Duties

Summary

READ ALL INFORMATION TO ENSURE YOU UNDERSTAND AND FOLLOW THE APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS SPECIFIC TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

Serves as a production and material resource specialist in the review, editing, preparation and production of Braille and other alternative media materials for visually impaired agency personnel and the public. The work requires considerable specialized training and experience.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Contributes to and reviews Braille contract specifications, reviews contractor proofs and participates in validation testing using adaptive devices such as JAWS.
• Provides support, guidance and recommendations to SSA components on a variety alternative media initiatives targeted to the visually impaired community.
• Provides advice on alternative media production, usage and usability/validation testing of new applications.
• Proofs and edits agency's informational materials specifically directed to the visually impaired community designed to interpret the provisions of SSA programs and to inform that community of their rights and responsibilities.
• Recommends formatting or modifications to materials based on agency and Braille standards.
• Operates adapted computers utilizing specialized software and other Braille devices to transcribe or translate a variety of agency publications, pamphlets, manuals and instructional materials into Braille for use by the visually impaired.
• Translates materials from various formats (CD, email, Microsoft Word documents) into final Braille copy or verbatim transcript as appropriate.
• Serves as SSA's Braille technical authority.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Selective Service Registration: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov
• Background and/or security investigation may be required.
• Job offers are contingent on background / security investigation results.
• Federal employees must be in good standing.
• Federal employees must have a successful performance rating.
• Selectees may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period.
• All application materials must be received by the closing date.
• Official Personnel Folders will not be reviewed.
• Requests for copies of application documents will not be accepted.
• All application forms submitted become the property of SSA Human Resources.
• This position is not eligible for telework consideration.

Qualifications

You must have at least 52 weeks of Specialized Experience * as described below. This experience must have been gained in a federal position at or above GS-06 OR (if your position/experience is in another federal payscale or outside of federal service) by performing duties at a level equivalent to those performed in a federal position at or above GS-06. This Specialized Experience must have provided you with the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the functions of this GS-07 Braille Technician position.

Specialized Experience should primarily consist of duties directly related to the production of Braille and other alternative media materials for the visually impaired.

Duties should include applying techniques and procedures established by the Braille Authority of North America, the National Braille Association, the Library of Congress and SSA to proofread, edit, transcribe and translate various documents to assist visually impaired employees to perform their work assignments.

NOTE: Your performance of duties relevant to the specialized experience must be clearly and specifically described in your resume. Experience from participation in a special project or workgroup is not creditable unless that experience equals 52 weeks at the required grade level.

You cannot be credited for federal experience unless you clearly show your grade level at the time the experience was gained, as well as the dates you were at each grade level. You must be very specific in describing the duties you perform (or performed) at the required grade level. If your federal grade level is not specified with your relevant federal experience you may be eliminated from further consideration. If you combine career-ladder experience into a single description of duties, you may be eliminated from consideration based on failure to clearly document the required experience at the required grade level for the required period of time.

It is suggested that you separate all experience at or equivalent to GS-06 (and above) from all other grade-level experience (even if that GS-06 (and above) was part of a career-ladder position). Likewise, if your experience was gained outside of federal employment, list each position separately (including the dates you worked at each position and the duties you performed).

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Applicants for promotion must have at least 52 weeks at GS-06.
Time-in-grade requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Applicants in a Federal Wage Schedule position (e.g., WG, WL or WS) must apply for promotion (e.g., choose Promotion as your Eligibility at the beginning of the online questionnaire), but the time-in-grade requirement does not apply. FWS applicants must still meet the full qualification requirement to be considered for this position (e.g., 52 weeks of specialized experience and/or education), as well as all other eligibility requirements (area of consideration, appointment type and performance appraisal).


Education

There is no educational requirement for this position.

This position does not accept education in lieu of specialized experience.

Additional information

WHO MAY APPLY:

Current federal employee -- competitive service -- permanent OR conditional tenure

Current federal employee -- excepted service
(1) agency with competitive service compatibility (e.g., Foreign Service, US Postal Service, etc) OR
(2) agency with Interchange Agreement

Current federal employee -- excepted service
(1) Schedule A -- block 5 of your APPOINTMENT action shows Reg 213.3102(u) AND you have not been converted to a competitive service position OR
(2) VRA (Veterans Recruitment Appointment) -- block 5 of your APPOINTMENT action shows Reg. 316.402(b)(2) AND you have not been converted to a competitive service position OR
(3) time-limited veteran appointment -- block 5 of your APPOINTMENT action shows Reg. 316.402(b)(4) AND you have not been converted to a competitive service position

Current federal employee -- excepted service not described above - e.g., Attorneys or Pathways (includes PMFs, Recent Graduates or Interns) and term appointments -- eligible based on prior competitive service or under VEOA

Former federal employee - competitive service -- voluntarily separated (e.g., resigned or retired)
(1) with permanent tenure (separation can be at any time)
(2) with conditional tenure (separation must be within previous 3 years)
(3) with conditional tenure AND veterans preference (separation can be at any time)

Former federal employee - excepted service - eligible under VEOA

ICTAP/CTAP - must be separated from federal (competitive service) employment due to a RIF or have received notification that you will soon be separated due to a RIF - does not apply if you voluntarily separated from federal employment OR were terminated for reasons other than a RIF (i.e., resigned, retired, separated for performance or conduct reasons OR separated at the conclusion of a term or temporary appointment)

VEOA - eligible veteran with no federal status

Military Spouse -- no federal status -- ( https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/military-spouses/ )

All applicants must complete the electronic filing procedures in the How to Apply section.

FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: If you are uncertain about your eligibility, look at block 34 of the most recent SF-50 in your eOPF.
If it shows "1" file as a competitive service employee, even if you are disabled and/or a veteran
If it shows "2" refer to the SF-50 you received when you were hired to see if your appointment-type matches one of those listed above. If so, file as an eligible excepted service employee; if not, you are not eligible to apply for this position UNLESS you have prior Competitive Service. If you are an Excepted Service employee using prior Competitive Service to meet eligibility requirements, submit an SF-50 that shows your tenure in the Competitive Service, along with your most recent SF-50.

LOCALITY PAY: Salary will be set in accordance with locality pay provisions. Candidates currently receiving a higher locality pay than the office applied for are advised that if selected, you will lose entitlement to the higher locality pay.

OTHER NOTES:

This position is not eligible for telework consideration.

Relocation expenses will not be paid.

Position to be filled under the provisions of the SSA/AFGE Merit Promotion Plan .

Additional selections may be made within 3 months of the date of the initial selection.

Position located
Office of Media and Logistics Management (OMLM)
Division of Media and Inventory Management (DMIM)

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

READ THIS INFORMATION BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR APPLICATION.

Preview the *Experience Assessment (online questionnaire) here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10549435

You will be rated using a 100-point scale as follow:
-- *Experience Assessment: 50 points
-- Performance Appraisal: 35 points
-- Awards: 10 points
-- Career Achievements: 5 points

*Experience Assessment -- Your resume should describe specific duties you perform that pertain to the following knowledge, skills and/or abilities as they relate to the Specialized Experience stated above:

-- Ability to analyze, interpret and provide guidance on multimedia initiatives and procedures (possible 17 points)

-- Skill in time management (possible 16 points)

-- Skill in utilizing specialized Braille software and equipment (possible 17 points)

Experience you claim is subject to verification by the selecting official. You may be asked to provide examples or documentation to support your answers or to verify a response by a practical demonstration of your claimed ability to perform a task.

Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your specialized experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities as they relate to this position. Your resume must specifically address the evaluation criteria for this position.

Your preliminary rating will consist of the following: first, your eligibility for this vacancy will be determined based on your responses to questions 1-4. Responses will be verified using your supporting documents. If you provide a response to the online questionnaire that indicates you are not eligible, fail to provide documents to support your claim OR you are otherwise found ineligible during this part of the review, you will not receive further consideration.

If you are rated 'eligible' you will receive a score based on your responses to the remaining online questions.

If you are among the highest-ranking applicants based on that score, your resume will be reviewed to determine if you demonstrate the required specialized experience at the indicated grade level.

Your resume must support your answers to the questionnaire. It isn't necessary to address each question individually, but you should provide a clear description of the duties you perform that pertain to the experience needed for this position. If you choose to provide narrative responses to the experience questions, it's suggested that you first complete your resume (which demonstrates that you have the required specialized experience) and then provide narrative responses in a separate document.

You cannot be credited for federal experience unless you clearly show your grade level at the time the experience was gained, as well as the dates you were at each grade level. If you combine career-ladder experience into a single description of duties, you may be eliminated from consideration based on failure to clearly document the required experience at the required grade level for the required period of time.

If you are among the highest-ranked applicants and your resume clearly demonstrates that you meet the stated qualifications at the indicated grade level, your name will be referred to the selecting official and your applicable documents will be forwarded for further review.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

ALL APPLICANTS must submit a resume, in addition to the eligibility documents identified below -- review the requirements to understand what your documents need to support -- you can only be evaluated on documents you submit -- failure to provide sufficient documentation will result in an ineligible rating. It's advised that you name your documents for easy identification (e.g., Resume, Appraisal, 50 Current, 50 Grade, 50 Separation, etc). Do not password-protect documents. (SSA employees may use an SSA-45 in place of a resume, but must submit all other required eligibility documents as specified below.)

Your resume must describe duties you perform(ed) as they relate to the specialized experience required for this position. Your resume must include your work schedule (full or part time/ hours worked per week), full start and stop dates for each position you've held and grade (if your position is or was federal), as well as a clear description of the duties you perform(ed) in that position. Dates/grades are critical in determining time-in-grade. Information that is copied or restated language from the vacancy announcement, rating criteria or KSAs will not be considered. If this occurs, you may be found ineligible.

If your federal payscale is not "GS" "WG" "WL" or "WS" please provide a copy of your agency's payscale.

COMPETITIVE SERVICE EMPLOYEES -- (1) current SF-50 documenting competitive status, grade and career tenure; (2) additional SF-50s (if necessary) to document highest grade held and/or time-in-grade, (3) *performance appraisal AND (4) if applicable, a current payscale.

EXCEPTED SERVICE EMPLOYEES (USPS, Foreign Service, agencies with interchange agreements, etc) -- (1) current SF-50 documenting grade and career tenure; (2) additional SF-50s (if necessary) to document highest grade held and/or time-in-grade; (3) *performance appraisal; (4) (if applicable) a copy of your agency's Interchange Agreement and payscale AND (5) (if applicable) an SF-50 that documents your prior competitive service (e.g., a resignation, retirement or other termination action that shows WHEN you left the competitive service [block 4] AND if you separated with career or career-conditional tenure [block 24].

See Excepted Service Appointments with Competitive Service Compatibility for more information.

SCHEDULE A/TIME-LIMITED VETERAN -- (1) SF-50 you received when you were hired; (2) current SF-50; (3) additional SF-50 (if necessary) documenting highest grade held and/or time-in-grade, (4) *performance appraisal and (5) if applicable, a current payscale.

If you are applying for noncompetitive referral based on grade, you must also submit an SF-50 showing your permanent placement at that grade level (e.g., the 702 action that placed you in a GS-12 or higher position) AND, if applicable, your current payscale.

*PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS must be for a period that ended less than a year ago, must be completed and signed and must indicate a rating of satisfactory or better. Do not substitute a 'Performance Plan. ' VEOA-eligibles and Military Spouses without federal status are not required to submit a federal performance appraisal.

FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES -- (1) separation SF-50 showing that separation was not for performance or conduct reasons, (2) (if different) SF-50 showing highest grade and career tenure in the competitive service. You must have served in a competitive service position AND have permanent tenure OR have separated less than 3 years ago with conditional tenure (or at any time with veterans preference). You are not required to submit a federal performance appraisal.

VEOA -- (1) DD-214(s) (Member 4 ONLY) showing honorable discharge after serving 3+ years of continuous active duty AND (2) if applicable, documents demonstrating preference (such as a disability letter). If you are still on active duty, you must submit a recently dated official statement of service from your command. For more information visit the Vet Guide .

NOTE: Federal employees who opt to apply under VEOA are still bound by the requirements for federal employees and must still submit the appropriate SF-50s and Performance Appraisals.

ICTAP -- for displaced (or soon to be displaced) competitive service employees (does not apply if you voluntarily left your federal position) -- must receive a rating of 85% or higher AND must provide (1) separation notice, agency certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has terminated, OPM notification that your disability annuity has terminated OR Military Department/National Guard Bureau notice that you are retired under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456 OR (2) SF-50 documenting your separation. For more information visit http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp .

MILITARY SPOUSES: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/military-spouses/