The incumbent serves as a supervisor for para-professional staff as well as a senior paralegal specialist providing direct program and case services in one or more of the various legal service areas within DVA, including, but not limited to: Contracts and Procurement, and including Litigation.

Duties

The major duties of the Supervisory Paralegal Specialist include but are not limited to: Serves as a first-line supervisor for GS-7 to GS-12 non-attorney personnel, with responsibilities that include providing day-to-day oversight by communicating conduct and performance goals and expectations, planning work, and setting/adjusting short-term priorities and deadlines; assigning work to subordinates based on priorities, consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of employees; Provides direct legal services to clients on complex case and/or program assignments, including, but not limited to, handling, from start to finish or as otherwise assigned: tort claims, medical cost care recovery, employment law, loan guaranty, contracting, procurement, fiduciary and guardianship, ethics, research, veteran's benefits, information disclosure, and/or other legal service areas supported by OGC. Independently performs a wide array of research and writing tasks, including but not limited to: developing facts in complex legal claims and applying the relevant law to the same; researching and analyzing state and federal laws, rules, regulations, policies and procedures in order to reach correct legal conclusions on assigned legal reviews, cases, and/or investigation reports; Reviews workforce statistics and reporting data needed to support managerial oversight functions (i.e. workload balancing, work-sharing arrangements, client and incumbent satisfaction tasks, performance measurements etc.), and prepares presentation and briefing materials for attorneys and higher-level supervisors as requested. Note: These are not all the major duties for this position, please request the complete PD from the supervisor once hired. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday to Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Authorized Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Remote: This is not a remote position. If selected, you will be required to work at a VA-owned or leased OGC space closest to you. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Paralegal Specialist/PD33048A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Supervisory Probationary Period: Applicants selected for this position may be required to serve a one-year supervisory probationary period. Failure to successfully complete the supervisory probationary period will result in the employee being reassigned to a position in the agency of no lower grade and pay than the one the employee left to accept the supervisory or managerial position.

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, 08/23/2024. 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-12 level position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 level. 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 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 (GS-11 level) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience for the GS-0950-12 Supervisory Paralegal Specialist is defined as: Experience providing direct legal services to clients by handling cases to include fact finding, problem analysis, problem solving, legal writing, and interpreting regulations and policies. Coordinates and assist with Contract litigation in the GAO, Federal Courts and Board of Contract Appeals. Experience in case development including gathering all relevant facts and information needed for case processing, conducting legal research and applying the same to the issues presented, and interviewing witnesses/claimants and other stakeholders; Coordinates case assignments, reviews workforce statistics and reporting data needed to support managerial oversight functions (i.e. workload balancing); Supervises and guides less experienced paralegal staff; Acts in an informal or formal capacity as a mentor or trainer to new or less experienced paralegal staff. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analytical Reasoning Client Orientation Planning and Evaluation Conflict Management 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 educational substitution at this grade 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]