Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Chief Counsel, located in Los Angeles, CA and Seattle, WA.

Duties

This is a Recent Graduate appointment in the Pathways Program. Selected individuals are placed in a dynamic one year development program in the excepted service designed to lead to a competitive civil service career in the Federal government. At the successful conclusion of this program, the agency may non-competitively convert individuals to a term (position lasting 1-4 years with an extension up to 120 days) or permanent position within the competitive service. Conversion to a Federal competitive service position will be at the discretion of the agency and is neither guaranteed nor implied. This position starts at a salary of $57,118.00 (GS-7, Step 1) to $89,835.00 (GS-9, Step 10) with promotion potential to $ 89,835(GS-11 Step 10). GS Salary : Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. In this position, you will become a key member of the legal team for The Office of Chief Counsel. Typical work assignments include: Receiving, investigating, examining and evaluating subpoenas, and other requests for Agency and personnel information from federal and state law enforcement agencies for possible disclosure in judicial proceedings; Providing litigation support to attorneys in administrative and judicial proceedings, including compiling, organizing and analyzing documentary evidence of regulatory violations to be utilized by attorneys in administrative and judicial collection proceedings, as well as organizing, summarizing, and analyzing depositions and documents obtained during discovery phase of agency litigation Providing information and making recommendations in justifying the CBP's legal position in regard to legal challenges to Agency actions; Obtaining, organizing, analyzing and recommending agency action with respect to matters relating to the Federal Tort Claims Act, Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act; and Performing legal research and assisting with drafting advice in all areas of the attorney practice portfolios, ranging from labor and employment to trade, and enforcement law.

Requirements

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for the GS 7 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Analyzing facts and information to summarize it for use in penalty notices and decisions on petitions for relief Searching for citations of law, precedent court and administrative decisions, and regulatory material Reviewing legal documents to extract selected data and information relating to specified items in libraries and computer data banks Experience: You qualify for the GS 9 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Documenting, reviewing, recording, and correlating information and technical material relative to case preparation Analyzing and evaluating legal decisions and case files to identify relevant issues and potential evidence Conducting legal research concerning precedents and past court decisions; and reviewing and making decisions as to acceptability of evidence in fraud cases, significant seizure cases and in any case of unusual complexity Composing legal briefs, summaries of analyses and decisions, and pretrial documents Education Substitution: GS-7: Successful completion of one year of full-time graduate education from an accredited college or university may substitute for the experience required at this level. This education must demonstrate the skills necessary to do the work. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise a year of graduate education. If that information is not available, use 18 semester or 27 quarter hours; OR Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) may also substitute for the experience required at this level. SAA is defined as a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale, having a class standing in the upper third of a graduating class or major subdivision, or membership in a national scholastic honor society. Please see www.cbp.gov for additional information. GS-9: A Master's degree, two full years of graduate education, a J.D. or an LL.B. degree from an accredited college or university may substitute for experience required at this level. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise two years of graduate education. If that information is not available, use 36 semester or 54 quarter hours. Combining Experience and Education: To combine your education and experience, you must convert each to a percentage, and then add the percentages. The combined total of your percentage of education and experience must equal at least 100% in order to qualify. If your education is currently described in quarter hours, convert the quarter hours into semester hours by multiplying the quarter hours by the fraction 2/3. To calculate your percentage of graduate education, divide the number of graduate semester hours in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level, by 18. To determine your percentage of qualifying experience, you must divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by the required number of months of experience. Add your percentages of education and experience. The two percentages must total at least 100%. 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. You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 11/08/2023. In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. You are eligible for this appointing authority if you are an individual who: Completed, within the previous two years by 11/08/2023, a qualifying associates, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution. If you are a veteran who was unable to apply within two years of receiving your degree due to military service obligation, you have as long as six years after degree completion to apply. You must submit a copy of your transcripts showing type of degree received and date degree was received. In addition, if you are a veteran who was unable to apply within two years of receiving your degree due to military service obligation, please provide a copy of your DD-214 or a written statement from the armed forces certifying your dates of service and your rank, expected type of discharge and anticipated date of separation. To be eligible for conversion, Recent Graduates must: Successfully complete at least year of continuous service in addition to all requirements of the program; Meet the qualification standards for the position to which the Recent Graduate will be converted; Meet agency-specific requirements and expectations as specified in the Participant's Agreement; and Perform their job successfully. EXPECTED TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT: Orientation program for Recent Graduates hired for the program; Mentorship throughout the program; Individual Development Plan to create and track Recent Graduates' career planning, professional development, and training activities; At least 40 hours of formal, interactive training each year of the program; Positions offer opportunity for career advancement. Recent Grad Promotions: Per CBP Policy, Recent Graduates are not eligible for promotions while in the one (1) year program.A Recent Graduate may be eligible for a promotion upon successful completion of the program if he/she meets the OPM qualification requirements for the position for which the Recent Graduate is being considered. Advancement to the next level upon successful program completion is approved by the Recent Graduate's supervisor and certified by HRM. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information, review the following links: Background investigation and the e-QIP process.

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information.

Contacts

• Address Office of the Chief Counsel Please see HOW TO APPLY Washington, DC 20229 US
• Name: CBP Hiring Center
• Phone: 952-857-2932
• Email: [email protected]