Legal Assistant

Summary
Who May Be Considered:

• U.S. Citizens
• Status Candidates
• Veterans
• Land Management Eligibles under the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
• View common definitions of terms found in this announcement.

This job is open to

• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
  Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
• Family of overseas employees
  Family members of a federal employee or uniformed service member who is or was, working overseas.
• Federal employees - Competitive service
  Current or former competitive service federal employees.
• Individuals with disabilities
• Land & base management
  Certain current or former term or temporary federal employees of a land or base management agency.
• Military spouses
• Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista
• Special authorities
  Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed above, but defined in the federal hiring regulations.
• The public
  U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
• Veterans

Clarification from the agency
U.S. Citizens and Status Candidates (this includes Merit Promotion, Status Candidates, Former Overseas Employees, CTAP, ICTAP, VRA, VEOA, 30% or More Disabled, Schedule A, Military Spouses, Americorps, Peace Corps, Vista, Interchange Agreement Eligibles, and Land Management.
Duties
Typical work assignments include:

• Serving as the focal point for Review Commission staff responding to questions concerning documents that have been filed in the review of cases.
• Coordinating staff activity to ensure that all new cases are properly docketed. Ensures that data is entered into the agency's case management/electronic filing system.
• Assisting the Office of the Executive Secretary in drafting special comments when a motion is circulated and in drafting an order to cover any special circumstances.
• Referring cases to Office of the Chief Administrative Law Judge for assignment when required documents have been filed or sufficient time has passed after request for additional documents and those documents have not been filed.
• Maintaining a chronological log of cases placed on and removed from the Commissioners' docket.

Requirements
Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov/).
• Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required
• One-year probationary period may be required.
• Status Candidates must submit a recent SF-50 and recent performance appraisal.
• Status candidates must meet time-in-grade requirements (52 weeks at the next lower grade level) by the closing date of the announcement.
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
• e-Verify, an Internet-based system, will be used, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States.
• All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• License Required: No
• Pre-employment physical required: No
• Bargaining Unit Position: No
• Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expenses will not be paid.
• Promotion Potential: When promotion potential is shown, the agency is not making a commitment and is not obligated to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval.
• Only experience obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
• Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.
• Merit promotion and/or non-competitive referral lists may be issued based on the needs of the agency.
• More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

Qualifications
You qualify for the GS-7 grade level if you meet one of the following requirements:
You have at least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-6 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) performing the following duties:

• Researching records, references and/or historical materials in case files;
• Examining legal documents to identify required and/or missing information; and
• Utilizing case management or electronic filing systems to enter case documents and/or monitor cases.

(NOTE: The contents of your resume MUST support your claim of specialized experience.)
You qualify for the GS-8 grade level if you meet one of the following requirements: You have at least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-7 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) performing the following duties:

• Performing research of legal issues affecting the docketing of cases or decisions;
• Preparing legal documents to include notices, orders memoranda's, affidavits, declarations and/or related materials;
• Researching case files, statutes, rulings and/or precedents requested by administrative laws, judges, attorneys, and/or other individuals; and
• Using case management or electronic filing systems to record and/or produce legal documents.

(NOTE: The contents of your resume MUST support your claim of specialized experience.)
All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.
NOTE: 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.
In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered.
Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience.
Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS resume template. However, if you do not use the template you must ensure that your resume contains ALL required information which includes hours worked, starting & ending month and year, and if Federal employment (series, pay plan, and grade).
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.
Education
This job does not have an education qualification requirement.
Additional information
Veterans' Preference: For more information on veterans' preference see http://www.fedshirevets.gov/.
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.
Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP/CTAP) Eligibles: This program applies to Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed, or employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet eligibility criteria for CTAP or ICTAP; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. Well-Qualified includes those applicants whose knowledge, skills, and abilities clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For information on eligibility criteria and required documentation, go to: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire.

• Benefits
  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  Review our benefits
  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Applicants will be evaluated on their resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, your experience, education and training will be rated using an Assessment Questionnaire that is based on the following competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job. The competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job are:

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Legal, Government and Jurisprudence
• Planning and Evaluating
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork
• Writing

Category Rating Procedures: If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:

1. Highly-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF) and appropriate Quality Ranking Factors (QRF) as determined by the job analysis.
2. Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
3. Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.

Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the highly-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. This position is not considered scientific/professional. Other 10-point preference eligibles and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. View information on www.fedshirevets.gov.
To be considered highly-qualified and exercise selection priority as an ICTAP candidate for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a final assessment rating of 85.
Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are best qualified based on...