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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Paralegal Specialist

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  • Full Time
  • $85,447/year
  • Woodlawn, MD
September 18, 2026 Paralegal

Job Description


Duties
  • Coordinating with Board staff/Members on pre-hearing issues; Serves as liaison to all parties for in-person and virtual hearings.
  • Supporting staff attorneys through cite checking, legal research, document compilation, digest/index preparation, file research, and review of decisions for accuracy and formatting.
  • Drafting letters, memoranda, legal documents for opinions, reports, and briefs.
  • Ensuring accuracy of hearing records (paper/electronic) for Provider Reimbursement Review Board (PRRB), Hearing Officer, and Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board (MGCRB).

Requirements
Conditions of employment
  • You must be a U.S. Citizen or National to apply for this position.
  • You will be subject to a background and suitability investigation.
  • Time-in-Grade restrictions apply.
  • Selective Service: Males born after December 31, 1959, must be registered or exempt from Selective Service - http://www.sss.gov
  • If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-Verify" System.
  • All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.
Qualifications

ALL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

Your resume (limited to no more than 2 pages) must include detailed information as it relates to the responsibilities and specialized experience for this position. Evidence of copying and pasting directly from the vacancy announcement without clearly documenting supplemental information to describe your experience will result in an ineligible rating. This will prevent you from receiving further consideration.


In order to qualify for the GS-11, you must meet the following: You must demonstrate in your resume at least one year (52 weeks) of qualifying specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal government, obtained in either the private or public sector, to include:

  1. Conducting legal research of statutes, regulations, or case law in support of administrative appeals or litigation; AND
  2. Drafting legal documents such as letters, memoranda, legal opinions, reports, briefs; AND
  3. Performing cite-checking of legal documents using uniformed style guides (e.g., The Bluebook, Association of Legal Writing Directors, Universal Citation Guide, The Indigo Book, The Red Book); AND
  4. Using electronic case management tools to manage records, transmit work, or docket incoming and outgoing correspondence..
- OR -

Substitution of Education for Experience: You may substitute education for specialized experience at the GS-11 level by possessing a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or equivalent doctoral degree or LL.M., if related to the position being filled.

- OR -

Combination of Experience and Education: Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the GS-09 grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at the grade GS-11. Therefore, only education in excess of a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree may be used to combine education and experience.

TRANSCRIPTS are required to verify satisfactory completion of the educational requirement related to the substitution of education for experience and the combination of experience and education. Please refer to the "Required Documents" section below for the documentation required at the time of application.

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.

Time-in-Grade: To be eligible, current or former Federal employees and current or former Federal employees applying under the VEOA eligibility who hold or have held a permanent General Schedule position in the previous year must have served at least 52 weeks (one year) at the next lower grade level from the position/grade level(s) to which they are applying.

Click the following link to view the occupational questionnaire: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13066948

Additional information

Bargaining Unit Position: Yes - American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1923.
Tour of Duty: Flexible.
Recruitment Incentive: Not Authorized.
Relocation Incentive: Not Authorized.
Financial Disclosure: Not Required.

Workplace Flexibility at CMS: This position has a regular and recurring reporting requirement to the CMS office listed in this announcement. CMS offers flexible working arrangements and allows employees the opportunity to participate in alternative work schedules at the manager's discretion.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced federal employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit the required documentation and be rated well-qualified for this vacancy. Click here for a detailed description of the required supporting documents. A well-qualified applicant is one whose knowledge, skills and abilities clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements of the position. Additional information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Salary
  • $85,447/year


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