This position is located with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Eastern Region, Office of the Regional Director, Division of Trust Services, Branch of Probate in Nashville, Tennessee. This is a Bargaining Unit position, for more information see What are bargaining units? NOTE: TRAVEL AND RELOCATION EXPENSES WILL NOT BE AUTHORIZED. ANY RELOCATION EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH REPORTING FOR DUTY WILL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SELECTED EMPLOYEE.

Duties

Provide substantial support assistance to and consult with deciding officials in the Office of Hearing and Appeals (OHA) attorney advisors in the Bureau and administrative law judges in the Office of Hearing and Appeals. Examine legal documents for the purpose of verifying ownership status of lands and resources, ensuring accuracy of legal descriptions, researches land titles and prepares an inventory of real property in estates. Apply specialized knowledge of probate legal principles to evaluate factual documents and other information to determine the level of legal complexity in Indian probate cases; assembles documentation into a probate case package. Review, analyze and make recommendations to the Office of Hearing and Appeals staff regarding proposed leases, rights-of-way, or other encumbrances of the trust or restricted land/assets in the estate Perform legal research to assist in resolving problems arising under federal, tribal and state case law applicable to the testamentary disposition of property, title status, genealogy and other probate matters. Interpret and implement the decisions of the OHA deciding officials. Responsible for taking all actions necessary to affect new land and resource ownership data and payment of any trust and restricted funds in the estate account.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship Required
• Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Indian candidates in accordance with the Indian Preference Act of 1934 (title 25, USC Section 472). Form BIA -4432 must be submitted with the application if claiming Indian Preference.
• You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit
• You may be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
• A background security investigation will be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication.
• If you are a male applicant born after 12/31/1959 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.
• Incidental Operator position. If you are required to operate a motor vehicle in order to properly carry out assigned duties, the 25 IAM 4 Motor Vehicle Safety Program Policy applies. A Link is provided in the Additional Information Section.

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for Administrative and Management Positions, GS-0901). GS-11: I have at least 1 year of full-time specialized experience or the equivalent, comparable to at least the GS-9 in the Federal Service (obtained in either the public or private sector). This experience must include the research and gathering of legal/financial documents that resulted in a Probate Case file assembly suitable for submission to the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA); reviewed and recommended approval/corrective action for case files prepared by Tribal Service Providers; thorough understanding and application of the regulations for Testate and Intestate Laws; conducted legal review of Probate Decisions issued by OHA for purposes of ensuring the appropriate laws were applied in determining the distribution of trust assets; upon expiration of the appeal period, initiated update of data in the TAAMS and ProTrac systems; initiated closure and distribution of estate assets through the Office of the Special Trustee, OR Education: 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or LL.M., if related, in an accredited college or university, in a field of study related to this position that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform this work. GS-9: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level in the Federal service(obtained in either the public or private section). This experience must include the following activities: research and gathering of legal/financial documents that resulted in a Probate Case file assembly suitable for submission to the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA); reviewed approval/corrective action for case files prepared by others, including Tribal Service Providers; upon expiration of the appeal period, initiated update of data in the TAAMS and ProTrac systems; initiated closure and distribution of estate assets through the Office of the Special Trustee, OR Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree (36 semester hours, 54 quarter hours or equivalent); OR LL.B. or J.D., if related to this position. GS-7: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level in the Federal service(obtained in either the public or private sector). This experience must include the following activities: processing legal documents for review by other staff; use of automated systems of record including TAAMS and ProTrac; use of other systems used for purposes of accurately identifying individuals and their relationship to others; ensuring the correct distribution of trust assets through legal research, interviews, and consultation to individuals and tribal government officials; determines heirs of trust or restricted lands and resources and verifies the accuracy and completeness of probate case files; OR Education: 1 full year of graduate level education (18 semester hours, 27 quarter hours or equivalent); OR Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) - see definition of below. SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled. S.A.A. is based on (1) Class standing-applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class, based on completed courses; or (2) Grade-Point Average-applicants must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (3) Election to membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society - membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Merit Promotion candidates must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the announcement closing date.

Education

If you are qualifying based on your education, you MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.

If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education which shows the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit:
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address BIA Center for Recruitment Anadarko P.O. Box 1487 Anadarko, OK 73005 US
• Name: BIA Human Resources
• Phone: 405-247-1600
• Email: [email protected]