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Summary
As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.
This position can be located in the Brownsville, McAllen, Corpus, Laredo, or Houston office.
THIS IS A TEMPORARY PROMOTION NTE 6 MONTHS. MAY BE EXTENDED UP TO A TOTAL OF 1 YEAR OR MADE PERMANENT WITHOUT FURTHER COMPETITION.
This job is open to
Internal to an agency
Current federal employees of this agency.
Clarification from the agency
U.S. Attorney's Office employees in local commuting area - Current Federal employees in permanent competitive service positions (status candidates) of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas. Merit Promotion/Internal Employees Only.
Duties
At the full performance level, you will provide oversight to the District's legal support workforce. If selected, you will receive formal and/or on-the-job training as needed.
Duties include:

• supervises Criminal, Appellate, and Civil Division supervisory legal support staff and other staff;
• serves as a subject matter expert and principal legal support advisor to the executive staff for legal administrative matters and/or issues;
• develops litigation support policies and procedures;
• analyzes litigation support staff training needs based on periodic training needs assessments;
• performs a variety of administrative work to meet the operational needs of the assigned areas;
• advises on substantive paralegal projects for those attorneys working on the most complex federal cases;
• independently researches and analyzes specific factual and legal questions which present a variety of issues, including new and complex areas;
• analyzes factual and legal issues to investigate facts and organize appropriate legal sources.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
You must be a U.S. Citizen or National
Background investigation, credit check, and drug test required
You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable
If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement.
You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.
If selected, you will be subject to the satisfactory completion of a one year supervisory or managerial probationary period unless this requirement has been met previously.
Qualifications
GS-13 Minimum Qualifications Requirement- To be eligible at the GS-13 level, you must meet the specialized experience requirement defined below:
Specialized Experience: You must have one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: experience supervising a legal support staff; identifying employee training needs; evaluating employee performance; assigning work projects and establishing deadlines; providing paralegal support to a professional attorney staff; providing administrative and technical services with litigation support, eDiscovery services, and complex data management.
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)- The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in the announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)-The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
Additional information
Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized.
The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.
Benefits
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the Occupational Questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.
You will be rated on the following Competencies (see The OPM Website for definitions):
Decision Making, Leadership, Legal, Government and Jurisprudence, Planning and Evaluating, and Teaching Others
The Occupational Questionnaire will take you approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Required Documents
You must provide a complete Application Package, which includes:

• Required: Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).
• Required: Your resume showing relevant experience and dates (month/day/year) of employment and work schedule for each (e.g., part-time XX hours per week or full-time)(cover letter optional).
• Required if you are a current or former Federal employee: a recent copy of an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing title, series, grade, and full performance level (FPL); AND a copy of your most recent performance appraisal. Please note your SF-50 must include your FPL in the remark section (e.g., appointment, reassignment, promotion actions), pay adjustments and awards do not include this information so they are not acceptable.
• Required, if applicable: CTAP/ICTAP documentation (a copy of a separation notice or other proof of eligibility) for priority selection; a copy of an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing current position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location; AND a copy of your most recent performance appraisal.

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.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 05/17/2024 to receive consideration.
1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2. Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package. (It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation are submitted prior to the closing date.)
3. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12409788
You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. If you are unable to apply online, contactDoriane Lewis at 7135679348 or Doriane.Lewis@usdoj.gov as soon as possible to arrange an alternative application process.
You must specify in your questionnaire under what authority you wish to be considered and submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility.
Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal Agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Agency contact information
Doriane Lewis
Phone
7135679348
Email
Doriane.Lewis@usdoj.gov
Address
Southern District of Texas
1000 Louisiana Street
Suite 2300
Houston, TX 77002
US
Next steps
We will notify you of the outcome after each step of the recruitment process has been completed. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation, to include a credit check, and drug test by urinalysis. We expect to make a final job offer within 80 days after the closing date of the announcement.