Clarification from the agency

Current Federal employees in permanent competitive service positions (status candidates) in all U.S. Attorneys' offices and the Executive Office for the U.S. Attorneys, plus well-qualified surplus and displaced DOJ employees (CTAP) in the local commuting area. Internal Employees Only.

If selected for this position, you will support Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Criminal Division representing the United States in criminal cases in state and federal courts throughout the Southern District of Texas.

Typical work assignments will include:

• Performs substantive paralegal projects for attorneys working on complex criminal cases;
• Analyzes and makes recommendations on management issues in office operations, use of personnel, money and materials;
• Interfaces with administrative staff and management officials to ensure legal support services and administrative requirements are met;
• Acts as a liaison between the district and other government offices to ascertain records, reports, documents, etc., requested with pending legal matters;
• Reviews and analyzes directives, orders, manuals, and guidance correspondence to support compliance with district policies, procedures, and Department of Justice/Executive Office of the United States Attorney regulations;
• Serves as office manager for assigned areas with responsibility for law office management, case management, legal research and overall support to litigation activities of the organization;
• Plans and organizes work projects and assignments to be accomplished by subordinates, prepares schedules for completion of work in order to meet deadlines and ensures an even workflow of work;
• Implements and advises staff of new policies and/or modifies existing procedures;
• Provides trial team management by assigning legal support for each criminal trial;
• Plans work to be accomplished by staff;
• Identifies the developmental and training needs of staff;
• Hears and resolves complaints and grievances from employees;
• Effects minor disciplinary measures as required.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
• If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/.
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement.
• You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.
• If selected, you will be subject to the satisfactory completion of a one year supervisory or managerial probationary period unless this requirement has been met previously.
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.

Qualifications

GS-12: To be eligible at the GS-12 level, you must meet at least ONE full year of Specialized Experience as defined below.

Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level.

Specialized Experience is defined as performing the following types of duties: providing paralegal support to a professional attorney staff; managing a multifaceted scope of legal support functions; training and mentoring legal support staff personnel; performing extensive legal research in support of complex case work; conducting analysis of statutes, legislative intent, judicial precedents, agency rules and regulations, etc.; and providing and organizing legal staff support for criminal cases.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) - The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

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 you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.

You will be rated on the following Competencies (see The OPM Website for definitions):


The Occupational Questionnaire will take you approximately 20 minutes to complete.

You must provide a complete Application Package, which includes:

- Required: Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).

- Required: Your resume cannot exceed two pages - you will be deemed ineligible and receive no further consideration if your resume exceeds two pages - see USAJOBS for formatting requirements. Include relevant employment history as outlined below for each job:

• Official position title (if Federal, include series/grade),
• Employer name and contact information,
• Start and end dates (for full consideration you must include month, day, and year),
• Indicate full-time or number of hours worked per week if part-time, and
• A list of duties performed and accomplishments.

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.

- Required if you are a current or former Federal employee: a recent copy of an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing title, series, grade, and full performance level (FPL); AND a copy of your most recent performance appraisal. Please note your SF-50 must include your FPL in the remark section (e.g., appointment, reassignment, promotion actions), pay adjustments and awards do not include this information so they are not acceptable.

- Required, if applicable: CTAP/ICTAP documentation (a copy of a separation notice or other proof of eligibility) for priority selection; a copy of an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing current position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location; AND a copy of your most recent performance appraisal.

Current or Former Political Appointees: 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 by providing 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; and
• Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

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