Equal Employment Specialist

The Executive Director, Amarillo VA Health Care System (AVAHCS), retains responsibility for administering the overall VHA Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program. Within this framework, the incumbent serves as the principal advisor in EEO and Affirmative Employment; Alternative Dispute Resolution; for the Executive Director service line executives, supervisors, and employees.

The Organizational Location of the Position is: Thomas E. Creek VA Medical Center, Office of the Director.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/10/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: I possess one year of specialized experience, equivalent to at least the GS-9 level in the federal service, that equipped me with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position and that is typically in and/or related to the position being filled. Specialized experience includes: knowledge of principles, concepts, laws, and regulations of human resources management (HRM), and EEO principles, concepts, federal EEO laws, regulations and policies to include: 29 CFR, Part 1614, MD-110, MD 715, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Sect. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title IX, Education Amendments of 1972, and VHA Policies, Directives, and Executive Orders, with a high level of consultative skill that is sufficient to serve as an expert and key advisor to top agency management officials. Knowledge of program development and delivery methodologies and techniques to manage, identify, evaluate, recommend, and implement program strategies, knowledge of concepts, principles, and practices of program analysis, to analyze and evaluate previous, current, and projected operating programs for potential effectiveness in meeting their objectives, and skills in conflict resolution, team building, executive meeting facilitation, and group dynamics, ability to analyze problems and present both written and oral recommendations taking into full consideration a wide range of factors and requirements which affect the management of the healthcare delivery system. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. (Transcripts may be submitted with application package.). OR,??
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education as described above.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Responsibilities:

Duties include, but are not limited to:
EEO Program and Harassment Prevention Program Management

• Advising the Director & management on specific actions in support of affirmative action and strategies for handling discrimination complaints & skill to apply knowledge to more difficult/complex problems encountered in the program.
• In collaboration with the ORMDI Field Office, serving as the local liaison for all aspects of the facility's complaint processing program. This includes aiding the ORMDI field office personnel (EEO Counselors, Investigators & Intake Specialists) during both the counseling/investigative stages. Includes providing documentation as requested; locating & identifying employees involved in the complaint process; discussing resolution efforts; negotiating settlements & drafting the same on behalf of management.
• Providing advice & assisting during post-investigative stages (e.g., hearings, appeals and compliance phases) for each formal complaint. Includes working with EEOC Administrative Judges, Regional Counsel staff, Office of General Counsel, Office of Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication, as well as local supervisors & managers.
• Incumbent is a trained & certified National Facilitator and conducts EEO training including the Prevention of Sexual Harassment, for all managers & supervisors.
• Conducting mandated training within 60 days of all newly hired employee's entry on duty.
• Conducting studies/analysis on the utilization of minorities & women in the workplace, identifying obstacles & outlining alternative solutions to identified problems such as underrepresentation.
• Methodically researching, complying & analyzing statistical data to evaluate progress of the EEO Program.
• Identifying organizational or occupational areas that need improvement & developing/implementing alternatives to resolve problems.
• Identifying program goals that may conflict with existing policies or practices actions, reassignments, job training, sexual harassment & reprisal.
• Conducting briefings to MCD & management officials making them aware of their responsibilities in relation to these plans & soliciting their support for successful implementation.
• Serving as the Harassment Prevention Coordinator for the Harassment Prevention Program & is primary point of contact to receive harassment allegations for the facility.

Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program

• Directing/developing an ADR Program, which is any procedure or combination of procedures voluntarily used to resolve issues in controversy without the need to resort to litigation.
• Preparing correspondence, conducting through reviews & discussions with all parties & helping/mediating to negotiate resolution.
• Assisting the parties in:
  • Briefing the process & preparing for negotiation
  • Structuring the negotiation
  • Clarifying the core issues in dispute
  • Avoiding personality conflict(s) which may disrupt the negotiation
  • Identifying the strengths & weaknesses of each party's position
  • Keeping all parties focused & on track
  • Examining alternative approaches, which facilitate a compromised agreement

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

• Creating/implementing communication strategies & serving as a content manager for trainings, web resources, social media & print
• Developing innovative strategies/recommendations for initiating & establishing goals.
• Implementing new initiatives/programs to strengthen, facilitate & integrate programs into the overall facility's strategies/priorities
• Investigating/analyzing adverse operations, trends or conditions & initiating corrective action & follows-through

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00 - 4:30pm
Telework: This position is authorized for telework (Ad-hoc Eligible Only)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Equal Employment Specialist/PD004980
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Salary : $74,678