Government Information Assistant

About the role

This position is located in the Office of the General Counsel, Executive Office for Immigration Review, U. S. Department of Justice.

This position supports the Freedom of Information Act program by certifying and processing legal records, maintaining request information, digitizing case materials, performing quality control, and coordinating record retrieval. This is a Competitive Service position; additional positions may be filled from this announcement within 90 days of certificate issuance.

What you will do

• Examining, preparing, and processing voluminous FOIA-related legal records to support timely and accurate responses.
• Maintaining FOIA request records, correspondence, and case information in the electronic tracking system.
• Obtaining requested court or agency records from custodial offices and reviews Records of Proceeding for accuracy.
• Converting paper records and audio materials into digital formats using scanning and duplication equipment.
• Performing quality control of digitized records to ensure files are legible, searchable, complete, and consistent with applicable records standards.
• Coordinating with internal offices and external agencies to provide request status information and support completion of FOIA processing milestones.

How you will be evaluated

Applicants applying under Delegated Examining (all U.S. citizens) procedures will be evaluated under DOJ's Category Rating and Selection Procedures.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documentation), responses to the application questionnaire, and the results of the required online assessments to determine whether you meet the minimum qualifications for the position.

If you meet the minimum qualifications, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your application questionnaire. If your responses are not supported by your application materials, your score may be lowered and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

If it is determined you meet minimum qualification requirements, your application will then be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for Veterans' Preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.

Candidates placed in the "Best Qualified" category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager for further review and consideration.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics): Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. NOTE: In order to be rated as meeting the minimum qualifications, we must be able to determine from your application package that you have the education and/or specialized experience that is required.

Your resume should contain your full name, some form of contact information (phone number, email address and/or living address), and the following employment information: Employer name and location for each position held. From and to dates (MM/YY-MM/YY or from MM/YY to "present") for each position held. The month and year is required to fully credit your time.

For part-time positions, please include number of hours worked per week, positions that do not include this information will be assumed as full-time (40 hours a week). Grade/levels held for each federal position. (Ex.

GS-11; IR-06; FV-G. etc.) Detailed descriptions of experience under each position held.

(Applicants must provide specific supporting examples to show that they meet the qualifications of the position shown in the announcement.) Any submitted documents not required or requested for this vacancy will not be considered (i.e. training certificates, case filings, letter of recommendations, etc.).

(ALL INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION PRIOR TO FINAL SELECTION.)

Documents you must provide

• Your complete Application Package (containing the required documents) must be received no later than 11:59 pm Eastern on the closing date.
• To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: Your Resume (2 pages) showing relevant experience; cover letter optional.
• (Please see the How You Will Be Evaluated section for more details on the resume) A complete Application Questionnaire.
• To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: *** Complete the USA Hire Assessments, you will receive a notification with your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline if an assessment is required.
• Other Supporting Documents, if applicable to you.
• CTAP/ICTAP documents (Please see the Additional Information section) Veterans Preference Documentation: If you are a Discharged, Non-Disabled Veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character of discharge (Member 4 copy), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions, as listed on the SF15.
• If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives.
• If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, & 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
• If you are a Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, or Mother or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit all additional proof required by the SF15, and if applicable, a completed SF15.
• You may request a copy of your Department of Veterans Affairs letter from *** or call *** to establish proof of disability.
• Any other supporting documentation required for verification as described in the announcement.
• Do not submit photographs with your application package.
• Remove photos from badges, licenses, or other documents, as hiring officials may not review documents containing images.
• Failure to submit all required documents may result in your application being deemed incomplete and removed from consideration.
• It is your responsibility to ensure your application package is complete.
• Note: Multiple selections may be made from this announcement.
• Salaries above are an approximation.

What to expect next

Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement.

You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Your assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.

You will be notified of your application status during the hiring process, as applicable. You may check your application status by accessing the USAJOBS website and clicking "Application Status". The process may take up to 6 weeks.

The four points of notification are: Application Received or Application Incomplete Minimum Qualification Requirement Met/Not Met Eligible (Application Referred) or Ineligible (Application Not referred) Selected or Not Selected *Based upon your score, you may be referred to the hiring official.

If your name is referred to the hiring official, you may be contacted directly by that office for a possible interview. You will receive notice via email once this process is completed (generally 4-6 weeks). We strive to extend a final offer of employment within 90 days from the close of this announcement.

Additional selections may be made from this announcement within 90 days.

Additional information

Conditions of Employment: Only U.S. Citizens or Nationals are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Dual citizens of the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ applicants, both U.S. citizens and non-citizens, whose job location is with the U.S., must meet the residency requirement.

For a total of three (not necessarily consecutive years) of the five years immediately prior to applying for a position, the applicant must have: 1) resided in the U.S., 2) worked for the U.S. overseas in a Federal or military capacity; or 3) been a dependent of a Federal or military employee serving oversees.

Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and (for scored examining) score 85 or better on established ranking criteria OR (for category rating criteria) rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria and must submit proof of eligibility for the special selection priority.

Additional information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility can be found by clicking here. Note: Multiple selections may be made from this announcement. Salaries listed above are an approximation and are subject to duty station locality adjustment.

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 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.

You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments.

To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.