation and 5 year re-verification check of multiple agency records.
• The duties of this position require the incumbent to possess or obtain and maintain a valid state Driver's License in one of the 50 U.S. states or possessions to operate vehicles.
• This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement up to 25% of the time.
• The duties of this position may require the incumbent to carry a cell phone and be ON CALL 24 hours a day, seven days a week on a rotational basis, based on the needs of the organization.
• In accordance with DoDI 6493.03, this position requires the incumbent to obtain and maintain the DoD Sexual Assault Advocate Certification Program (D-SAACP) within six months of employment.
• Incumbents of SHARP positions must complete all required training, obtain certification, and be placed on appointment orders prior to having any victim contact or access to victim information.
• The duties of this position require background checks to be conducted against all records required by law, OPM, DoD, and Army policy and regulation.
• Required to self-report civilian arrests, the filing of criminal charges, and/or convictions of any criminal offenses to their supervisors.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain access to Catch a Serial Offender (CATCH) Program, Defense Sexual Assault Incident Database (DSAID), and Integrated Case Reporting System (ICRS)

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

• Consideration will also be given to current Army Employees with personal competitive status

• Current Civilian Employees of the Organization

In order to qualify, you must meet the experience and/or education requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document .

For qualifications determinations, your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or month/year to present) and (if position is Federal) pay plan, job series and grade. If your resume does not contain this information, your application will be marked as incomplete and you will not receive consideration for this position.

Basic Requirement for Victim Advocate: A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in behavioral or social science, or related disciplines appropriate to the position, such as Social Services, Counseling Services, or Psychology.

-OR-

B. Combination of Education and Experience: A 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-

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

NOTE: Transcripts are required at the time of application.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes providing professional advocacy services to victims or survivors of sexual assault and/or sexual harassment; conducting assessments with clients to evaluate needs and risks; conducting training/ seminars on sexual assault/sexual harassment; and coordinating appropriate services with internal or external offices to ensure holistic victim support. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09).

Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-09).

NOTE: Applicants must meet all Time-in-Grade requirements and experience requirements by the closing date of the announcement. Current Federal employees applying under VEOA eligibility are subject to time-in-grade restrictions like any other GS employee.

Education

NOTE: If you feel you qualify based on the substitution of education for experience or a combination of education and experience, you MUST submit copies of ALL your transcripts or you will be rated as ineligible.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/ .

Additional information

• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• One year trial/probationary period may be required.
• Direct deposit of pay is required.
• This is a bargaining unit position covered by NAGE/SEIU 5000.
• If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
• This is a Medical Career Field position.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests : If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information