This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/791446300. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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Summary
In this position, you will work as a member of the Civil Rights Cadre. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in providing interpreting and transliterating services as a reasonable accommodation for individuals who are Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Deaf-Blind in a variety of fast-paced settings.
NEW! USERRA now protects the full-time employment of FEMA reservists when they are deployed to disasters, emergencies, and critical trainings on behalf of FEMA. Review the FEMA Crew Act FAQs.
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Overview
- Reviewing applications
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Open & closing dates
05/15/2024 to 05/29/2024
This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more -
Salary
$49.54 - $64.41 per hour
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Pay scale & grade
IM 3
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Location
Many vacancies in the following location:
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Location Negotiable After Selection
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Remote job
No
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Telework eligible
No
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Travel Required
76% or greater - You may be expected to travel for this position.
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Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
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Appointment type
Intermittent
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Work schedule
Full-time
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Service
Excepted
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Promotion potential
None
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Job family (Series)
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Supervisory status
No
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Security clearance
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Drug test
No
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Position sensitivity and risk
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Trust determination process
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Announcement number
766055-SJ-12413076-RSV
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Control number
791446300
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This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
The Reservist Program is an appointment type granted under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Section 306 (b), which authorizes FEMA to appoint such temporary employees as necessary to accomplish work authorized under the Act.
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Duties
What will I do in this position if hired?
In this Interpreter Sign Language Technical Expert (Sign Language Interpreter Expert Specialist)-Reservist position, you will be a member of the Civil Rights Cadre and will provide Sign Language Interpreting services to FEMA staff, disaster survivors, and the general public in order to achieve equal access and effective communication throughout all phases of emergency response, recovery, mitigation and preparedness. Typical assignments include:
- Interpreting a variety of situations and conditions during disaster response and recovery, including but not limited to, Internal FEMA staff meetings, briefings, training sessions, conference calls, community meetings, and other events.
- Ensure communication between Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing/Deaf-Blind persons and hearing persons is conveyed successfully from the source language into the target language or communication form most clearly understood by the participants.
- Interact with various other Cadres within FEMA while maintaining collaborative professional relationships with colleagues, senior staff, community organizations, and disaster survivors.
- Perform additional programmatic duties in support of the cadre's mission.
What else do I need to know?
At FEMA, our mission to help people before, during and after disasters; so, every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management. Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
As a Reservist Employee, your role is to support response or recovery efforts. Reservists are intermittent, on-call employees. Please note that this is not a full-time position, and you only are paid when deployed. Deployment frequency and length varies based on disaster response need. Due to the irregular nature of disasters, Reservist employees are not guaranteed regular recurring hours, deployments, or renewal of employment.
The Civilian Reservist Emergency Workforce (CREW) Act protects the job rights of FEMA Reservists while they are deployed to disasters, emergencies, and critical trainings by including FEMA Reservists under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployments Rights Act (USERRA). This means that if you hold another job, you are able to deploy as a FEMA reservist and your job will be protected. It also protects you against penalization, discrimination, or loss of employee benefits as a result of your deployments to disasters, emergencies, and critical trainings. For more information, please visit FEMA.gov/careers or review the USERRA Resources from the Department of Labor.
FEMA is committed to ensuring that its workforce reflect the diversity of the nation. At FEMA, our workforce includes the many identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, ages, cultures, and beliefs of the people it serves. To learn about the ongoing diversity and inclusion efforts, reasonable accommodation process, and the FEMA Core Values, please visit fema.gov.
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Requirements
Conditions of Employment
To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Public Trust / Moderate Risk as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations.
Conditions of Employment:- You must be a U.S. citizen to be considered for this position.
- You must successfully pass a background investigation.
- Travel will be required.
- You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card.
- Selective service registration is required for males born after 12/31/59.
- Please review "Other Information" section for additional key requirements.
- You will be paid only during times of deployment or when attending critical trainings.
- You will be paid sick leave and earn one hour of sick leave for every 20 hours in a pay status, up to four hours each pay period.
- You will be eligible to enroll in Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) within 60 days of check-in to support a disaster. Enrollment in FEHB is terminated after 365 cumulative days in non-pay status.
