Paralegal Specialist, NB-0950-IV/V

Summary

As a Paralegal Specialist, you will assume responsibility for a wide range of assignments that support complex legal work performed by attorneys to ensure creation of as thorough and professional a work product as possible. This position is located in Chief Counsel's Office headquartered in Washington, DC.

Duties

The following are the duties of the Paralegal Specialist at the full performance NB-V level. If you are selected at the NB-IV level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties and will receive training to help you grow in this position. As a Paralegal Specialist, you will: Perform various research to assist in the creation of legal work products and case strategies. Proofread legal writing for any errors, clarity of context and accuracy of case citations in accordance with the Uniform System of Citation. Receive, review, analyze and process all requests for OCC documents and testimony pursuant to 12 C. F.R. Part 4, Subpart C. Determine specific information sought and decide which OCC records are likely sources of the information. Assemble and organize administrative records in connection with litigation on branch, charter, relocation and other bank supervisory and regulatory decisions of the OCC and prepare statement of facts summarizing record and referring to pertinent pages of it for use in legal briefs. Assemble, organize, and index administrative records in connection with EEOC/MSPB hearings. Create document retrieval systems and databases, of varying levels of complexity, with minimal supervision. Maintain knowledge of the litigation system to include: court and administrative rules, processes, and procedures. Take initiative to establish, maintain, and be an active and integral part of a team providing paralegal and technical support to attorneys in professional manner.

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements by closing date of the announcement. NB-IV: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the NB-III band level or GS-7 grade level in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience for this position include: Experience assisting in conducting legal research using statutes, regulations, case law, agency guidance, and other legal authorities to support attorneys in the preparation of legal analyses, memoranda, and/or case strategy. OR Master's or equivalent graduate degree; 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.B or JD., if related; OR A combination of specialized experience and graduate level education. NB-V: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the NB-IV band level or GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience for this position include: Experience conducting legal research using statutes, regulations, case law, agency guidance, and other legal authorities to support attorneys in the preparation of legal analyses, memoranda, and/or case strategy. OR Experience managing and maintaining legal case files and tracking deadlines, filings, discovery responses, and/or other case activities to support timely and effective case management. The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector, or through volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To receive any credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate the number of hours worked per week, on your resume.

Education

Please see Qualifications section for education.

How You Will Be Evaluated

Your application package includes your resume, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination. Once the announcement closes, we will conduct a review of your application package to verify your eligibility and qualifications. If you are found qualified, your application will move forward to additional phases of the review process. Minimum Qualifications: Once the application process is complete, Human Resources or Subject Matter Expert (SME) will review the first two pages of your resume and supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the minimum job qualifications. Resume Evaluation Panel Review: After it has been determined that you meet the minimum qualifications, Subject matter experts (SMEs) may review the first two pages of your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required competencies. Additional documentation (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume) may not be considered. Your application and resume should demonstrate that you possess the following competencies. Do not provide a separate narrative written statement. Rather, you must describe in your resume how your past work experience demonstrates that you possess the competencies identified below. Use specific examples of employment or experience contained in your resume and describe how this experience has prepared you to successfully perform the duties of this position. Rating: Your application package will be evaluated in the following areas: Legal Research and Analysis Information Collection and Analysis Oral Communication Written Communication Planning/Organizing Teamwork Internal/External Awareness Partnering Rule of Many: This announcement uses the Mechanism C method under 5 CFR § 332.402. All applicants tied at the cut line will be referred. We will provide the selecting official a sufficient number of names, when available, to consider at least three candidates per vacancy. If fewer than three eligible and available candidates per vacancy result, we will expand the group in accordance with our pre-announced supplement strategy and OPM policy. Application of Veterans' Preference: If you are a preference eligible candidate, you will be listed ahead of non-preference eligibles with the same score. Preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more are listed at the top of the certificate in the order of their ratings. Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview. If you are a displaced or surplus federal employee eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP), you must be rated as well-qualified to receive special selection priority. "Well-qualified" means that in addition to meeting the minimum qualification requirements and selective placement factor(s), if applicable, you must be assigned to the Outstanding or Excellent category.

Required Documents

A complete application package includes: 1) A resume, 2) vacancy question responses, and 3) submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible). Note: Please ensure that all bank, financial, and other confidential or sensitive information is removed/redacted from each document. RESUME: All applicants are required to submit a resume by either creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. Please limit your resume to two-pages. Applicants with resumes exceeding two-pages will be removed from consideration. To receive any credit for relevant experience, please list the month/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please review Resume Tips. VETERANS DOCUMENTATION: If you are claiming veteran's preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing type of separation and character of service (e.g. DD-214 Member 4 Copy) and if applicable, VA letter. Ten-point preference eligibles must also submit an Application for 10-point Veteran Preference, SF-15, along with required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. Current Active Duty members must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days after the certification is submitted by the applicant. The certification letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the character of service. You can find additional information about Veterans' Preference at http://www.fedshirevets.gov/. CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (CTAP) or INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP) DOCUMENTATION: If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents. EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION: If you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, you must submit an official or unofficial copy of your transcripts, or equivalent, with your application. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions. OPTIONAL DOCUMENTS: In addition, you may submit the following: Cover letter Recent performance evaluation (be sure to redact/remove all sensitive information prior to submitting)

How to Apply

The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete the online application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, you must contact us by noon Eastern Standard Time on the announcement's closing date. If you are unable to apply online, you must request an alternative application which is available from the Human Capital Office. Please contact Sam Reddy at Harnet.Reddy@occ.treas.gov or 202-649-5264 to obtain an alternative application. If you require a reasonable accommodation for disability during any part of the application and hiring process, please contact LaToya Wilson by phone at 202-649-6322 or by email at LaToya.Wilson@occ.treas.gov. Treasury provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. You must contact us by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the announcement's closing date to request accommodation. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. Ms. Wilson is not the point of contact for questions about the vacancy announcement. To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click here:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13071885. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the Announcement to receive consideration. To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Capital Office to determine your eligibility for the position. After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application.

What to Expect Next

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/. Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

Additional Information

This position is excluded from the bargaining unit. Salary range includes 25.72% geographical pay. If you are a current OCC employee who previously received a waiver determination permitting you to retain bank securities due to extenuating circumstances, please note that this determination may be rescinded if the nature of your duty's changes. We strongly suggest that you discuss the potential implications of any change in duties on a prior securities determination with your ethics official. We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more positions. The candidate selected for this position may be credited with directly related non-Federal experience for annual leave purposes if eligible and considered appropriate. Click all links in this vacancy announcement to view additional information and instructions. Please refer to "Conditions of Employment." Click "Print" to review the entire announcement before applying. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Treasury and its bureaus 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 ...

You must meet the following requirements by closing date of the announcement. NB-IV: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the NB-III band level or GS-7 grade level in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience for this position include: Experience assisting in conducting legal research using statutes, regulations, case law, agency guidance, and other legal authorities to support attorneys in the preparation of legal analyses, memoranda, and/or case strategy. OR Master's or equivalent graduate degree; 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.B or JD., if related; OR A combination of specialized experience and graduate level education. NB-V: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the NB-IV band level or GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience for this position include: Experience conducting legal research using statutes, regulations, case law, agency guidance, and other legal authorities to support attorneys in the preparation of legal analyses, memoranda, and/or case strategy. OR Experience managing and maintaining legal case files and tracking deadlines, filings, discovery responses, and/or other case activities to support timely and effective case management. The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector, or through volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To receive any credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate the number of hours worked per week, on your resume.