Summary
This position is located in the Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, Enforcement-Borrower Defense division (BDG). The incumbent is responsible for performing assignments exercising professional judgment on legal and factual matters relating to analysis and investigation of borrower defense claims.
Clarification from the agency
U.S. Citizens/Nationals
Duties
The BDG considers and issues recommendations or decisions on claims by borrowers who assert a defense to repayment of Federal student loans based on an act or omission of an Institution of Higher Education that gives rise to a cause of action under State law or Federal regulations, as applicable.
As a Law Clerk, GS-0904, 09 with significant oversight and supervision, you will perform the following duties:
- Prepare preliminary memoranda/reports outlining facts and legal issues, analyze the factual and legal issues involved, explain the application of legal principles and precedents to the relevant facts, and justify recommendations or conclusions.
- Conduct research in connection with legal questions, such as questions concerning the interpretation and application of statutes, rules, and regulations as they pertain to Enforcement matters.
- Review and synthesize evidence to support legal theories.
- Investigate and/or adjudicate borrower defense claims involving varied factual and legal issues.
Conditions of Employment
- Must be a U.S. citizen or national.
- Selective Service registration is required if you are a male born after December 31, 1959.
- May be required to successfully complete a one year trial period.
- Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
- Position requires filing of OGE Form 450.
- This position is included in the bargaining unit.
Qualifications
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: All applicants must meet the qualification requirements outlined below to be considered minimally qualified for this position. The qualification requirements are in accordance with the OPM Qualification Standards.
ALL QUALIFICATIONS MUST BE MET BY THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have a minimum of one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility comparable to the next lower grade or comparable pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector.
You may qualify at the GS-09 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement:
A. One year of specialized experience in the federal service or equivalent in the private sector to at least the GS-07 level, performing the following duties: 1) Training and/or experience in legal analysis and writing 2) Training and/or experience in legal research and 3) Training and/or experience in reviewing and analyzing evidence.
AND
This position has a Selective Placement Factor, which is a skill, knowledge, ability, or other characteristic essential for the job's satisfactory performance. The Selective Placement Factor represents the minimum requirements for this position and is a prerequisite for appointment. Applicants who do not meet the Selective Placement Factor are ineligible for further consideration.
Selective Placement Factor: Professional legal training and graduate from a full course of study in a School of Law accredited by the American Bar Association. Note: The applicant must graduate from a School of Law accredited by the American Bar Association in order to gain this training. (Transcripts must be provided with application to be given credit.)
Candidates anticipating graduation by June 2024 may apply and should provide an unofficial transcript showing their progress to date with their application.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service program (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.
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.
FSA is a great place to work. We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including paid vacation and sick leave, federal holidays, health and life insurance, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), including the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). As an FSA employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a productive balance between work and home, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you, may include teleworking and alternative work schedules.
For more information about the many benefits available to Federal employees, please visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/benefits/.
As an FSA employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a productive balance between work and home, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you, may include teleworking and alternative work schedules.
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.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
How You will be Evaluated:
THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT WITH ESTABLISHED CUTOFF DATES. APPLICATIONS WILL BE REFERRED BASED ON RECEIPT OF APPLICATION AND ESTABLISHED CUTOFF DATES AS FOLLOWS:
- 1ST CUTOFF: December 21, 2023
- 2ND CUTOFF: January 22, 2024
- 3RD CUTOFF: February 22, 2024
- 4TH CUTOFF: March 22, 2024
- 5TH CUTOFF: April 22, 2024
- 6TH CUTOFF: May 22, 2024
- 7TH CUTOFF: June 21, 2024
- 8TH CUTOFF: July 22, 2024
- 9TH CUTOFF: August 22, 2024
- Final CUTOFF: September 30, 2024
We use a multi-step process to review and evaluate applicants:
1. Eligibility and Minimum Qualifications: Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your submitted resume and documents to determine if you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, including any required education, experience, and/or selective placement factors. You will be rated as ineligible if you are outside of the area of consideration (i.e., who may apply) or your application is missing any required documents. You will be rated as not qualified if you do not possess the minimum qualification requirements.
2. Rating and Ranking: If you are found to meet both the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, we will assess the quality of your experience and the extent to which you possess the required competencies by comparing your submitted resume and documents against your responses to the assessment questionnaire. (The assessment questionnaire is the list of questions in the automated system that you will have an opportunity to answer once you apply for the position). Based on the outcome of this evaluation, you will be assigned a numerical score (out of 100 possible). If your responses to the assessment questionnaire are not substantiated by your submitted resume, you may be eliminated from receiving further consideration.
Required Competencies:
- Skill in legal analysis and writing
- Legal research skill.
