Historian

U.S.-Immigration-and-Customs-Enforcement; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 140,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington, DC seeks a historian for senior research duties in the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor.

The role emphasizes designing and conducting multi-year research with primary sources from the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans/Europe, or Latin America, and presenting findings for formal distribution. The position requires specialized GS-14 experience equivalence, strong project oversight, and meticulous documentation.

Qualifications

• One year of specialized experience at the GS-14 level or equivalent performing duties such as: designing and conducting a multi-year research project with primary source research in specified regions.
• Participating in academic peer review, OR supervising research work products.
• Assembling and presenting authoritative human rights information for formal distribution, with meticulous citation of original research findings.
• Organizing, tracking, citing, and accounting for documents and sources in large-scale research projects.
• Language skills in Arabic or other relevant languages are highly desirable to enhance research tasks.

Education

History degree or related field with at least 18 semester hours in history

Job description

View Common Definitions of terms found in this announcement.

Organizational Location: These positions are located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, in Washington, District of Columbia.

There are non-bargaining unit positions.

Please limit your resume to 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

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.

Basic Requirements (IOR):

1. Degree: history; or related field that included at least 18 semester hours in history.

OR

1. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in history, or a major in a related field that included at least 18 semester hours in history, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Evaluation of Graduate Education

Graduate study in the social sciences or humanities may also be credited when such study included training in historical research methodology; or the thesis approached the subject from an historical viewpoint and used professional historical research methodology and techniques in its preparation.

ADDITIONAL Requirement: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, in addition to the Basic Requirement above, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education below for the grade level for which you are applying.

You qualify for the GS-15 grade level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-14 grade level or equivalent performing duties such as:

• Designing and conducting a multi-year research project(s) that included primary source research in the Middle East, Africa,the Balkans/Europe, or Latin America;
• Participating in academic peer review, OR participating in a role overseeing research work products;
• Assembling and/or presenting authoritative human rights information for formal distribution or review, meticulously presenting original research findings and conclusions; and
• Organizing, tracking, citing, and accounting for documents and sources reviewed or collected in a large-scale research project.

If applying as a Middle East specialist, proficiency in Arabic is highly desirable for completing research-related tasks and may enhance the applicant's ability to perform the duties of this position. If applying as a specialist in other geographic regions (Africa; Balkans/Europe; Latin America), proficiency in relevant language(s) is highly desirable for completing research-related tasks and may enhance the applicant's ability to perform the duties of this position. Applicants who possess language skills are encouraged to include relevant details in their application.

Note: Applicants should indicate their region of expertise and relevant language proficiency in their resume.

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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 can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs.

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.