Duties
As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.
The duties and responsibilities of a Legislative Specialist generally include, but are not limited to, the following:
* Prepares for Congressional hearings, including reading, reviewing, and analyzing a variety of legislative reference and information materials.
* Reviews transcripts to determine the need for additional information after the conclusion of testimonies.
* Prepares briefings for senior-level Department officials for meetings with members of Congress and staff.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a United States Citizen or National.
- You will be required to complete a pre-employment security investigation and background check which includes a drug screening.
- You may be required to complete a one-year probationary or trial period.
- Selective Service registration is required for males born on, or after, December 31, 1959. Those not registered should have an approved exemption on file.
- You must meet all eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement and continue to meet these requirements throughout the hiring process. Offers can be rescinded if requirements are not met.
- Additional selections may be made from this announcement, at any time, if openings occur in other offices serviced by Justice Management Division, HR Operations.
- A USA Hire assessment is required. An email will be sent with additional information after you submit your application. You will have 48 hours from the closing date of this announcement to complete the assessment.
Qualifications
To qualify for the position of Legislative Specialist, (GS-0301-12), you must meet AND possess the required specialized experience specific to the series and grade you are applying to.
Specialized Experience: For the GS-12, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty equivalent to the GS-11 grade level or equivalent pay band in the Federal service researching, analyzing, and formulating information regarding Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) AND utilizing a database management system to track and retrieve information for Congressional hearings.
You MUST meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/09/2025.
Your resume must support your responses to the questionnaire and qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating. See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume.
After you submit this application, you will receive an e-mail informing you that a USA Hire assessment is required of you. You will have 48 hours from the closing date of this announcement (01/09/2025) to complete the assessment as this assessment is part of your application.
Education
Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this position, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone. No substitution of education for experience is permitted.
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.
Review our 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.
Your application will be evaluated and rated under DOJ's Category Rating and Selection Procedures. Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the Occupational Questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted 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, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for Veterans' Preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.
When addressing the specialized experience statement, applicants must present evidence of the experience in their resume. If the specialized experience statement is repeated, in the applicant's resume, Human Resources will deem the applicant as ineligible.
Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, and other characteristics):
- Administration and Management
- Attention to Detail
- Customer Service
- Decision Making
- Flexibility
- Information Management
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Learning
- Problem Solving
- Reading Comprehension
- Reasoning
- Self-Management
- Stress Tolerance
- 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."
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.
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 or above based on the competencies listed above; and
- Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.
Required Documents
Documentation requirements may vary from applicant to applicant based on your eligibility claims.
For example, Veteran documents would be required only from applicants claiming Veteran's Preference. It is your responsibility to carefully review the list of document descriptions below, to see which documents are required for your application.
ALL APPLICANTS: You must submit a detailed resume containing the following pieces of information for each job entry listed in your employment history:
- Contact Information: Name, address, phone number, and email,
- Official position title,
- Employer name and contact information,
- Start and end dates (including month and year),
- A detailed list of duties & accomplishments,
- Your grade/step achieved, and
- The number of hours worked per week (or indicate full-time).
If you're unsure about what to include in your resume, please review the
USAJOBS Resume Writing Tutorial on YouTube. You are encouraged to use the USAJOBS
Resume Builder, as this will ensure you're including everything that is required.
If you are claiming a Veterans Preference eligibility:
- When claiming a Veteran's Preference, you must submit your last DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) form, specifically the Member #4 Copy, indicating dates and character of service and discharge type.
- If you are a Veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30% or more, you will need to additionally submit the SF-15 (Application for 10-point Veterans Preference) and a copy of your VA Letter stating your disability rating.
- If you are the qualifying parent or spouse of a disabled, deceased, or deployed Veteran, and are seeking a derived preference eligibility, you must submit appropriate supporting documentation such as the Veterans DD-214, SF-15, VA Letter, and/or Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders. See Veteran Family Preference for more information.
- For more information on each type of Veterans Preference, and the documentation required for each, see FedsHireVets.
If you are a displaced Federal employee claiming eligibility under CTAP or ICTAP:
- You must submit your separation notice or agency RIF letter from your agency.
- If you have not yet been separated, you can provide the letter of intent to separate you from the agency because of reduction-in-force.
- See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information.
If you are using education to qualify for this position, or education is required:
- You must submit a transcript, which may be unofficial, as long as it contains a full listing of courses, credit earned, grade and grade-point-average, subject area, degree(s) earned, and dates of award.
- Your transcript must come from a nationally-accredited educational institution recognized by the Department of Education.
- If submitting a foreign transcript, you must have the transcript reviewed by an approved foreign education review organization recognized by the Department of Education.
- Please do not submit electronic transcripts with documentation security protection, these may prevent our application system from accepting and processing the document.
More Info:
USAJOBS - What documents might I need to provide?
Application Manager Help - Documents
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 01/09/2025 to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
If you would like to preview the assessment questionnaire, please see: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12657034
- To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button
- Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
- Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on 01/09/2025.
- After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder.
- If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements (https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_System_Requirements)
- Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account.
To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (
https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to
Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account:
https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. All of your applications will appear on the
Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an
Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application, including the invitation to take the USA Hire assessment. 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/
Next steps
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.
To be considered for the position, you must meet all qualifications, including meeting or exceeding the cut score on the required assessments.