PARALEGAL SPECIALIST
Immediate Office of the Chief of Naval Operations See More Job Openings by This Employer
You will serve as a PARALEGAL SPECIALIST within NLSC.
Duties- You will perform a myriad of legal research in the complex area of tort law and ensures the legal sufficiency of tort claims adjudicated under his/her authority.
- You will research case law, administrative law, federal and state statutes, and other regulations, directives, notices, and manuals.
- You will review each claim to ensure it is legally sufficient under applicable statutes and regulations and, in the event additional investigation or information is required, independently initiates actions to obtain the necessary information.
- You will analyze issues received from claims attorneys to formulate appropriate queries for computerized legal databases, e.g., Lexis.
- $60,808 - $79,050/year
- Must be a US Citizen.
- Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
- Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
- New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
- Generally, current federal employees applying for GS jobs must serve at least one year at the next lower grade level. This requirement is called time-in-grade. Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
- Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
- Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
- You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
- This position may require travel from normal duty station to CONUS and OCONUS and may include remote or isolated sites. You must be able to travel on military and commercial aircraft for extended periods of time.
1) Demonstrating strong skills in independently researching case law, administrative law and relevant federal and state statutes.
2) Conducting comprehensive legal research to provide substantive support and select relevant material for claims attorneys.
3) Reviewing each claim to ensure legal sufficiency under applicable statutes and initiating actions for additional investigation if needed.
4) Processing and adjudicating tort claims in alignment with federal and state laws.
5) Analyzing complex issues from claims attorneys to formulate queries in legal databases and provide detailed research assistance.
Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management web site: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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. Education In lieu of specialized experience, you may qualify with the following education or combination of both education and experience: Successful completion of a master's or equivalent graduate degree OR Successful completion of two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree OR Possession of an LL.B. or J.D. that is related to this position being filled. https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/students/federal-occupations-by-college-major/ OR A combination of experience and graduate education as described above that equates to one year of experience A transcript must be submitted with your application if qualifying using education. See Required Documents for additional information. Other Information
This position is covered by the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program.
Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.
A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.
Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees.
A relocation incentive is generally a single payment intended to offset some of the relocation costs experienced by the selectee. A relocation incentive may be authorized.
During the application process you will have the option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions in the local commuting area. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/Documents/CivilianJobs/FedCivAnnuitants.pdf
ICTAP Applicants: To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority as an ICTAP candidate, displaced Federal employees must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a rating in the highly qualified category (score 85) or higher. ICTAP candidates must provide copies of all of the following documentation at the time of application: 1) agency notice; 2) most recent performance appraisal; and 3) most recent SF-50 or notification of personnel action that includes position, grade level, and duty location. Applicants who do not provide this documentation will not receive consideration as an ICTAP candidate. For more information about ICTAP eligibility please review the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/
Military Spouse Preference applicants will be placed at the highest grade for which they have applied and are determined Best Qualified (BQ). A BQ military spouse possesses knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies comparable to others who meet the competitive referral criteria for the specific position.
PPP applicants will be placed at the FPL, if determined Well Qualified (WQ). To receive priority consideration, the FPL must be the same grade level or equivalent of the retained grade or the grade held immediately prior to separation.
You are required to provide documentation that supports the eligibility and qualification claims made in your resume and assessment questionnaire. You must submit the applicable documents listed here and those listed with the eligibilities you select in the announcement questionnaire with your application package. Applicants who do not provide supporting documentation that fully support their claims will not be referred to the hiring manager. Cover letter is optional.
A complete resume is required. Your resume must show relevant experience, job title, duties and accomplishments. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. The following information should be provided in your resume, but it is acceptable to provide elsewhere in your application package: employer's name, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), hours per week, and pay plan, series and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09) for relevant federal experience. TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use the Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume.
Are you applying for a promotion? For GS positions, to be considered for promotion, you must provide SF-50(s) that shows you held the next lower GS grade for at least one year. SF-50s that have an effective date within the past year (e.g., General Adjustment SF-50 from this year or Within Rate/Grade Increases (WRI/WGI) SF-50 within a year) do not clearly show that you meet the one-year time-in-grade requirement. That means if you submit an SF-50 dated within the last year, you must submit another SF-50 that is dated more than one year ago to clearly demonstrate you meet the time-in-grade requirements. If you are a DoD employee, you can obtain a copy of your SF- 50(s) from MyBiz.
Are you claiming membership in any professional organizations, or possession of a license, certificate or credentials? Check the Conditions of Employment section above to see if any are required. If you claim membership, license, certification, or credentials, you must submit a copy of said document in your application package.
Are you using education as a substitute for some or all of the experience requirement? Is there a basic education requirement for this position? Check the Education section above to see what is allowed and what is required. Any claims you make in your resume or assessment questionnaire regarding education or degrees MUST be supported by submitting with your application official or unofficial transcripts or a list of courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned issued from your school. While unofficial transcripts are acceptable for initial application, an official transcript will ultimately be required if you are selected for the position. You may submit a copy your degree(s) if specific coursework does not have to be verified.
Are you a veteran claiming 5-point veterans' preference or claiming sole survivorship preference? You must submit a copy of your latest DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (any copy that shows all dates of service, as well as character of service [Honorable, General, etc.] is acceptable) OR a VA letter that shows dates of service or service connected disability AND character of service. If you have more than one DD-214 for multiple periods of active duty service, submit a copy for each period of service. If you were issued a DD-215 to amend aforementioned information on the DD-214 you must submit that too. If you are not sure of your preference eligibility, visit the Department of Labor's website: Veterans' Preference Advisor
Are you a disabled veteran or claiming 10-point veterans' preference?
If you are eligible to claim 10 point veterans preference you must submit a DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty as described above for 5-point preference.
You must also provide the applicable supporting documentation of your disability (e.g. disability letter from the VA) as described on Standard Form-15 (SF-15). http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf.
Are you an active duty service member? Active Duty Service Members are required to submit a statement of service printed on command letterhead and signed by the command. The statement of service must provide the branch of service, rate/rank, all dates of service, the expected date of discharge and anticipated character of service (Honorable, General, etc.).
Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents contain personal information such as SSN and DOB and some documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove said personal information before you submit your application. You must provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments, and required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
1. Click the Apply Online button.
2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
4. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
5. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
6. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
7. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
8. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire
For more general information, system requirements and to request assistance regarding the USA Hire Assessments, review the following resources: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_Assessments.
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Learn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
