The Paralegal Specialist is located in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in the Ethics Specialty Team with the Office of General Counsel. The mission is to provide legal advice and services to the SECVA and all organizational components of the Department. The General Counsel is, by statute, the Department's Chief Legal Officer.

Duties

This is a non-bargaining unit position. This job announcement will remain open for 5 business days. The initial application review cut-off for this job announcement is 50 applications. The first 50 applications received will be considered first. Applications received after the initial cut-off number (50 applications) may not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management. Major Duties: Compiles and forwards the necessary correspondence advising of decisions or recommendations and prepares documentation according to the program guidelines and other applicable authority. Adheres to the direction and authority levels set by attorneys and supervisors. Prioritizes and manages assigned cases and program duties, in accordance with established deadlines and guidance provided by attorneys and/ or supervisors. Analyzes, develops, and applies relevant facts and law to assigned work. Maintains complete and accurate time and status entries in the organization's case management systems, scanning/ embedding case information, establishing follow-ups, and managing systems for sharing information and organizing program work. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: This position is telework eligible Duty Location Status: Washington D.C., Will work from a VA owned or leased space Position Description/PD#: Paralegal Specialist/PD33069A Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Physical Requirements: The work is predominantly sedentary, requiring some walking, standing, bending, lifting and carrying light to moderate weight and size items such as laptop, cables, books, files and paper.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
• Selectees are subject to a background/suitability investigation.
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selectees may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• A complete application package, i.e., Resume, Transcripts, etc., as required by the job announcement.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Participation in the Seasonal Influenza Prevention Program for VHA Health Care Personnel (HCP) is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs HCP.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Pre-employment physical evaluation may be required.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/23/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. Provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" to indicate your current federal status. You must also submit additional SF-50(s) to clearly demonstrate one year time-in-grade as required in the announcement. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one year time-in-grade. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. AND Specialized Experience/Education for the GS-11: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience analyzing and resolving issues with minimal guidance. Delivers effective customer and client services, to include fact finding, problem analysis, problem solving, legal writing, and attention to details. Prepares legal materials which may significantly affect the financial disclosure process or agency position. Ability to communicate clearly, verbally and in writing while working collaboratively with colleagues or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related If using education to qualify, you MUST submit an official or unofficial transcript. NOTE: Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for all grade levels for which both education and experience are acceptable. Superior Academic Achievement: S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties. To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above. 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; religions; 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 work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp

Education

PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

Contacts

• Address Office of General Counsel 810 Vermont Avenue NW Washington, DC 20420 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]