- You will be eligible for the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP), when you are deployed to support a disaster and expected to work 130 hours or more per month for at least 90 consecutive days.
Qualifications
To qualify for the Interpreter Sign Language Technical Expert (Sign Language Interpreter Expert Specialist)-Reservist, you must possess extensive experience in each of the following areas:
- Assessing individual communication needs to determine interpreting services required; and
- Interpreting (spoken to sign/sign to spoken) for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing individuals in a variety of professional settings.
In addition:
- Minimum age of eighteen years of age is required.
- All candidates must be a high school graduate or possess a GED.
Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application:
- Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.
- Please limit your resume to five pages. If more than five pages are submitted, only the first five pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications. Your full resume will be made available to the hiring manager if you are referred.
- Your resume serves as the basis for experience related qualification determinations, and you must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity. Please use your own words, be clear, and specific when describing your work history. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience.
Documenting your experience:
- Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, you must provide your job title (including series and grade if a federal position), start and end dates of each period of employment (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY), and the number of hours worked per week if part time.
- Current or former FEMA Reservists/Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE): To accurately credit your experience from intermittent positions and Reservist Deployments, you must list the dates (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) of each deployment, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.
- Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information. Failure to provide the above information in your resume may result in your application being found "not qualified". Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.
- 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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
- For additional information on crediting experience and/or education, please reference the OPM General Schedule Qualification Standards
Education
No Educational Substitution: There is no educational substitution for this position, and you must meet the qualifications listed in the "requirements" section of this announcement.
Additional information
- If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.
- The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to FEMA-Misconduct@fema.dhs.gov.
- DHS 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.
- Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with other in DHS for similar positions.
- All candidates must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time. Deployments may include working in excess of eight hours a day, or in excess of 40 hours in a given week, including weekends and holidays, and under stressful, physically demanding, and austere conditions. When activated and deployed, you serve in a federal travel status and are entitled to lodging, transportation and per diem reimbursements for authorized expenses in accordance with federal travel regulations.
- All candidates must be available to deploy at all times during the term of this appointment unless pre-approved through authorized Reservist leave. Reservists may take up to 90 days of unpaid Reservist Leave per year.
- FEMA Reservist employees must maintain an address of primary residency (which will serve as the official duty station of the employee), in a Stafford Act "State", as defined by Section 102(4) of the Stafford Act.
- If selected for this position, you will be required to complete FEMA's onboarding program and a subsequent orientation program. Additional orientation information will be provided post selection.
- The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the minimum locality pay up to maximum locality pay for the Rest of U.S. locality pay area. The salary range will be adjusted for the selected duty location and associated OPM locality pay area. General Schedule locality pay tables and locality adjustment information may be found under the OPM Salaries & Wages website.
- This vacancy may be eligible for a signing bonus.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
We will review your resume, supporting documentation, and your responses to the occupational questionnaire to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements listed in the announcement. If you are qualified, you may be referred to a hiring manager for consideration.
We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process. To preview, please review: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12413076.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Required Documents
As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.
Do not include any photos, personally identifying information (PII) (including birthday and social security numbers), or personal information such as age, gender, religious affiliation, medical history, etc.
- Your resume. For resume writing guidance, please review the qualifications section of this announcement or visit the USAJobs Resource Center.
- Your responses to the job questionnaire - You will be directed to the online job questionnaire once you begin the application process for this position.
- Are you a current or former federal employee? Submit a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action that demonstrates your eligibility for consideration, e.g., length of time you have been in your current grade; your highest grade held; your current promotion potential and proof of permanent appointment if applying based on an interchange agreement. Examples of appropriate SF-50s include promotions, within-grade increases and accessions.
It is your responsibility to verify that any information entered or uploaded is received and is accurate. Determining your eligibility and qualifications is dependent on the supporting documentation and information provided, which may impact your referral for further consideration. If a document is not legible, Human Resources will not be able to view it in your application. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above by 11:59pm (EST) on 05/29/2024.
- To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
- Follow the directions to register or login if you have an existing account.
- Submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
- Upon completion of your application, you will receive an acknowledgement email.
If you are unable to apply online (e.g., experiencing documented system issues, you do not have access to the internet, etc.), you may be able to submit a paper application package. To do so, please contact the Human Resources Specialist listed in the Agency Contact Information prior to the close of this announcement.
