Paralegal Specialist Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 25-VCRS-AP-012 Department Offices, Boards and Divisions
Salary $68,405.00 to $88,926.00 Grade 9 to 9
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 1/2/2025 Close Date 1/9/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

The Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS) oversees the Department's program to combat organized crime by investigating and prosecuting significant domestic and international organized crime groups in conjunction with Strike Force Units and U.S. Attorney's Offices around the country, and prosecuting Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO), and violent crime cases against dangerous street gangs operating on regional and national levels.

Duties

As a Paralegal Specialist, you may perform such duties as:

  • Assisting at all levels in the development of criminal litigation, beginning at the investigation level, to filing pleadings with the court.
  • Working closely with attorneys in the preparation and filing of court documents.
  • Organizing case documents, conducting first-level document review, and coordinating document productions.
  • Conducting various document searches using document management databases such as Relativity.
  • Preparing for interviews, depositions, and hearings.
  • Conducting extensive and thorough research in a variety of legal and non-legal databases and providing information in response to a wide range of questions.
  • Preparing and organizing evidence, discovery and trial exhibits, such as statistical charts, graphs, and maps, to be presented in court.
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.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to qualify for this position.
  • You must complete the online questionnaire and additional assessment(s).
  • You must undergo a pre-employment security investigation.
  • Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable.
  • You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
  • Direct Deposit: All federal employees are required to have federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
  • The Criminal Division participates in the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program. E-Verify helps employers to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. For more information, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.

Qualifications

To qualify at the GS-09 level, applicants must demonstrate one of the qualifications as listed below:
  • Have at least one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-07 level. Examples of specialized experience include: conducting legal research; writing legal reports, to include summarizing factual information, legal issues, and case law relevant to a given case; and assisting with the preparation of exhibits, such as statistical charts, graphs and maps to be presented in court; OR
  • Two full years of graduate education or a master's degree, LL.B, J.D., or equivalent degree that demonstrates the competencies needed to do the work of the position may be substituted for the experience required; OR
  • A combination of education and experience as listed above. Please note, only education in excess of one year of graduate education may be used in this calculation.

Combination of Education and Experience - Your current education completed is credited as a percentage of the education required for the grade level and your current experience is credited as a percentage of the total experience required for the grade level. The two percentages are added and must equal 100% in order to qualify for the desired grade level.

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see www.ed.gov.

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For more information about this requirement, please visit the U.S. Department of Education website for Foreign Education Evaluation. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

Education

There is no education requirement for this position.

Additional information

Additional selections may be made from this vacancy announcement to fill vacancies that occur subsequent to this announcement.

EEO Statement: The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factor. Additional information on DOJ's EEO policy can be found on our website.

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:

  1. Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria;
  2. Be rated well-qualified for the position with a score in the highly qualified category or above based on the competencies listed above; and
  3. Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.
USA Hire Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 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. To determine if you need an RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire.

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. In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g, resume, supporting documents), your responses on 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):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


The USA Hire 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 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 online assessment 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. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Your application will then be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Names of all candidates in the best qualified category will be sent to the hiring official for employment consideration. Candidates within the best qualified category who are eligible for veterans' preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.

Veterans' Preference and Military Spouses: If you are entitled to veterans' preference or are a military spouse, please see USAJOBS Veterans Preference for more details or visit https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job-seekers/veterans/veterans-preference/#content.

Required Documents

You are strongly encouraged to convert your resume to an Adobe PDF file prior to submitting your application, especially if you are submitting using a Mac system. Resumes not pre-converted to a PDF file will undergo conversion by the system. This conversion process may cause some formatting changes to your resume, including line and page break errors. To ensure your submitted resume does not display with formatting issues, please submit your resume as a PDF. This error does not affect USAjobs resumes.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete application package which includes:

  1. Resume (cover letter is optional) - Applicants will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of experience or related education as reflected in their resume. Applicants are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show the possession of knowledge of the subject matter pertinent to the position and the technical skills to successfully perform the duties of the position. Resumes of any length will be accepted; however, only information contained in the first five (5) pages will be reviewed against the position requirements. Please ensure all information you believe is qualifying for the position is contained in the first five pages, or you may be marked ineligible. Additionally, your resume must include the following information for each job listed: month and year, start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008), and full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week).
  2. Unofficial Transcripts (if qualifying based on education).
  3. USA Hire Reasonable Accommodations Requests - If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you may be asked to submit documentation to support your request. This includes the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found here.
  4. Documentation of Eligibility for Special Hiring Authorities (if applicable) to prove appointment eligibility. Examples include: Schedule A disability letter, Peace Corps volunteer letter, military spouse hiring authority documentation, etc.
  5. Current or Former Political Appointees (if applicable) - Please note on your resume and attach an SF-50. 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, or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office.
  6. Schedule A Documentation (if applicable) - The Criminal Division welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities and is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department. The Criminal Division also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes directly to the Criminal Division disability POC at crm.schedulea@usdoj.gov.
  7. CTAP or ICTAP Documentation (if applicable) - 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.
  8. Veterans' Preference Documentation (if applicable):
  • If you are a discharged, non-disabled veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character discharge (Member 4 Copy), or other documentation of service and separation under honorable conditions. If you do not have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/veterans.
  • If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, and 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
  • If you are a disabled veteran, Purple Heart recipient, or parent or spouse of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a completed SF-15 (https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf) and all additional proof required by the SF-15, as applicable, if you do not have your Department of Veterans Affairs letter establishing proof of disability, you may request it at https://www.ebenefits.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000.

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

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments, and required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents sections. The complete application package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on 01/09/2025. The application process is as follows:

  1. Click the Apply Online button.
  2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
  3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on 01/09/2025.
  4. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
  5. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
  6. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
  7. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
  8. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
For more general information, system requirements, reasonable accommodation information, and to request assistance regarding the USA Hire Assessments, review the following resources: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_Assessments.

You may update your application documents and some questions related to your personal information at any time during the announcement open period. However, you will not be able to make changes to questions related to assessing the minimum qualifications and competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics) mentioned in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section above. To make an allowed update to your application, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.

Reasonable Accommodation Statement: 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 Human Capital staff at Human.capital@usdoj.gov. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Agency contact information

Human Resources
Address
Violent Crime and Racketeering Section
c/o Human Resources
1400 New York Avenue NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20004
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

After a review of your complete application package you will be notified of your rating and/or referral to the hiring official. If further evaluation or interviews are required you will be contacted. If a tentative job offer is made, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation.


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


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