Educational Technician

U.S. Air Force Academy•Air Force Academy, CO

About The Position

The Educational Technician counsels, evaluates, and enrolls outstanding cadet candidates who have the attributes to succeed at the Air Force Academy and meet Air and Space Force needs. The position communicates with candidates and supports applicants throughout the admissions cycle. The technician processes and evaluates pre-candidate questionnaires, promotes candidate kits, and updates applicants and candidates on admissions status. The role also provides personal, telephone, and virtual counseling in response to inquiries and evaluates and processes nomination requests for several eligible categories, including Presidential, Children of Deceased and Disabled Veterans, Children of Medal of Honor Recipients, Honor Military Schools (JROTC), Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), and Airmen/Guardians serving in Regular, Reserve, or Air National Guard components. The position participates in small working groups to review and update policies and procedures and complete special projects. It requires extensive knowledge of Department of Defense objectives, policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements affecting civilian and military education and training programs. The employee must protect personnel data under the Privacy Act and HIPAA, stay current on educational counseling and career-field developments, and may be assigned additional duties in support of extended mission requirements. Overtime may be required, and travel on temporary duty, occasionally away from the normal duty station and by military or commercial aircraft, is required.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship is required.
Males must be registered for Selective Service.
Extensive knowledge of Department of Defense objectives, policies, procedures, or regulatory requirements affecting civilian and military education and training programs.
Ability to analyze, plan, and adjust work operations to meet program requirements and objectives within available resources.
Expert knowledge of college admissions practices from application initiation through final admittance.
Knowledge of computer applications, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and office automation devices.
Skill in analyzing and evaluating high school and college transcripts, application forms, and other official documents, and making recommendations on candidate records.
Ability to interpret and apply Title 10, USC, DoD and DAF instructions, agency instructions, policies, procedures, and precedents to complex admissions cases.
Ability to tactfully guide and counsel prospective candidates and explain general admissions policies to the public.
Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing and work professionally with senior officers, federal officials, congressional staffers, Admissions Liaison Officers, and agency staff.
Current federal employees must have at least one year of specialized experience at GS-05 or equivalent; external applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience at GS-06 or equivalent.
Alternatively, qualifying graduate-level education in a directly related field, or a combination of graduate education and experience totaling at least 100% of the qualification requirements, may be used. Transcripts must be submitted when qualifying through education.
Applicable federal time-in-grade requirements apply to merit promotion applicants: one year at GS-05 for current federal employees or one year at GS-06 for external applicants seeking GS-07.
Must complete the initial online questionnaire and additional assessment(s).
Must be willing to travel on temporary duty, occasionally away from the normal duty station, by military and/or commercial aircraft; must not be afraid of flying.
Overtime may be required.
Must safeguard personnel data in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 and HIPAA.
Education used to qualify must be accredited by an institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education; foreign education must be shown to be equivalent to conventional U.S. education.

Responsibilities

Process and evaluate pre-candidate questionnaires, promote candidate kits, and update applicants and candidates on admissions status.
Provide personal, telephone, and virtual counseling in response to applicant and candidate inquiries.
Receive, evaluate eligibility for, and process nomination requests for Presidential, CODDV, COMHR, JROTC, ROTC, and Airmen/Guardian categories.
Participate in working groups to review and update policies and procedures and complete special projects.
Safeguard personnel data in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 and HIPAA.
Keep current with developments in educational counseling, Air Force career-field needs, and civilian occupational needs by reading professional publications.
Travel on temporary duty as required and perform additional duties in support of extended mission requirements.