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Legal Assistant

Department of Justice
Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.

Our highly-skilled, diverse, and innovative workforce creates a strong foundation of safety and security. Through the principles of humanity and normalcy, we develop good neighbors.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
06/27/2024 to 07/12/2024
Salary
$51,807 to - $74,584 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 07 - 08
Location
Atlanta, GA
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel may be required for training.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
08
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
SER-2024-0220
Control number
797598700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

• THIS IS A DELEGATED EXAMINING ANNOUNCEMENT OPEN TO ALL U.S. CITIZENS. • Duty Location: Southeast Regional Office, Atlanta, GA

Duties

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Incumbent serves as a Legal Assistant with primary responsibility to include analysis of, response to, and monitoring of requests submitted under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts, Administrative Remedy Appeals, and claims submitted under the Federal Tort Claims Act, Civilian Employee Compensation and Bureau of Prisons Claims Acts (FTCA/CECA/BOPCA), and inmate property claims. Incumbent receives service of legal documents, reviews for correct form and timeliness; annotates case files and suspense files to reflect due dates and notifies appropriate legal staff to ensure timely responses are made. Incumbent also performs a variety of administrative support duties, such as assembling information for various reports, briefings, conferences, designing and organizing filing systems, planning and arranging the maintenance and preparation of information needed for inter- or intra-office reports, making travel arrangements for legal staff, and completing Time and Attendance reports.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is Required.
  • See Special Conditions of Employment Section.
  • Selective Service Requirement: http://www.sss.gov

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP). The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1)this vacancy is within your ICTAP 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 rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified category using established category rating criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: Click Here

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (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 rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified category using established category rating criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at: Click Here

Qualifications

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following qualification requirements:

Education:

GL-07 and GL-08: As a general rule, education is not creditable above GL-05 for most positions covered by this standard; however, graduate education may be credited in those few instances where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position.

Experience:

GS-07 and GS-08: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level in federal service. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular qualifications to perform successfully the duties of the position, and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled.

Some examples of this qualifying experience are:

GS-07:

  • Experience in receiving and processing legal instruments, to include checking for correct form, timeliness, policy compliance, establishing and tracking suspense dates, and determining what actions are necessary.
  • Experience in researching and gathering legal information and documentation from files and records, policies, regulations and statutes, witness interviews, databases, and/or other sources.
  • Experience in recognizing issues that must be dealt with timely, promptly, discreetly, sensitively, and confidentially.

GS-08:

  • Experience with specialized legal terminology on citations related to the policies and statutes regarding administrative remedies, tort claims, and release for information requests, including understanding and recognition of their significance.
  • Experience distinguishing between a variety of legal instruments including petitions and complaints, Habeas, Bivens, Tort, Mandamus and various injunctive relief requests, requests for production, interrogatories, and requests for admissions.
  • Experience reviewing and/or drafting responses to Freedom of Information and Privacy Act requests, Administrative Remedies, and Tort Claims, proofreading for content, accuracy, policy compliance, typographical and grammatical errors, etc.

Credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**

Education

See Qualifications Section for education requirements, if applicable.

ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). 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, Click Here.

Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.

If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.

Additional information

This position IS included in the bargaining unit.

Special Conditions of Employment Section:

Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a pre-employment and panel interview, urinalysis, physical, and background investigation.

All applicants are subject to, and must satisfactorily pass all screening requirements in relation to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit check.

Additional selections may be made if vacancies occur within the life of the certificate.

Current Federal Law Enforcement Employees:

This is a non-law enforcement clerical or administrative support position (one-grade interval). Individuals selected for these positions will lose law enforcement coverage and will need to return to a position with "primary" law enforcement coverage to regain coverage.

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.

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. Based upon your self-reported responses to the assessment questions during the application process, your application will be placed into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Applications will be reviewed from the top quality category. Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement. If you are found qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to the responses you provided on the online assessment questionnaire.

NOTE: Candidates within the top quality category and who are eligible for veterans preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.

If you are entitled to veterans preference, you should indicate the type of veterans preference you are claiming on your resume. Although veterans preference points are not assigned under the category rating procedures described under "How You Will Be Evaluated", veterans preference eligibles are listed ahead of non-veterans within each category for which they are qualified.

In addition, qualified veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 10% or more are placed at the top of the highest qualified category as defined by category rating procedures.

Experience that would not normally be part of the Federal employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, Human Resource Manager, SF-52, etc.)

What Competencies/Knowledge, Skills and Abilities are Required for this Position?

The following Competencies/Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's) are required:

GS-07 and GS-08:

  • Ability to plan, organize and determine priorities.
  • Ability to analyze and interpret information and make recommendations.
  • Ability to communicate in writing, and interpret and edit written documents.
  • Ability to communicate orally.

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