Classification Specialist

Job Description

Summary

The Peace Corps shares a unique relationship with the countries and people our community has worked alongside in pursuit of world peace and friendship for more than 60 years bringing together skilled, committed Volunteers with welcoming host communities for service opportunities in more than 60 countries. Volunteers live and work side by side with community members on locally prioritized projects, building relationships, exchanging cultures and knowledge, and helping transform lives.

Duties

The Classification Specialist performs the following major duties:

• Provide senior classification and position management support to assigned organizations (i.e., providing HR management advisory and technical services on complex and wide-impacting customer functions and work practices)
• Perform special reviews and surveys to make recommendations for standardized position descriptions, reorganization, expansion, consolidation of functions, establishment of trainee level and intermediate positions, and changes in skills distribution.
• Analyze and classify complex and precedent-setting position descriptions.
• Explain classification decisions, impact of designated duties on classification, and complaint and appeal procedures to employees, supervisors, and operating officials or managers through formal advisories and training sessions.
• Evaluates position management in assigned organizations and provides assistance to supervisors and operating officials on ways to improve structure, work distribution, and the use of employee skills.

Help Requirements Conditions of Employment

Please read this announcement in its entirety prior to submitting your application.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen.
• You must be at least 18 years of age.
• All Federal employees are required to have federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so. For additional information, see www.sss.gov.
• You must complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
• You must go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. These documents must be unexpired originalor certified copies.
• You must successfully complete a background security investigation with favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet this requirement will be grounds for employment termination.
• Prior to employment, and in compliance with statutes 5 USC 3322 and 22 USC 2507b, Peace Corps will conduct a check of Peace Corps records for both Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and former Peace Corps employees.
• All new employees are required to certify and submit a state of understanding acknowledging adherence to the Peace Corps condition of employment prior to day 1 of employment with the Peace Corps.
• This position requires a public trust background investigation.
• This is not a bargaining unit position.
• A one-year trial period is required.
• This position is eligible for unlimited reappointments, per 22 USC §2506 (a)(8). The initial appointment and subsequent reappointments are in five-year increments.

Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met by 02/29/2024 (the closing date of the announcement). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. To ensure full credit for your experience, please indicate the start and end dates (month, day, and year) of employment, the number of hours worked per week, and the location of employment in your resume. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.

FP-03 (Equivalent to the GS-13)To be minimally qualified for this position at the FP03 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression, FP04 or GS-12 level which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.Specialized experience is defined as:

• Applying position classification standards, regulations, policies, and procedures
• Providing classification advisory services, training, or other guidance to management or other HR staff
• Preparing written classification evaluations, findings, studies, or recommendations

~AND~

Time-in-Grade Requirements:

You must meet applicable TIG requirements to be considered eligible. To meet TIG for positions above the GS-05 grade level, you must have served at least one year (52 weeks) at the next lower grade (or equivalent) in the normal line of progression for the position you are applying to. The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector or Volunteer Service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume. For more information on qualifications please refer to OPM’s Qualifications Standards.

Note: All current or former Federal employees (including internal employees) must provide a copy of their SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one), “Notice of Personnel Action” that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position, title, series, grade, step, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).

Please note: Peace Corps employees are employed using the Foreign Personnel (FP) pay scale. The FP pay plan does not follow the same structure as the GS pay plan. In the FP pay plan, as the grade-level numbers decrease the level/pay for the position increases (e.g., the FP-09 is the lowest entry-level pay and the FP-01 is the highest senior-level pay).

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Intelligence Background Information

Peace Corps Manual Section 611 is applicable to this position. This section prohibits the employment of certain persons previously engaged in intelligence activities or connected with intelligence agencies within the past 10 years. If you have ever worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), you are not eligible for employment at the Peace Corps in any capacity, and you should not apply for employment. Acceptance of employment with Peace Corps precludes employment by certain intelligence organizations for a specific period of time, determined by the employing agency, after Peace Corps employment ceases. Applicants who are found to be otherwise qualified will be required to submit upon request in the future a completed Intelligence Background Questionnaire, or narrative signed statement, indicating whether the applicant has been involved in or has had any connection with intelligence activities or related work and, if so, the nature and dates of his or her involvement. Failure to meet this requirement will result in the applicant being rated ineligible for further consideration. If you have any other type of possible intelligence connection, your application will not be further considered until you submit this form. Except when the CIA or the National Security Agency (NSA) is involved (see below), if your connection with an Intelligence Agency involves an immediate family member who works or has worked in intelligence, the immediate family member should complete the form, not the applicant. Usually relying on memory is sufficient to answer most if not all of the questions.

If you have an immediate family member who works or has worked for the CIA, you should not give them this form to complete. Please contact your relative in person-not by phone, email, social networking, or any other means that is not in person- and ask him or her to contact the Office of General Counsel at the CIA.

If you or an immediate family member have been employed by or associated with the NSA, you or your family member must contact the NSA Prepublication Review Office at 443-634-4095.The reflected salary on this announcement does not include locality pay. Salary will be adjusted in accordance with the locality pay of the duty location after selection. **Peace Corps does not offer any additional benefits beyond that which the Federal employee is already receiving. Peace Corps 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.

