This position is located in the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division. The Section litigates complex civil cases under federal wildlife laws and laws concerning the protection of marine fish and mammals, including the Endangered Species Act, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Summary
This position is located in the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division. The Section litigates complex civil cases under federal wildlife laws and laws concerning the protection of marine fish and mammals, including the Endangered Species Act, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
The incumbent of this position will join a team of highly respected professional staff in the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section. As a Legal Administrative Specialist, you will perform the following duties:
Review Notices of Intent, Complaints and other legal documents to extract information and accurately complete data fields in the Case Management System (CMS).
Use word processing, database, and spreadsheet computer software programs to track case-related information.
Update case status in CMS and terminate cases based on supporting legal documentation.
Create databases; enter and oversee the entry of information, development of reports, sort, and search techniques in the database.
Coordinate with the litigation support staff in organizing and indexing documents and in microfilming the documents during discovery in cases,
Ensure accurate and timely submission of Judgment Fund Payments using the Judgment Fund Internet Claims System (JFICS).
Develop and research legal information. With the assistance of attorneys, conduct research of issues of defined scope and complexity in connection with legal and legislative functions.
Utilize various sources of legal references, such as books, records, maps, treaties, accounting records, and other legal documents.
Locate discovery information by searching interrogatories, depositions, government documents, requests for production of documents, and requests for admissions.
Independently prepare exhibits which may include charts, graphs, reports, photos, etc.
Prepare, analyze, and process legal documents. Prepare summaries of testimony (which require a knowledge of the legal issues and the procedural aspects of the law involved) and provide basic conclusions on factual aspects of cases for attorney review.
Draft legal documents (e.g., subpoenas, interrogatories, complaints, and pleadings) for review by attorneys and paralegals.
Perform timely filing to ensure that all court deadlines are met, all document components are complete, all parties are properly served, and all requirements of the court district are satisfied.
Prepare detailed reports of legal activities, analyzing data to report on trends.
Load case documents onto Westlaw for full-text searching.
You must complete a background investigation to include pre-employment drug testing.
Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable.
You must complete or have completed a one-year probationary period.
You must maintain a bank account for direct deposit of salary.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position at GS-9, you must have one of the following:
A. At least one year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-7 Federal grade level or above or (1) reviewing legal documents that initiate and conclude cases in litigation; and (2) working with complex databases, recording all required information into the database, and interpreting and reviewing the data to assure its accuracy and completeness; or
B. A master's or equivalent graduate degree or two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education, or LL.B or J.D. Such education demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position; or
C. A combination of graduate education and experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. (Only graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used in this calculation).
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 skill and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Time in Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements (one year at the next lower grade) by the closing date of announcement.
YOUR RESUME MUST support your responses to the online questionnaire and provide specific details as to how your experience meets the specialized experience as described in the vacancy announcement if you are using experience to meet all or part of the qualification requirements. Please ensure that your resume includes the month and year that you began and ended each position held or that position will not be credited toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. Part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience. Failure to provide details will result in an ineligible rating. Your latest resume submitted for this vacancy announcement will be used to determine qualifications and supersedes previous submissions.
Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
There is no substitution of education for experience at this grade level.
Additional information
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP): The Career Transition Assistance Program provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in DOJ with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies.
If you have received written notification of your eligibility for consideration under CTAP, you may receive special priority consideration for this position, if this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility and you are well-qualified for the position. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements and score 85 or better on established ranking criteria.
Selective Service: 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. Additional information is found at: www.sss.gov.
Benefits: DOJ offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Please review the link below for an overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal employees.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
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 online assessment 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.
All applicants' qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, and other characteristics):
Attention to Detail
Customer Service
Decision Making
Flexibility
Integrity/Honesty
Interpersonal Skills
Learning
Performance and Award
Reading Comprehension
Reasoning
Self-Management
Stress Tolerance
Teamwork
Please Note: Additional candidates may be selected if more positions become available in the Division within 90 days after the HR office issues the selection certificate.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Resume (not to exceed two pages) demonstrating relevant experience and dates the experience was obtained.
Cover letter (optional)
SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action which shows career or career-conditional tenure in the competitive service or Federal reinstatement eligibility, such as an appointment action, change in tenure, within-grade increase, or promotion,whichever is most recent. An Award or General Pay Adjustment action will not suffice.
Performance appraisal issued within the last 12 months.
Your online responses to the Occupational Questionnaire.
CTAP documentation, if applicable.
Your resume MUST include full employment information such as periods of employment with month/year started and ended, title of position(s), PT hours worked, and description of duties. If Federal employment, you must include the grade of the position(s) on your resume.
Do not include the following types of information in your profile or resume:
Classified or government sensitive information
Social Security Number (SSN)
Photos of yourself
Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
Encrypted and digitally signed documents
To prove eligibility for the special CTAP selection priority, you must submit a copy of your latest performance appraisal showing a rating of at least fully successful AND one of the following:
A separation notice;
A "Notice of Personnel Action" (SF-50) documenting separation;
An agency certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has been terminated;
An OPM notification that your disability annuity has been terminated; or
A Military Department of National Guard Bureau notification that you retired under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456.
You must apply online through USAJOBS. Click on the APPLY button. Follow the prompts to login or create an account, answer a few questions, and submit all required documents by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date to receive consideration.
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/.
If you are unable to apply online, you must request an alternative application which is available from the Office of Human Resources. Please see the contact information below.
Wildlife and Marine Resources Section
150 M Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
US
Next steps
Once the online questionnaire is received, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. After a review of your complete application is made, you will be notified of your rating and/or referral to the hiring official. We will notify you of the outcome after each step of the recruitment process has been completed. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation. We expect to make a final job offer within 80 days after the closing date of the announcement.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
Resume (not to exceed two pages) demonstrating relevant experience and dates the experience was obtained.
Cover letter (optional)
SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action which shows career or career-conditional tenure in the competitive service or Federal reinstatement eligibility, such as an appointment action, change in tenure, within-grade increase, or promotion,whichever is most recent. An Award or General Pay Adjustment action will not suffice.
Performance appraisal issued within the last 12 months.
Your online responses to the Occupational Questionnaire.
CTAP documentation, if applicable.
Your resume MUST include full employment information such as periods of employment with month/year started and ended, title of position(s), PT hours worked, and description of duties. If Federal employment, you must include the grade of the position(s) on your resume.
Do not include the following types of information in your profile or resume:
Classified or government sensitive information
Social Security Number (SSN)
Photos of yourself
Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
Encrypted and digitally signed documents
To prove eligibility for the special CTAP selection priority, you must submit a copy of your latest performance appraisal showing a rating of at least fully successful AND one of the following:
A separation notice;
A "Notice of Personnel Action" (SF-50) documenting separation;
An agency certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has been terminated;
An OPM notification that your disability annuity has been terminated; or
A Military Department of National Guard Bureau notification that you retired under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456.
You must apply online through USAJOBS. Click on the APPLY button. Follow the prompts to login or create an account, answer a few questions, and submit all required documents by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date to receive consideration.
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/.
If you are unable to apply online, you must request an alternative application which is available from the Office of Human Resources. Please see the contact information below.
Wildlife and Marine Resources Section
150 M Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
US
Next steps
Once the online questionnaire is received, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. After a review of your complete application is made, you will be notified of your rating and/or referral to the hiring official. We will notify you of the outcome after each step of the recruitment process has been completed. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation. We expect to make a final job offer within 80 days after the closing date of the announcement.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
