Summary This position is located in the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Office of Unemployment Insurance (OUI). This position is inside the bargaining unit. Responsibilities Major duties for this position are listed below: Serves as an Unemployment Insurance (UI) program specialist. Supports the provision of program technical assistance and guidance to regional staff, grantees, and other stakeholder groups on specific UI program activities and/or legislative initiatives. Selects successful methods and techniques used by other organizations and adapts and extends such material to solve problems in similar situations. Supports and participates in Unemployment Insurance (UI) projects and program issues of broad impact, including new initiatives and projects to strengthen, facilitate, and integrate programs. Contacts officials of other organizations to advise on problems and render technical assistance. Contacts customers to determine their requirements and expectations. Participates in special projects, ongoing analyses, investigations and initiatives that have high priority for high-level management. This may involve producing analyses and written reports; participating in program reviews; and developing or fostering cross-agency programs. Position involves the review and analysis of Federal and state UI laws, regulations and administrative procedures to determine grantee compliance with legal requirements or the review and analysis of project plans and proposals to determine compliance with legal requirements and/or responsiveness to the needs of customers. Position involves the conduct of on-site reviews of the administration and internal operations of funded programs. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications You must meet the Basic Requirements listed and the "Specialized Experience" to qualify for this position, as described below. Basic Requirements (Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): Undergraduate Education: Major Study - economics, industrial relations, law, sociology, political science, public administration, or other related fields. Courses in statistics or mathematics applicable to the social sciences are creditable up to a maximum of 12 semester hours. Graduate Education: Major study - one or a combination of the social sciences that included social science research methodology and techniques, and provided a knowledge of the history, concepts, methods, and techniques of social insurance and/or the social and economic conditions under which social insurance programs operate. OR Experience Specialized Experience: Experiences related to social insurance. This includes experience applying statistics or mathematics to the social insurance field. Specialized experience must have demonstrated: - A knowledge of current social and economic conditions under which social insurance programs operate, and the principles of the Federal/State/local relationships; - The ability to extend and modify existing techniques and methods or to develop new ones to identify, isolate, and resolve special problems; and - The ability to develop effective collaborative relationships with personnel in other fields and with groups having conflicting objectives. Qualifying specialized experience may have been gained through work in the following or similar types of programs: unemployment insurance; old-age and survivors' insurance; workers' compensation; disability compensation; or other public or private programs covering common social insurance risks. In addition to the basic requirements above, you must also meet the specialized experience listed below. Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-11, in the Federal Service. Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the duties of the position successfully, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as meeting at least 2 of the following: Providing technical assistance to Unemployment Insurance (UI) stakeholders such as state UI agencies, employers, work advocates, Federal, State, and local workforce partners. Reviewing new and proposed legislation, regulations, and guidance to determine impacts to Unemployment Insurance programs. Implementing policy guidance and/or operating procedures for State/Federal Unemployment Insurance programs/systems. WHEN DOCUMENTING EXPERIENCE IN YOUR RESUME, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. NO ASSUMPTIONS WILL BE MADE ABOUT YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE. There is no education substitution for specialized experience at this grade level. Education Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service. If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information. Additional Information Applicants must meet all legal and regulatory requirements. Reference the Required Documents section for additional requirements. This position is inside the bargaining unit. If the duty location is within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the Local 12, AFGE bargaining unit. If the duty location is outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the NCFLL bargaining unit. The mission of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to protect the welfare of workers and job seekers, improve working conditions, expand high-quality employment opportunities, and assure work-related benefits and rights for all workers. As such, the Department is committed to fostering a workplace and workforce that promote equal employment opportunity, reflects the diversity of the people we seek to serve, and models a culture of respect, equity, inclusion, and accessibility where every employee feels heard, supported, and empowered. Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION, REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION, FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES As a condition of employment, all personnel must undergo a background investigation for access to DOL facilities, systems, information and/or classified materials before they can enter on duty: BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION Click here for Telework Position Information Based on agency needs, additional positions may be filled using this vacancy. The Department of Labor may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government to attract highly qualified candidates. Click here for Additional Information. The Fair Chance Act (FCA) prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOL employee has violated your rights under the FCA, you may file a complaint of the alleged violation following our agency's complaint process Guidelines for Reporting Violations of the Fair Chance Act. Note: The FCA does not apply to some positions specified under the Act, such as law enforcement or national security positions.