- Skill in analysis of evidence
- Skill in applying the law to specific facts, cases, or claims.
3. Referral and Selection: If you are found to be amongst the most highly qualified applicants, you will be referred to the selecting official. As part of the assessment and selection process, the selecting official may invite you to participate in a structured interview, check your references, and/or request that you submit a writing sample or complete a written assessment or exercise to further evaluate your qualifications for this position.
We will review your application and documentation submitted to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will refer all qualified candidates to the Selecting Official of the job for further review and consideration. You will be evaluated to determine if you meet qualifications required, and on the extent to which your application shows that you possess the competencies associated with this position as defined below. Please be sure to give examples in your resume and explain how often you used these skills, the complexity of the knowledge you possessed, the level of people you interacted with, and the complexity and sensitivity of the issues you handled.
You may preview questions for this vacancy.
A complete application package includes a resume, required documents and completion of the vacancy announcement questionnaire. Please see this guidance: What to include in your resume (https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include/)
1. Resume: At a minimum, your resume must indicate: job title(s) (include job series and grade, if federal); duties description; education; starting and ending dates (month and year); and either full-time or hours worked per week. If a part- time work schedule is reflected, the hours must be annotated to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade. Your resume should describe your specialized experience and support your answers to the vacancy announcement questionnaire.
2. SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action (current Federal employees only): If you are a current or former Federal employee, you must provide the most current Notification of Personnel Action (Form SF-50).
3. Veteran's documentation: If you are requesting consideration under Veterans Employment Opportunity Act or Veterans Readjustment Act you must submit the Member 4 copy of your DD-214 stating disposition of discharge or character of service or other valid proof of eligibility (i.e., statement of service that shows service dates AND character of service) and/or any other required supporting documents (VA Letter). http://www.opm.gov/staffingPortal/Vetguide.asp#VeteransEmploymentAct1998
Active Duty Service Members: You must submit a statement of discharge/certification of release or an official written document 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 from the date the announcement closes. Enlisted Record Briefs and military identification do NOT qualify as official documentation. If the appropriate information is not submitted to confirm the discharge status, dates of service, etc., you will not be considered for this job opportunity under Veteran Preference procedures. To gain access to your DD-214 online please visit http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records (http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records)
4. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) documentation: If you are a displaced Federal employee within the local commuting area, you must include: 1) Proof you are a displaced Federal employee, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be rated well-qualified or above 85 on the rating criteria for this position.
5. Special Hiring Authority. Applicants who are eligible to be considered based on a Special Hiring Authority (i.e. Schedule A, VRA, and 30% or More Disabled Veterans) must submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility.
6. College transcripts (i.e., Law school) if qualifying based on education.
7. Writing Sample: May be requested of the candidates who are selected for interviews. Candidates will be asked to provide any representative legal memo that demonstrates writing style and analytical ability. The sample should be written entirely by candidate, light editing by others if any. Will be considered as part of overall candidate assessment.
8. Cover Letter: We strongly recommend you submit a Cover Letter highlighting your relevant skills and experience, describing your interest in enforcement issues generally and pertaining to higher education such as borrower defense or federal student loans specifically (if applicable), and explaining how your professional experiences relate to the qualifications listed above.
PLEASE NOTE: The eligibility section of the application process is designed to allow you to choose how you wish to be considered for this vacancy announcement. You will ONLY be considered for the appointment eligibilities that you select. You must provide the supporting documentation to support your claim.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov.
Step 2: All applicants are required to submit a resume either by creating one is USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. Ensure that your resume demonstrates your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiates your responses to the occupational questionnaire.
Step 3: Upload any required documents into your USAJOBS account (must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX)).
Step 4: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire and attach any required documents. Verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the agency's hiring system. You will have the opportunity to upload any additional required documents in the agency's hiring system. Click “Finish” to submit your application.
NOTE: You may update your application or required documents at any time while the announcement is open by logging into your USAJOBS account, clicking on "Application Status," clicking on the position title, clicking "Update Application,” and following the prompts.
In order to receive consideration for this position, you must submit your complete application, including all required documents, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. If the vacancy announcement has an application limit, we recommend that you submit your complete application at the time of initial application. We will not accept any required documentation after the closing date of the vacancy announcement.
Next steps
As an applicant, you may check your application status through your USAJOBS account at any time. We will also notify you via email of your application status at three key stages in the recruitment process.
- Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will inform you that your application has been received.
- After we review your submitted resume and supporting documentation, we will inform you if you are eligible and qualified, if your application was referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation, and if you were amongst the most highly qualified candidates referred to the selecting official.
- Finally, we will inform you if and when a selection is made.
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