Legal Administrative Specialist

As a Legal Administrative Specialist at the GS-0901-9/11, you will be part of Retirement Services, Office of Personnel Management. If selected, you will be responsible for processing claims, reviews, and program evaluations intended to maintain the integrity of retirement benefits arising under the Federal retirement systems and enunciation of program policy.

Duties

• Adjudicating and/or making determinations of eligibility and entitlement on cases of retirement annuities and survivor benefits.

• Analyzing records and imaged documents to make decisions that may involve any feature of eligibility for retirement benefits or for health and life insurance benefits related to retirement.

• Acting on allegations of fraud or impropriety concerning the receipt of payments or benefits under retirement programs.

• Responding to inquiries from Congressional sources, agency and union officials, retirees, and survivors.

• Assisting employees of a higher grade in the preparation of regulation packages, bill reports drafting of instructional issuances or similar material.

• Providing advisory and information services to agencies through formally established channels on legislative changes.

Salary

• $70,623 - $111,087/year

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary period
• Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin
• Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required
• This position is eligible for inclusion in the bargaining unit. The union that represents employees in this position is the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 32.

Qualifications

For the GS 9/11:

For the GS-09: You must have one year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the private or public sector) performing the following:
1) Providing and explaining programs, rules and regulations to customers;
2) Addressing routine customer inquiries that require knowledge of Federal retirement and benefit programs; and
3) Answering customer inquiries that require making requested adjustments to annuitant records.
Note: Your resume must fully support this experience.
OR
Have a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or LL.B or J.D. (You must submit a copy your transcripts.)
OR
Have a combination of experience and education that meets the minimum qualification requirements. (You must submit a copy of your transcripts)

For the GS-11: You must have one year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the private or public sector) performing the following:
1) Knowledge of Federal retirement and benefit programs in order to address complicated customers inquiries via phone, email and written correspondence;
2) Reviewing cases of unusual technical difficulty; and
3) Reviewing and approving recommendations and decisions regarding annuitant records made by other specialists. Note: Your resume must fully support this experience.
OR
Have a Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D or LL.M.(You must submit a copy your transcripts.)
OR
Have combination of experience and education with qualifies for the GS-11 level. (You must submit a copy your transcripts.)

Applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-7 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-09 level. One year at the GS-9 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-11 level.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

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.

Other Information Relocation expenses will not be paid. If you are unable to apply online and would like to request information about the Alternate Application process, please use the contact information at the bottom of this announcement. Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment under Merit Promotion procedures, the veteran must be a preference eligible or a veteran separated after 3 years or more of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions. Reasonable Accommodation 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, based on your adjudication decision. 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 As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period, or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: - your performance and conduct; - the needs and interests of the agency; - whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and - whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period (or trial period) your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

1. Your Resume showing the applicant's name, email address, work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed to include pay plan, series, and grade level for relevant federal experience. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. Only the first 2 pages of the resume/application will be used to verify minimum qualifications. Please be sure to include specific dates of employment and work schedule(s).

• Do not include the following types of information in your resume:
  • • Classified or government sensitive information
    • Social Security Number (SSN)
    • Photos of yourself
    • Personal information, such as age, sex, religious affiliation, etc.
    • Encrypted and digitally signed documents.

1. Other supporting documents:
   • Cover Letter, optional
   • College Transcript(s), if qualifying based on education.
   • DD-214, SF-15 Form and VA letter, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days: for consideration under Veteran hiring authorities.
   • Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP)Documentation, if applicable (e.g., Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.)
   • Certain Military Spouses Eligible under E.O. 13832: Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders; OR verification of the member's 100% disability (VA Letter); and/or verification of the member's death while on active duty (DD-1300 and Death Certificate) AND verification of the marriage to the service member (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage).

Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.?

How to Apply

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 submit all 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.

For more general information, system requirements, reasonable accommodation information, 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.

You may preview the assessment questionnaire by clicking here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12900514