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• Benefits

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Applications will be reviewed once the vacancy announcement closes. We use a multi-step process to review and evaluate applicants:

1. Eligibility and Minimum Qualifications

We will review your submitted resume and documents to determine if you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, including any required education, experience, and/or selective placement factors. You will be rated as ineligible if you are outside of the area of consideration (i.e., who may apply) or your application is missing any required documents. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated or falsified your qualifications, education, eligibility claims, and/or experience, this is cause for disqualification. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility. You will be rated as not qualified if you do not possess the minimum qualification requirements.

2. Rating and Ranking

If you are found to meet both the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, we will assess the quality of your experience and the extent to which you possess the required experience by comparing your submitted resume and documents against your responses to the occupational questionnaire and the specialized experience at the grade level(s) for which you are applying. The occupational questionnaire is the list of questions in the automated system that you will have an opportunity to answer once you apply for the position. Based on the outcome of this evaluation, you will be assigned a numerical score (out of 100 possible). If your responses to the occupational questionnaire are not substantiated by your submitted resume, you may be disqualified from receiving further consideration.

3. Referral and Selection

If you are found to be amongst the most highly qualified applicants, you will be referred to the selecting official. As part of the assessment and selection process, the selecting official may invite you to participate in a structured interview, check your references, and/or request that you submit a writing sample or complete a written assessment or exercise to further evaluate your qualifications for this position.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

• Accountability
• Customer Service
• Personnel and Human Resources
• Technical Competence
• Writing

You may preview the questionnaire for this vacancy here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12322238 Help Required Documents

Your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which establish your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide any of these documents, your application will be marked as incomplete and disqualified from further consideration.

1. Resume: All applicants must submit a detailed resume showing all relevant work experience (paid and unpaid) including job title and duties performed. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support your qualifications. The following information must be provided in your resume:

• Full name and address of the employer;
• Official position titles;
• Start and end dates of your prior employment (including month, day, and year);
• Work schedule (part-time, full-time, number of hours if intermittent);
• Number of hours worked per week;
• Salary;
• If you are a current Federal employee or former Federal employee, provide your pay plan, series, and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09);
• A detailed list of duties & accomplishments; and
• Any completed education and training (program title, subject area, number of hours completed, and completion date).

TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use the Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and disqualified from further consideration.

If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.

2. Proof of Eligibility to Apply: Your application must include the documents which prove you are eligible to apply for the vacancy. You must meet the requirements of at least one of the authorities listed in the “Who May Apply” section of this announcement to receive further consideration.

• SF-50(s): If you are a current or former federal employee (including current Peace Corps employees), you are required to submit a legible copy/copies of a recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action.
  • Time-in-grade documentation: If you are applying for a higher grade and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one year time-in-grade requirement so you will need to provide an SF-50 which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements. Award 50’s do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade. Examples of appropriate SF-50’s include:
    • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
    • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
    • SF-50’s at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.
• Veterans Documents: While Veteran’s Preference does not apply to this vacancy announcement, you may submit documents to establish your status as a veteran. For more information regarding veterans’ preference, please refer to FedsHireVets:
  • A DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) form, specifically the Member #4 Copy, indicating dates and character of service and discharge type.
  • If you are a Veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30% or more, you must submit a copy of your SF-15 (Application for 10-point Veterans Preference) AND a copy of your VA Letter stating your disability rating.

All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 02/29/2024 (the closing date of this announcement).

Help How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the “Required Documents” section of this announcement. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 02/29/2024 to receive consideration.

• To begin, click “Apply Online” to create an account or log into your existing USAJOBS account.
• Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package.
• You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, the assessment questionnaire, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. Please ensure you click the “Submit My Answers” button to submit your application.
• It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. HR will not modify answers/documents submitted by an applicant. If more than one resume is received, only the last resume received and processed will be reviewed.
• Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process so please plan appropriately. You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.
• Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center.

To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your 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/.

Your experience must be fully documented in your resume. See the “Required Documents” section of this announcement for more information on what you must include in your resume. Be clear and specific when describing your experience in your resume. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience.

The Peace Corps is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors.

We are committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive culture. Our goal is to attract and develop the best and brightest from all lifestyles and backgrounds. The Peace Corps strives to create a culture of inclusion where individuals feel respected and are treated fairly in all aspects of differences. Our commitment is to make a difference in the lives of people around the world.

The Peace Corps provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the hiring process, please notify the Office of Human Resources by calling 202-692-1200 or the Office of Civil Rights and Diversity on 202-692-2139. Decisions on granting reasonable accommodation are made on a case-by-case basis.

About the Organization

The Peace Corps shares a unique relationship with the countries and people our community has worked alongside in pursuit of world peace and friendship for more than 60 years bringing together skilled, committed volunteers with welcoming host communities for service opportunities in more than 60 countries. Volunteers live and work side by side with community members on locally prioritized projects, building relationships, exchanging cultures and knowledge, and helping transform lives.

Come work alongside motivated and engaged employees who are passionate about the Peace Corps' mission of promoting peace and friendship. The Peace Corps provides professional development opportunities, fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace, and supports work-life balance. Be part of a team that supports volunteers and host communities across the globe.

Top Three Reasons to Work for the Peace Corps:

1. The Peace Corps has a unique global mission, perhaps the best of any federal agency-to promote peace and friendship.
2. Benefits include competitive salaries with annual step increases as opposed to the General Schedule, which has longer waiting periods between step increases.
3. Peace Corps employees earn non-competitive eligibility after three years of service. The Cornell Law School's site offers more information about NCE.