Legal Instruments Examiner Job in Honolulu, HI

Vacancy No. 20241114-58787-10751-AJ-DE Department U.S. Coast Guard
Salary $36,878.00 to $53,635.00 Grade 4 to 5
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 12/20/2024 Close Date 1/19/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Honolulu, HI


Summary

This vacancy is for a GS - 0963 - 4/5, Legal Instruments Examiner located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, REGIONAL EXAM CENTER-HONOLULU. Duty station is located in Honolulu, HI.

Promotion Potential: If this position is filled at a level below the full performance level, the selectee may be promoted without further competition. This implies no promise or guarantee of a promotion.
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This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Open to the Public

Duties

You will serve as a Legal Instruments Examiner and be responsible for administrative support in the areas of collecting payments for user fees charged by the Coast Guard for various merchant mariner credentialing functions and initial review and processing of applications. Assists merchant mariners in understanding the procedures and requirements when applying for a merchant mariner credential (MMC). Performs all duties necessary for maintaining appropriate records related to the collection of fees, the proper initial processing of MMC applications.

Being a Coast Guard civilian makes you a valuable member of the Coast Guard team. Typical work assignments include:

  • Serving as the REC Mariner Credential User Fee Collection Clerk (MCUFC). Receiving, safeguarding, accounting, verifying, and forwarding Mariner Credentialing Program collections in accordance with prescribed collection policies and procedures.
  • Responsible for the initial reviewing and processing of applications for Coast Guard MMC's
  • Examining applications identifying non-conformities prior to their submission to the National Maritime Center (NMC).
  • Responsible for the accurate entry of applicant information and examination results into the Merchant Mariner Licensing and Documentation (MMLD) system.
  • Scheduling mariners for appointments to submit applications or examinations with applicants who have been approved to test for merchant mariner credentials

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

Key Requirements:

  1. Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  2. Must be registered or exempt from the Selective Service. See www.sss.gov
  3. A one-year probationary period may be required.
  4. Suitable for Federal employment determined by background investigation.

Qualifications

To qualify at the GS-04 grade level, applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-03 grade level in the federal sector. General experience is the experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of the position and is typically in or related to this line of work.

Specialized experience must include the following:

  • Responding to in-person customer inquiries and requests for assistance; providing remote assistance (e.g., via telephone, email, or mail) to customers; establishing priorities to meet deadlines.

OR

Two years of education above high school.

OR

To qualify at the GS-05 grade level, applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-04 grade level in the federal sector. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work.

Specialized experience must include the following:

  • Responding to in-person customer inquiries and requests for assistance; providing remote assistance (e.g., via telephone, email, or mail) to customers; establishing priorities to meet deadlines.
  • Review and perform initial processing of applications, respond to inquiries both oral and written received from the public and/or governmental agencies, and draft routine correspondence for signature.

OR

Combination of Education of Experience; Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post high school education and experience may be used to meet the total experience requirements.

OR

Four years of education above high school.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed post high school education and experience may be used to meet the total experience requirements.

Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work.



NOTE: Education can be substituted for experience at this grade level.
NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application.


National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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.

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 position does not have a positive education requirement. If you are including education on your resume, report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Required Documents section for detail.

College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

Transcripts--If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide all unofficial transcripts (undergraduate, graduate, etc.) by the closing date of this announcement or you will be disqualified from further consideration. Please ensure that all documentation is legible.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications click here

Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.

Additional information

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 Personnel Management guidance and U.S. Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

E-Verify
DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.

Fair Chance Act
The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to alfreda.y.jefferson@uscg.mil.

Suitability Statement
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, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

Shared Certificates Statement
Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

Special Employment Consideration
The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

Recruitment incentives may be authorized.

If selection is made below the full performance level, the incumbent may be promoted up to the target grade without further competition, if all legal and regulatory requirements are met and when recommended by the supervisor. However, promotion to the full performance level is not guaranteed and is dependent on successful performance at the lower grade level(s).All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for the application and hiring process, please contact alfreda.y.jefferson@uscg.mil. Decisions on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Visit Reasonable Accommodation

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.

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.

We will review your 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 the on-line assessment to place you in one of three categories. The necessary Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities to perform this job are:

  • Compliance
  • Customer Service
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Technical Competence
  • Technology Application


If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:
  1. Best-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.
If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview. Preview the job questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12652768.

Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. (This position 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 veterans' preference.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not ICTAP eligible. View information about ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered eligible under ICTAP, you must be placed in the well-qualified category for this position, as described above. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement.

Required Documents

  • Your resume - showing relevant work/volunteer experience, education, and training. Include the start and end dates (from month/date/year to month/date/year) and the number of hours per week worked/volunteered.
  • Your responses to the job questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12652768-
  • Are you a current or former federal employee? Submit a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action that demonstrates your eligibility for consideration, e.g., length of time you have been in your current grade; your highest grade held; your current promotion potential and proof of permanent appointment if applying based on an interchange agreement. Examples of appropriate SF-50s include promotions, within-grade increases and accessions.
  • Are you qualifying based on education? Submit a copy of your college transcript (unofficial is acceptable) from an accredited institution. Once selected and prior to appointment, applicants must provide an official college transcript. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. For example, specific courses accepted for college-level credit by an accredited U.S. college or university, or foreign education evaluated by an organization recognized for accreditation by the Department of Education as education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. college or university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications for more information.
  • Are you a veteran? You must provide acceptable documentation of your preference or appointment eligibility. The member 4 copy of your DD214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty," is preferable. If claiming 10-point preference, you will need to submit a Standard Form (SF-15), "Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference." If applying based on eligibility under the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act, you must submit certification from the Armed Forces that you will be discharged or released from active duty within 120 days from the date on the certification. This must indicate your dates of service, your rank, and confirm that you will be separated under honorable conditions. View more veterans' information.
  • Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Interagency CareerTransition Assistance Program (ICTAP)?
Submit the following:
  • A copy of your agency notice,
  • A copy of your most recent performance rating, and
  • A copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, noting your current position, grade level and duty location.
  • Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SESor Presidential Appointee employee? Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:
  • Position title
  • Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee) Agency
  • Beginning and ending dates of appointment

6. OPM must authorize employment offers for former or current Political Appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political

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.

How to Apply

To begin your online application, click "Apply Online" to create a USAJOBS account and follow the prompts or log in to your existing account. Your application packet must include a completed assessment questionnaire, a resume, and any applicable and or required supporting documentation. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional information. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English. We encourage you to apply online.

Applications and supporting documentation will not be accepted by mail or email. The address below is for inquiries only. You may apply more than once, but the most recent application is the only one that will be used. You must submit your resume, your online questionnaire, and any supporting documents by 11:59 PM eastern standard time on 01/19/2025.

It is your responsibility to verify that any information entered or uploaded is received and is accurate. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. Determining your eligibility and qualifications is dependent on the supporting documentation and information provided, which may impact your referral for further consideration. If a document is not legible, you will not be able to view it in your application.

To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

If claiming eligibility under the VOW Act: The VOW Act requires Federal agencies to treat active duty service member as veterans, disabled veterans, and preference eligibles, when they submit, at the time they apply for a Federal job, a "certification" of active service in lieu of a DD214. In order to be considered under the VOW Act, the certification must specify that the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted with your application package for this job announcement. The certification must be on letterhead from the appropriate military branch and include the following information: military dates of service and expected discharge or release date, character of service, military rank, type of discharge, and date when terminal leave will begin. Certifications must be signed by, or by direction of military members' military personnel offices, unit commanders or higher headquarters. Agencies are required to verify a qualifying separation from military service prior to appointment, through the DD214 or other appropriate documentation. Your preference and/or appointment eligibility will be verified prior to appointment.

  • If you are unable to apply online, you must request an alternative application which is available from the Human Resources Office. Please contact Alfreda Jefferson at alfreda.y.jefferson@uscg.mil to obtain an alternative application.

Agency contact information

Alfreda Jefferson
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once you submit your application, we will assess your experience and training, identify the best-qualified applicants, and refer those applications to the hiring manager for further consideration and interviews. We will notify you by email after each of these steps has been completed. Your status will also be updated on USAJOBS throughout the process. To check your status, log on to your USAJOBS account, click on "Application Status," and then click "More Information." We expect to make a job offer within 60 days after the deadline for applications. If you are selected, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation. View more information on applying for federal employment.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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