Duties

Summary

The Office of Enforcement Operations (OEO) oversees the use of the most sophisticated investigative tools at the Department's disposal. The Office also processes all requests for Criminal Division records made pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, and assists U.S. Attorneys' Offices in advocating the Division's position in civil litigation filed under these statutes.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Processing routine and complex FOIA/PA requests for access to records maintained by the Criminal Division.
• Serving as the initial point of contact to resolve technical questions within the Criminal Division related to FOIA/PA requests.
• Applying familiarity with the Criminal Division's organizational structure to ensure that all information maintained by any agency component that falls within the scope of a FOIA/PA request has been located and retrieved.
• Assisting litigation attorneys in preparing materials for judicial review in cases in which the requester files suit in Federal District Court for disclosure of Criminal Division records.
• Researching and analyzing complex, unstable, or uncommon administrative, program, or policy issues.
• Providing advice and guidance for issues that require interpretation and adaptation of guidance to particular situations related to the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act.
• Serving as the principal point of contact with attorney personnel of the Office of Information in review of Criminal Division determinations which are administratively appealed.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to qualify for this position.
• You must undergo a pre-employment security investigation.
• Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable.
• You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
• You must meet status eligibility for this announcement.
• Direct Deposit: All federal employees are required to have federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• The Criminal Division participates in the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program. E-Verify helps employers to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. For more information, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.

Qualifications

To qualify for the GS-11, applicants must have one of the following:

• Three (3) years of progressively higher graduate education, leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR
• At least one (1) year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-09 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include duties such as: processing routine Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Privacy Act (PA) requests; applying the policies, legislation and program provisions of the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act programs; researching and analyzing FOIA/PA information and exemption issues; and reviewing records for completeness and evaluating them against established laws and procedures; OR
• A combination of education and experience.

Combination of Education and Experience - Your current education completed is credited as a percentage of the education required for the grade level and your current experience is credited as a percentage of the total experience required for the grade level. The two percentages are added and must equal 100% in order to qualify for the desired grade level.

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see www.ed.gov .

To qualify for the GS-12, applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-11 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include duties such as: processing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Privacy Act (PA) cases, reports and projects; interpreting and applying the policies, legislation and program provisions of the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act programs; researching and analyzing FOIA/PA information and exemption issues; providing recommendations to senior staff on issues related to FOIA/PA cases; and reviewing records for completeness and evaluating them against established laws and procedures.

Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements for consideration by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

There is no education requirement for this position.

Additional information

Additional selections may be made from this vacancy announcement to fill vacancies that occur subsequent to this announcement.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) provides eligible displaced federal competitive service employees with selection priority over candidates from other agencies 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 over other applicants who are not employees of the Department of Justice if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instruction 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 score 85 or better using established criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application 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 can be found at https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/ .

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (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 score 85 or better using established criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility can be found at https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/ .

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

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 online assessment 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 assessed on the following KSA/Competencies:

Knowledge of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA)

Research and Analysis

Writing

Attention to Detail

Problem Solving

Reading Comprehension

Performance Appraisals and Awards:
You will receive an additional point added to your final score for your most recent fully successful or higher performance rating. An additional point will also be added to your final score for any one performance award received within the past three years that relates to the position for which you are applying. Please provide only one recent award. To receive credit, you must provide a copy of your performance rating and a copy of your performance award SF-50, if applicable.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Top Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

You are strongly encouraged to convert your resume to an Adobe PDF file prior to submitting your application, especially if you are submitting using a Mac system. Resumes not pre-converted to a PDF file will undergo conversion by the system. This conversion process may cause some formatting changes to your resume, including line and page break errors. To ensure your submitted resume does not display with formatting issues, please submit your resume as a PDF. This error does not affect USAjobs resumes.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete application package which includes:

Resume (cover letter is optional) - Applicants will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of experience or related education as reflected in their resume. Applicants are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show the possession of knowledge of the subject matter pertinent to the position and the technical skills to successfully perform the duties of the position. Your resume must include the following information for each job listed: month and year, start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008), and full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week).

Unofficial Transcripts (if qualifying based on education).

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applying as a status candidate with current or former federal service) which shows type of service appointment, tenure group, grade, and salary. If you are applying for a higher grade, please provide the SF-50 Form which shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s over one year old).

Most Recent Performance Appraisal (if applicable).

Any Relevant Performance Award (must attach SF-50)(if applicable).

Documentation of Eligibility for Special Hiring Authorities (if applicable) to prove appointment eligibility. Examples include: Schedule A disability letter, Peace Corps volunteer letter, military spouse hiring authority documentation, etc.

Current or Former Political Appointees (if applicable) - Please note on your resume and attach an SF-50. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office.

Schedule A Documentation (if applicable) - The Criminal Division welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities and is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department. The Criminal Division also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes directly to the Criminal Division disability POC, Megan Keate at Megan.Keate@usdoj.gov .

VEOA Eligibility Documentation (if applicable):

• If you are a discharged, non-disabled veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character discharge (Member 4 Copy), or other documentation of service and separation under honorable conditions. If you do not have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/veterans .
• If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, and 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
• If you are a disabled veteran, Purple Heart recipient, or parent or spouse of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a completed SF-15 ( https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf ) and all additional proof required by the SF-15, as applicable, if you do not have your Department of Veterans Affairs letter establishing proof of disability, you may request it at https://www.ebenefits.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000 .

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.