The incumbent works in a legal assistant capacity involving the various legal service areas within the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), Primarily focusing on Federal Personnel and Labor Law.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
• Selectees are subject to a background/suitability investigation.
• 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 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 examination/evaluation may be required.
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/28/2023. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06.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. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. GS-06 Grade Level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized Experience is defined as: Provides information and assistance to visitors, claimants, petitioners, and/or their representatives in response to telephone, walk-in, or written inquiries. Drafts and edits non-legal correspondence related to case processing and litigation such as requests for information, information memoranda summarizing significant case developments, and transmittal correspondence. Knowledge of standard and legal formats, forms, typing policies, and specialized legal terminology. Serves as an administrative contact for new employee orientation needs and incoming and outgoing personnel. Ability to follow, update, draft and implement new office standard operating procedures on day-to-day task performed. Experience with Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook), Adobe Acrobat Pro, SharePoint and sending and receiving records electronically via secure applications. Serves as timekeeper, including reconciling time/attendance records when needed. Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. GS-07 Grade Level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized Experience is defined as: Demonstrating assistance to visitors, claimants, petitioners, and/or their representatives in response to telephone, walk-in, or written inquiries. General knowledge of the rules and procedures of various administrative Boards and Federal Courts as they relate to content and format of a variety of legal documents and other submittals. Determines which items can be handled personally, handled by other staff, and those which require the attention of Office of General Counsel (OGC) managers due to the sensitive nature. Drafts and edits nonlegal correspondence related to case processing and litigation such as requests for information, information memoranda summarizing significant case developments, and transmittal correspondence. Provides training and assistance to employees on assigned legal service areas and electronic systems. Serves as timekeeper, including reconciling time/attendance records when needed. 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

There is no education substitute or requirement for the GS-06/07 level.

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]