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USAJOBS

Senior Paralegal Specialist

DCFull-time

8mo

Duties

  • Examining and evaluating court orders to determine compliance requirements.
  • Reviewing and and approving recommendations and decisions.
  • Reviewing claims and making post-adjudicative determinations.
  • Responding to external inquiries from Congressional sources, attorneys, state agencies, survivors and others.
  • Serving as a liaison for internal and external customers.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
  • Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary period
  • Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required
  • This position is eligible for inclusion in the bargaining unit. The union that represents employees in this position is the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 32.

Qualifications

For the GS 12: You must have at least one year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the private or public sector) performing all of the following:

  • Performing work on cases associated with retirement, insurance, or other Federal benefits and entitlements; AND
  • Responding to inquiries from individuals or groups requesting privileged information or records; AND
  • Leading and directing work teams in the application of laws and regulations that govern federal benefits; AND
  • Performing assessments and evaluations of systems and processes to propose enhancements and optimizations.

Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Merit promotion applicants must meet the time-in-grade requirement as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. One year at the GS-11 grade level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS12 level.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

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.

Note: A full year of experience is considered to be 40 hours of work per week. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must clearly indicate their duties and responsibilities for each position and annotate the number of hours a week spent in each position. This may be reflected on the resume as either hours work or full-time.

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.

Additional Information

Relocation expenses will not be paid.

Incentive payments may be considered.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across OPM.

During the application process you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment under Merit Promotion procedures, the veteran must be a preference eligible or a veteran separated after 3 years or more of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities: For more information on noncompetitive appointment authority eligibility

Requirements Visit The Following Websites

  • Persons with Disabilities-Schedule A
  • Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans
  • Special Hiring Authority for Certain Military Spouses
  • Other Special Appointment Authorities

Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration )

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 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 if you received the link after the close of the announcement. 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