An employee, job applicant, or an individual acting on behalf of the employee, may request a Reasonable Accommodation by emailing FEMA-Reasonable-Accommodation@fema.dhs.gov with "time sensitive" in the subject line.
To review the common definitions of terms found in this announcement, please visit the DHS Common Definitions page.
Note: One or more positions may be filled using this vacancy announcement. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.
Next steps
If you are found qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration. The hiring manager will review the list of qualified candidates and will conduct interviews. Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from consideration.
If you are selected, you will be notified by phone or email with a tentative job offer. If you fail to respond, fail to meet the conditions of employment, or fail any other pre-employment requirements (such as the background investigation) we may rescind a tentative job offer.
For information on the federal employment application process, please visit the USA Jobs Help Center. Any Offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Personnel Management guidance and U.S. Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.
Fair and Transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
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Required Documents
Do not include any photos, personally identifying information (PII) (including birthday and social security numbers), or personal information such as age, gender, religious affiliation, medical history, etc.
- Your resume. For resume writing guidance, please review the qualifications section of this announcement or visit the USAJobs Resource Center.
- Your responses to the job questionnaire - You will be directed to the online job questionnaire once you begin the application process for this position.
- Are you a current or former federal employee? Submit a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action that demonstrates your eligibility for consideration, e.g., length of time you have been in your current grade; your highest grade held; your current promotion potential and proof of permanent appointment if applying based on an interchange agreement. Examples of appropriate SF-50s include promotions, within-grade increases and accessions.
It is your responsibility to verify that any information entered or uploaded is received and is accurate. Determining your eligibility and qualifications is dependent on the supporting documentation and information provided, which may impact your referral for further consideration. If a document is not legible, Human Resources will not be able to view it in your application. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Help
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above by 11:59pm (EST) on 05/29/2024.
- To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
- Follow the directions to register or login if you have an existing account.
- Submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
- Upon completion of your application, you will receive an acknowledgement email.
If you are unable to apply online (e.g., experiencing documented system issues, you do not have access to the internet, etc.), you may be able to submit a paper application package. To do so, please contact the Human Resources Specialist listed in the Agency Contact Information prior to the close of this announcement.
An employee, job applicant, or an individual acting on behalf of the employee, may request a Reasonable Accommodation by emailing FEMA-Reasonable-Accommodation@fema.dhs.gov with "time sensitive" in the subject line.
To review the common definitions of terms found in this announcement, please visit the DHS Common Definitions page.
Note: One or more positions may be filled using this vacancy announcement. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.
Next steps
If you are found qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration. The hiring manager will review the list of qualified candidates and will conduct interviews. Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from consideration.
If you are selected, you will be notified by phone or email with a tentative job offer. If you fail to respond, fail to meet the conditions of employment, or fail any other pre-employment requirements (such as the background investigation) we may rescind a tentative job offer.
For information on the federal employment application process, please visit the USA Jobs Help Center. Any Offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Personnel Management guidance and U.S. Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.
Fair & Transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
Beginning of a dialog window for the agency announcing this job. It begins with a heading 2 called "Learn more about Field Operating Offices of the Office of the Secretary of the Army". Escape will cancel and close the window.
Learn more about
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling on those who want to help protect American interests and secure our Nation. DHS Components work collectively to prevent terrorism; secure borders and our transportation systems; protect the President and other dignitaries; enforce and administer immigration laws; safeguard cyberspace; and ensure resilience to disasters. We achieve these vital missions through a diverse workforce spanning hundreds of occupations. Make an impact; join DHS.
FEMA is calling all problem-solvers, relationship builders, and humanitarians! FEMA is a mission-driven, people-focused Agency. Our mission is to help people before, during, and after disasters. We coordinate with other federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners to make sure America is equipped to prepare for and respond to disasters.
At FEMA we strive to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. We are looking for citizens capable of bringing diverse perspective of thought, experience, or culture to help us achieve our mission. Everyday FEMA employees are inspired by that mission and are working tirelessly to make a difference.
Come join us in a rewarding career where you can help make our nation safer, stronger, and more prepared! Visit www.careers.fema.gov for more information.