Summary Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities. Our highly-skilled, diverse, and innovative workforce creates a strong foundation of safety and security. Through the principles of humanity and normalcy, we develop good neighbors. Responsibilities Implements a comprehensive counseling program for the education department. Leads, advocates and collaborates with the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and outside agencies to promote equity and access to education for offenders. Provides guidance and support to offenders to assist them in navigating and successfully completing the mandatory Literacy Program. Creates and documents the progress of the offender’s counseling plan and provides assessment results analysis with summary to reflect the offender’s progress toward individual goals. Provides a multitude of services to offenders both indirectly and directly and regularly assesses the counseling program itself to determine its effectiveness in helping offenders meet educational, career-technical, and reentry goals through utilization of the School Counseling Program Assessment tool and Bureau-based program review. Along with all other correctional institution employees, incumbent is charged with responsibility for maintaining security of the institution. The staff's correctional responsibilities precede all others required by this position and are performed on a regular and recurring basis. Requirements Conditions of Employment U.S. Citizenship is Required. See Special Conditions of Employment Section. Selective Service Requirement: http://www.sss.gov Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP). The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified category using established category rating criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: Click Here The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified category using established category rating criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at: Click Here Qualifications Basic Requirements: Degree: that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours appropriate to the position to be filled in one or a combination of the areas described below. At least one course must have been from (1) or (2) below. For guidance counselor positions, a college or university-sponsored practicum in counseling is also required. Test and measurement: Study of the selection, evaluation, administration, scoring, interpretation, and uses of group and individual aptitude, proficiency, interest, and other tests. Adult education: Study of the adult as a learner, teaching-learning theories for adults, models and procedures for planning, designing, managing, and evaluating adult learning activities. Educational program administration: Study of the foundation and methods in organizing for adult and continuing education programs. Curriculum development or design: Study of the principles and techniques for development of curricula for adult or vocational education programs. Teaching methods: Study of teaching strategies and learning styles of the adult learner. Guidance and counseling: Study of the purposes and methods in counseling and guidance, the role of the counselor in various settings, approaches to counseling, and the uses of tests in the counseling situation. Career planning: Study of career development, learning activities, systems, approaches, program coordination, use of educational and community resources, and vocational counseling systems. Occupational information: Study of theories of occupational choice and vocational development and their application to the guidance process. Identification and utilization of various types of occupational information and resources. AND Education: Three years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. OR Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular qualifications to perform successfully the duties of the position and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled. Some examples of this qualifying experience could be: Experience in serving as a school counselor and delivering evidence-based school counseling practices to students while independently creating school counseling lesson plans, instructional materials, student worksheets, and progress monitoring charts and graphs as well as documenting all student progress for learning and social-emotional-behavioral indices. Experience in serving as lead school counselor and supervising graduate practicum students in their completion of required university program assignments. Experience in developing and delivering in-service training to fellow school counselors on the four sets of school counseling standards as defined by the American School Counselors Association (ASCA). Experience in developing and delivering in-service training to school faculty and staff on American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success. Experience administering, scoring and interpreting criterion-referenced and standardized academics test, followed by developing intervention strategies to address individual academic and social-emotional-behavioral needs of students. Combination of Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience. This experience must have equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the major duties of this position as described above. If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities. **Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.** Education See Qualifications Section for education requirements, if applicable. ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here. Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty. Additional Information This position IS included in the bargaining unit. In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 3307, a maximum entry age of 36 has been established for initial appointment to a position in a Bureau of Prisons institution. If you are above the maximum entry age and have prior federal law enforcement coverage, you MUST submit an SF-50 to verify prior coverage. Qualified Preference Eligible Veterans may be exempt from meeting the maximum age. Please refer to the Required Documents Section for the appropriate documentation to submit to validate veteran eligibility. Special Conditions of Employment Section: Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a pre-employment and panel interview, urinalysis, physical, and background investigation. All applicants are subject to, and must satisfactorily pass all screening requirements in relation to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit check. All applicants not currently working in an institution will be required to complete a qualification inquiry regarding convictions of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence in order to be authorized to carry a firearm. The Core Value Assessment (CVA) is an in-person assessment that must be facilitated at a Bureau of Prisons Human Resource Servicing office. On the day of the scheduled interview, a CVA will be administered. The applicant assessment must be completed within a 70 minute time period and a passing score of 68 must be obtained. Further employment consideration will not be extended if the applicant fails to complete the examination or fails to achieve a passing score. Note: The Core Value Assessment will not be administered to current BOP employees. Successful completion of the "Introduction to Correctional Techniques," three-week training course at Glynco, Georgia is required. Additional selections may be made if vacancies occur within the life of the certificate. As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.