Supervisory Paralegal Specialist

About the role

As a Supervisory Paralegal Specialist with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Office of the General Counsel, you will supervise and direct paralegal operations supporting litigation, electronic discovery, ethics and financial disclosure, Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act matters, administrative claims, and other legal matters, while providing technical guidance and managing paralegal program operations.

What you will do

• Plans, assigns, and reviews the work of Paralegal Specialists; establishes priorities, monitors workload, evaluates performance, provides feedback, and identifies training needs.
• Directs paralegal support for litigation and administrative proceedings, including case files, filings, exhibits, discovery, litigation reports, legal research, and document production.
• Coordinates electronic discovery activities, including preservation and collection, document review, search and analysis, privilege and responsiveness determinations, redaction, and production.
• Performs and oversees paralegal support for ethics and financial disclosure matters, including reviewing filings, tracking compliance, maintaining records, and researching applicable requirements.
• Oversees paralegal support of Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act litigation, including records collection and review, responsiveness determinations, proposed exemptions, redactions, draft responses, and administrative appeals.
• Reviews and processes Touhy requests, administrative tort claims, garnishments, and other legal process, and prepares factual analyses and recommended actions for attorney review.
• Develops and improves paralegal policies, procedures, templates, training materials, quality-control practices, and workflows supporting legal services and records management.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation May be required to successfully complete a probationary period Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required You will be required to report to an OPM assigned office.
• This position is not eligible for inclusion in a bargaining unit.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses to the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Accountability Customer Service Decisiveness Flexibility Interpersonal Skills Problem Solving Resilience Accountability, Developing Others, Interpersonal Skills, and Strategic Thinking Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. All qualified Non-Competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed.

To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position (obtain a score of 85 or higher on assessments); and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: ***

Documents you must provide

• Your Resume showing the applicant's name, email address, work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed to include pay plan, series, and grade level for relevant federal experience.
• Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications.
• Only the first 2 pages of the resume/application will be used to verify minimum qualifications.
• Please be sure to include specific dates of employment and work schedule(s).
• Do not include the following types of information in your resume: Classified or government sensitive information Social Security Number (SSN) Photos of yourself Personal information, such as age, sex, religious affiliation, etc. Encrypted and digitally signed documents Other supporting documents: Cover Letter, optional Most recent Performance Appraisal, optional Your most recent Promotion, Within Rate Increase (WRI/WGI), or Appointment/Conversion SF-50 or Notification of Personnel Action if applying as a current or former Federal / OPM Employee showing you are/were in the competitive service and the highest grade or promotion potential held, required if applying as a current or former Federal / OPM employee.
• Worker's Compensation Separation: Agency certification of inability to place employee AND Notification of Separation OR Separation SF-50.
• Disability Annuity Termination: Notification from OPM of disability annuity termination AND Separation SF-50 of the last position held.
• Military Reserve or National Guard Technician Special Disability Retirement Annuity under 5 U.S.C.
• 8337(h) or 8456: Certification of special disability retirement annuity from a military department or National Guard Bureau AND Separation SF-50 of the last position held.
• Veterans Employment Opportunity Act, Veterans Recruitment Appointment, and 30% Disabled Veteran Eligible: DD-214, SF-15 Form and VA letter, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days.
• Schedule A, Persons with Disabilities Appointment Eligibles: Schedule A letter from a physician, local, state, or federal rehabilitation office citing your eligibility under 5 CFR 213.3102 (u).
• Certain Family Members Eligible under E.O.
• 12721: Your most recent non-award SF-50 and performance appraisal.
• Certain Military Spouses Eligible under E.O.
• 13832: Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders; OR verification of the member's 100% disability (VA Letter); and/or verification of the member's death while on active duty (DD-1300 and Death Certificate) AND verification of the marriage to the service member (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage).
• Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable (e.g. Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.) Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package.
• It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

What to expect next

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. Your application will be evaluated. You will receive another notification about the status of your application.

Once referred, you may be asked to complete a structured interview, written demonstration, and/or final interview. Deliberate attempts to falsify information may be grounds for not selecting you or for dismissing you from the position/agency during the probationary period. We expect to make a job offer within 40 days after the closing date of the announcement.

After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation.

An agency may not request, orally, in writing, or electronically through the USA Jobs website or other electronic means, that an applicant for appointment for a position in the civil service disclose criminal history record information before the appointing agency extends a conditional offer of employment.

If you believe you were asked about your criminal history improperly, contact the agency or visit ***

Additional information

Relocation expenses will not be paid. Incentive payments may be considered. If you are unable to apply online and would like to request information about the Alternate Application process, please use the contact information at the bottom of this announcement.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across OPM. During the application process you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions.

Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment under Merit Promotion procedures, the veteran must be a preference eligible or a veteran separated after 3 years or more of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities: For more information on noncompetitive appointment authority eligibility requirements visit the following websites: Persons with Disabilities-Schedule A Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans Special Hiring Authority for Certain Military Spouses Other Special Appointment Authorities Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see ***) Reasonable Accommodation 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 an 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 an RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: *** As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period, or 2-year trial 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: - your performance and conduct; - the needs and interests of the agency; - whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and - whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

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