Paralegal Specialist

About the role

The Department of Justice (DOJ) leads the nation in ensuring the protection of all Americans while preserving their constitutional freedoms. As a Justice employee, you'll be a member of a team where you can achieve your career goals and apply your skills and talents to our important mission. Read more about the exciting opportunities available.

Mission: DOJ is to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights.

What you will do

• The purpose of this position is to serve as a Paralegal Specialist, providing paralegal support to one or more NSD attorneys engaged in national security litigations related to counterespionage and export control matters.
• Paralegal support and legal research assignments require significant knowledge of legislative and judicial decisions, opinions, determinations, and rulings of cases relevant to intelligence, espionage and FARA issues.
• A Paralegal Specialist at full performance level will perform duties such as: Performing administrative support to assist attorneys with daily operations.
• Designing user applications to meet specific automation needs.
• Maintain familiarity with the section's processes including case tracking and reporting Monitoring pending cases to maintain timely submission of legal filings

Education

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements, please see the statements below. Education must be reviewed and certified by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, in order for it to be creditable towards your qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from accredited institution.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements.

You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. education program.

It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website. If you are qualifying on foreign education, you MUST submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency.

All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

How you will be evaluated

Your application will be evaluated and rated using Rule of Many procedures under 5 CFR § 332.402 based on a set number of highest ranked eligibles. Preference eligibles will receive 5 or 10 points added to their score based on the adjudicated preference.

All eligibles at or above the pre-determined 75 highest ranked eligibles, including any preference eligibles with a service-connected disability of 10 percent or more, at any score, will be referred to the selecting official for consideration. The selecting official will receive a sufficient number of names, when available, to consider at least three candidates per vacancy.

If fewer than three eligible and available candidates per vacancy result, the referral will be expanded in accordance with DOJ's supplemental strategy. The selecting official will adhere to veterans' preference rules and Rule of Many procedures when making selections.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Attention to Detail Computer Skills Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Team work Teamwork Writing 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. The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies.

You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered.

You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Your USAHIRE 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.

If you would like to preview the application questionnaire, please see: ***

Documents you must provide

• It is your responsibility to carefully review the list of required documents below and submit the necessary documentation based on your eligibility.
• Resume Resume - All Applicants: You must submit a resume (a two page or less resume is required) containing the following pieces of information for each job entry listed in your employment history: Official position title, Employer name and contact information, Start and end dates (including month and year), Indicate full-time or number of hours worked per week if part-time, and A list of duties performed and accomplishments.
• Veterans Preference Documentation: If you are claiming veterans' preference you must submit: (1) a copy of your DD-214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty," (Member 4 copy), showing the dates of active duty, type of discharge, and character of service, OR (2) a certification letter from the armed forces that certifies you are expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions no later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted.
• This letter must contain (a) military service dates including the expected discharge or release date and (b) character of service.
• If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference as a Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, or Mother or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, in addition to the documents specified above, you must submit all additional proof required by the SF-15, and if applicable, a completed SF-15.
• CTAP/ICTAP eligibility documentation - If you are a displaced Federal employee claiming eligibility under CTAP or ICTAP, you must submit: A copy of the agency notice (i.e., letter of intent to separate, separation notice, or agency RIF letter), Your most recent performance appraisal, and Most recent SF-50 showing current/former position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location.
• See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information.
• College Transcripts - If you are using education to qualify for this position, or education is required, you must submit: An unofficial transcript containing a full listing of courses, credit earned, grade and grade-point-average, subject area, degree(s) earned, and dates of award.
• Note: If you are selected for this position, official transcripts will be required prior to your first day.

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). You will receive e-mail notifications as your application status is updated by DOJ.

However, you can also see your application status any time by logging in to your USAJOBS account and looking on the "Applications" page. Click the position title to expand the display for each application in the list. 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

Additional selections may be made from this announcement. Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

Career Transition Programs (CTAP or ICTAP): These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service.

To receive selection priority for this position, you must: Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; Be rated well-qualified for the position [with a score of 85] based on the competencies listed above; and Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.

Probationary Period: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.

In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: 1) your performance and conduct; 2) the needs and interests of the agency; 3) whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and 4) whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor.

More information can be found here: *** DOJ Reasonable Accommodation Policy: Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly.

Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

The DOJ Reasonable Accommodation policy can be found here: *** Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs: The Fair Chance Act prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment.

If you believe a DOJ employee or Federal contractor acting on its behalf has violated your rights under this Act, you may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to the hiring office using the contact information listed in the announcement.

Note: In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201(b) certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance Act.