Supervisory Paralegal Specialist

Clarification from the agency

Current Federal employees in permanent competitive service positions (status candidates) of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Merit Promotion/Internal Employees Only.

If selected for this position, you will serve as the Supervisory Paralegal Specialist for Criminal Division in the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Typical work assignments will include:

• Oversees the work of paralegals and/or Legal Administrative Specialists, including providing training, mentoring, evaluations, time and attendance coverage.
• Plans work to be accomplished, sets goals and priorities, and prepares schedules for completion of work.
• ·Oversees performance management, developing training plans, providing technical advice and assistance resolve problems among staff.
• Assists attorneys in pretrial and trial preparation by preparing, reviewing and organizing discovery, and organizing exhibits to be introduced at trial; and
• Provides technical support to attorneys and government agents for gathering evidence in support of ongoing criminal litigation.

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.
• 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
• 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.

Qualifications

GS-12: To be eligible at the GS-12 level, you must have one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level.

Specialized experience is defined as experience performing a variety of analytical or legal work that demonstrates a practical knowledge of the litigation and judicial process, and applicable rules, regulations, policies, and procedures. Specialized experience is defined as performing the following types of duties: performing factual research to supply information for inclusion in memoranda, briefs and similar legal documents; providing technical legal support to attorneys in preparation for trial; conducting legal research; preparing for and conducting interviews with investigative sources and prospective witnesses; drafting memorandum reflecting facts, sources, citations discovered during the course of legal research or witness interview; and performing preliminary screening of substantive materials prior to review by attorneys.

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.

Next steps