Education Services Specialist (Hiring Bonus Eligible)

Who May Apply: To be eligible for consideration you must meet the definition of recent graduate as defined below:

Recent Graduate: a person who was awarded (or will be awarded by February 2025) a degree by an institution of higher education not more than two years before the date of the appointment of the applicant. Exception: For a person who has completed a period of obligated service in a uniformed service of more than four years, the degree may be awarded by an institution of higher education not more than four years before the date of the appointment of the applicant.

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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).

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant education and experience.

Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Requirement for an Education Services Specialist:

Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher 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 following areas, with at least one course from (1) or (2). (1)Tests and measurement: Study of the selection, evaluation, administration, scoring, interpretation, and uses of group and individual aptitude, proficiency, interest, and other tests; (2) 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; (3) Educational program administration: Study of the foundation and methods in organizing for adult and continuing education programs; (4) Curriculum development or design: Study of the principles and techniques for development of curricula for adult or vocational education programs; (5) Teaching methods: Study of teaching strategies and learning styles of the adult learner; (6) 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; (7) Career planning: Study of career development, learning activities, systems, approaches, program coordination, use of educational and community resources, and vocational counseling systems; OR (8) 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. Degree must be completed by February 2025.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes establishing academic/vocational goals; or, advising individuals on non-traditional education programs and transferability of credits; or, providing information on financial assistance programs; or, administering and interpreting academic tests. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05).

OR

Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: counseling, education & development, or adult Learning.

OR

Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion (or completion by February 2025) of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. Superior Academic Achievement is based on:
(1) Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR
(2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR
(3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achshonor.org/).

NOTE: Grade point averages will be rounded to one decimal point. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0, and 2.94 will round to 2.9.

NOTE: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) was taken on a pass/fail or similar basis, your S.A.A. claim must be based on class standing or membership in an honor society and you must provide evidence of your class standing or honor society membership with your application.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages.