Duties

Summary

The Land Acquisition Section is responsible for acquiring real property through condemnation proceedings, for use by the Federal Government for purposes ranging from establishing public parks to homeland security, and for approving title to lands being acquired by the United States by direct purchase. The employee will serve as an expert real estate appraisal consultant in complex matters involving the Federal acquisition of real property involving multi-million dollar compensation claims.
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Responsibilities

This vacancy is also being announced concurrently with Ann# ENRD-21-22-MP for employees with Federal status or eligibility and applicants eligible for special appointment authorities. Please review that announcement to determine if you are eligible to apply. Note: Applicants must apply separately to receive consideration for each announcement.

As a Review Appraiser, you will:

• Serve as an expert appraiser/reviewer for complex, controversial and difficult appraisals involving real property associated with a broad range of federal projects from natural disaster restoration projects to homeland security.
• Perform appraisal reviews and provide litigation support in complex and controversial cases involving significant compensation claims.
• Analyze and review appraisal reports of real property for adequate development of pertinent legal and appraisal premises, proper application of appraisal techniques, factual and technical accuracy and overall professional quality.
• Serve as an expert litigation consultant on appraisal procedures and protocols within the Division, the Department and other federal agencies. Act as a technical advisor on compliance with formal appraisal guidelines, including the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions.
• Advise attorneys on valuation issues and evaluate current and projected appraisal programs for adherence to legislation, policies and agency missions.
• Study and analyze a broad range of real property issues and prepare reports and recommendations. These reports include feasibility and economic analyses of properties with complex characteristics and uses, lease buyout analyses, highest and best use analyses when potential use of the site is unclear or unknown, and analyses of risks in insuring, building, leasing, or disposing of property.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
15

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen or national.
• You must complete a background investigation to include pre-employment drug testing.
• Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable.
• You must complete or have completed a one-year probationary period.
• You must maintain a bank account for direct deposit of salary.

Qualifications

For the GS-13 , you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service performing the following duties: (1) studying and analyzing real property appraisal problems and preparing reports and recommendations; and (2) assisting with the review of appraisal reports concerning properties involving unusual or controversial characteristics.

For the GS-14 , you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service performing the following duties: (1) planning and completing real property valuation projects; (2) developing new or modified techniques and methods to review the appraisal of properties with diverse or unusual characteristics; and (3) investigating a variety of real estate appraisal problems to provide guidance on specific appraisal standards, methods, and techniques.

For the GS-15 , you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service performing the following duties: (1) analyzing depositions, reports, and other testimony prepared by expert witnesses for flaws or weaknesses in valuation-related analyses/conclusions; (2) reviewing court rulings regarding valuation impacting federal land acquisitions, and (3) recommending new or modified appraisal policies for the Department and/or other federal agencies.

Desired: A valid General Appraisal Certification and Designation or Accreditation from a Professional real estate appraisal organization that is either a current sponsor of The Appraisal Foundation or has requirements for designation that equal or exceed those of the General Certification.

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 skill and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

YOUR RESUME MUST support your responses to the online questionnaire and provide specific details as to how your experience meets the specialized experience as described in the vacancy announcement if you are using experience to meet all or part of the qualification requirements. Please ensure that your resume includes the month and year that you began and ended each position held or that position will not be credited toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. Part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience. Failure to provide details will result in an ineligible rating. Your latest resume submitted for this vacancy announcement will be used to determine qualifications and supersedes previous submissions.

Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
To preview questions, please click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11059795

Education

There is no substitution of education for specialized experience at this grade level.

Additional information

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. The Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in DOJ with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies.

If you have received written notification of your eligibility for consideration under CTAP/ICTAP, you may receive special priority consideration for this position, if this vacancy is within your CTAP/ICTAP eligibility and you are well-qualified for the position. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements and score 85 or better on established ranking criteria (for scored examining) OR rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria.

Veterans Preference: If you are entitled to or claim veteran preference (VP), you should indicate the type of veteran preference (5 or 10 points) you are claiming on your resume. In order to determine your eligibility, you can find additional information at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/veterans-services/vet-guide/

To verify your veteran preference entitlement, submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214; official statement of service from your command if you are currently on active duty; or other official documentation (e.g., documentation of receipt of a campaign badge or expeditionary medal) that shows your military service was performed under honorable conditions. If you are claiming 10-point preference, you must submit Member Copy 4 of your DD-214 in addition to the supporting documentation required and identified on the reserve side of the SF-15, Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference . If you are claiming 10-point DERIVED PREFERENCE as a relative you must submit Member Copy 4 of the veteran's DD-214 and an SF-15 in addition to the supporting documentation required and identified on the reverse side of the SF-15. If you fail to do so, you will receive consideration as a non-veteran.

Schedule A: DOJ welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities and is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department. DOJ also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes to resume@benderconsult.com, and reference "Federal Career Opportunities" in the subject line. Additional information is found at: www.benderconsult.com

Selective Service: 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. Additional information is found at: www.sss.gov

Benefits: DOJ offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Please review the link below for an overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal employees.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated and rated under DOJ's Category Rating and Selection Procedures. Your résumé and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the Occupational Questionnaire.

Note - If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. If it is determined you meet minimum qualifications requirements, your application will then be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for Veterans' Preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.

Your application must demonstrate your ability to perform the following competencies (knowledge, skills, and other characteristics):

• Oral Communication
• Planning and Evaluating
• Real Estate
• Real Estate Appraisal Techniques
• Writing

Please Note: Additional candidates may be selected if more positions become available in the Division within 90 days after the HR office issues the selection certificate.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)

Trust determination process
Credentialing

Required Documents

• Resumé demonstrating relevant experience and dates the experience was obtained (cover letter optional)
• Copy of General Appraisal Certification and Designation or Accreditation from a Professional real estate appraisal organization
• Veterans preference documentation, if applicable (DD-214 Member Copy 4; VA Letter)
• ICTAP/CTAP documentation, if applicable
• Your online responses to the Occupational Questionnaire

Do not include the following types of information in your profile or resume:

• Classified or government sensitive information
• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Photos of yourself
• Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
• Encrypted and digitally signed documents

Your resumé MUST include full employment information such as periods of employment with day/month/year started and ended, title of position(s), FT or PT hours worked, and description of duties. If you have Federal employment, you must include the grade of the position(s) . If application has missing or incomplete information, you may be rated INELIGIBLE.

To prove eligibility for the special CTAP/ICTAP selection priority, you must submit a copy of your latest performance appraisal showing a rating of at least fully successful AND one of the following:

• A separation notice;
• A "Notice of Personnel Action" (SF-50) documenting separation;
• An agency certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has been terminated;
• An OPM notification that your disability annuity has been terminated; or
• A Military Department of National Guard Bureau notification that you retired under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456.

Additional information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility can be found at http://www.opm.gov/ctap/index.asp