Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG), Office of General Counsel (OGC). The OGC provides independent, objective and comprehensive advice and legal counsel to the Inspector General and the OIG staff on all matters related to the OIG mission.

As a Government Information Specialist, GS-0306-11/12/13, your typical work assignments may include the following:
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Reviews, analyzes, and processes initial Freedom of Information Act and PA requests, FOIA appeals, litigation, and whistleblower reprisal investigations for disclosure of information contained in DoD OIG highly sensitive and complicated records.
• Advises the requester of the legal stipulations under which the records/information was withheld.
• Assembles final response packages for both initial FOIA cases and appeals (redacted documents, final responses letter, and referral memos, if necessary) for review by the Initial Denial Authority (IDA) or supervisor.
• Interprets the FOIA and PA and pertinent regulations to determine which Act provides the greater benefit for release of information to the requester and which information is releasable to the requester.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. citizenship.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Position has been designated as Critical Sensitive. Incumbent is required to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
• Incumbent is required to submit to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and is subject to random drug testing for the duration of service with DoD OIG.
• Current DoD civilian employees are not required to submit to drug testing if moving from one Testing Designated Position (TDP) to another with no break in service, unless deemed appropriate on a case-by-case basis.
• If you have not previously completed a probationary period with the Federal government in a similar position, you will be required to serve a two-year probationary period.
• This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies within 90 calendar days of the initial issue date of the referral list.
• Position(s) may be filled by displaced Department of Defense (DoD) employees through the Priority Placement Program.
• All qualifications and time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
• Applicants who have held a non-temporary General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must meet the time-in-grade restriction.
• You may be required to complete a financial disclosure (OGE-450).
• Recruitment Incentive MAY be authorized at the discretion of the Hiring Official.
• The incumbent must adhere to the DoD Standards of Conduct.

Qualifications

FOR THE GS-11: Specialized Experience: You must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-09 or equivalent experience.Specialized experience is defined as: experience processing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, analyzing documents for equities and responsiveness, reviewing documents for release determination, and redacting information that is exempt pursuant to the FOIA. Must also have demonstrated a working knowledge and understanding of the FOIA.
OR

Three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree

OR

LL.M., if related to the position.
OR

A combination of education and experience as listed above.

FOR THE GS-12: Specialized Experience: You must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-11 or equivalent experience.Specialized experience is defined as: demonstrated experience processing FOIA requests, analyzing documents for equities and responsiveness, reviewing documents for release determination, and redacting information that is exempt pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act (PA); and have demonstrated significant knowledge and understanding of the FOIA and corresponding federal regulations, Executive Orders, Federal guidance and exemptions.

FOR THE GS-13: Specialized Experience: You must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-12 or equivalent experience.Specialized experience is defined as: A Specialized Experience is defined as: demonstrated experience independently processing all stages of FOIA requests, analyzing documents for equities and responsiveness, reviewing documents for release determination, and redacting information that is exempt pursuant to the FOIA and Privacy Act; and have demonstrated extensive knowledge and understanding of the FOIA and Privacy Act and corresponding federal regulations, Executive Orders, Federal guidance and exemptions.

You must meet the minimum qualification requirements as stated in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/Standards/group-stds/gs-prof.asp .

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 to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

Education cannot be substituted for experience at the GS-12 and GS-13 grade levels.

For the GS-11:

PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more that 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specialized in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Accreditation: Only degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements or to substitute for experience. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management website at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/ and U.S. Department of Education website at http://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html

Additional information

Working for DoD OIG offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health benefits and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.

Military retirees seeking to enter civil service in the Department of Defense now require a waiver if they are within 180 days following their official date of retirement (5 United States Code 3326.)

If applicable, you may apply under the appropriate Special Appointment Authority and be considered for non-competitive appointments.
Please see link for definitions of the Special Appointment Authorities: http://www.opm.gov/hr_practitioners/lawsregulations/appointingauthorities/index.asp

Veterans' Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA): See Veterans Guide for definition. Submit a copy of your most recent DD-214 (member 4) showing length of active duty, character of service, and type of discharge.

Disabled Veterans: See Veterans Guide for definition. Submit a copy of your most recent DD-214 (member 4) showing length of active duty, character of service, and type of discharge, and a VA Certification Letter.

Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA): See Veterans Guide for definition. Submit a copy of your most recent DD-214 (member 4) showing length of active duty, character of service and type of discharge and, if needed, a VA Certification Letter. The VRA appointing authority can only be used for grades up to and including GS-11.

Military Spouse: Submit a copy of the spouse's PCS orders or VA certification of disability or death of service member, along with any other documentation proving eligibility such as a most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action.

Family Members Eligible under Executive Order 12721: Submit a SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, from the position and any other documentation proving eligibility.

Interchange Agreement: Submit a SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, from the position and any other documentation proving eligibility.

Schedule A: Submit proof of disability in the form of written certification from a licensed medical professional, OR a licensed vocational rehabilitation specialist, OR any Federal agency, State agency, or agency of the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory that issues or provides disability benefits.

Reemployed Annuitants: DoD policy on employment of annuitants will be used in determining eligibility of annuitants. The DoD policy is available on http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/1400.25-V300.pdf .

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): Applicants must be well-qualified, which is defined as meeting all of the minimum qualification standards and eligibility requirements as well as possessing skills that clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position established by the Best Qualified category definition.

Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.

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.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirement listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application package, you may be excluded from consideration for this position. If you are found to be among the best qualified candidates, you will be referred to the hiring official for employment consideration.

All qualified candidates will be evaluated on the following competencies:

• Decision Support
• Oral Communication
• Writing

Preview the assessment questionnaire here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10575989

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Top Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk

Trust determination process
National security

Required Documents

Your complete application package includes:

Resume showing relevant experience (cover letter optional). Resume should include the following: where you worked, job title, series and grade, if applicable, duties and accomplishments, employer's name and address, supervisor's name and phone number, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), hours per week and salary;

SF-50 - All current Federal employees must submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 , Notification of Personnel Action, if applicable, which documents current Salary and Competitive (#1 on block 34 of SF-50) position occupied. If the position currently occupied is Excepted Service (#2 on block 34 of SF-50), you must provide an SF-50 that provides proof that you've held a permanent position with career or career-conditional status, unless your Excepted Service appointment qualifies you for appointment through an interchange agreement or miscellaneous authority. If currently occupying an excepted service VRA, provide an SF-50 documenting your current Veterans Recruitment Appointment. NOTE : An award SF-50 (i.e. cash or time off award) that does not indicate grade or level (i.e. pay band) or tenure to determine your eligibility for this position will not be accepted. **Current DoD OIG employees ONLY: you do NOT need to submit a copy of your SF-50(s). Performance Appraisal - All current Federal employees must submit a copy of their most recent completed annual performance appraisal received within the past 18 months. The performance appraisal must include the final rating. If a completed performance appraisal does not exist, is incomplete or unavailable, you must submit an explanation as to why it is not available at the time of your application submission. Mid-year progress reviews will not be accepted. **Current DoD OIG employees ONLY: you do NOT need to submit a copy of your Performance Appraisal. Veterans' Preference - To claim veterans' preference, submit a DD-214 indicating the most recent dates of service, character of service, and type of discharge. To claim 10% or more disability, submit a VA certification letter in addition to a DD-214 (If selected, a completed and signed SF-15 will be required prior to your entrance on duty.). Future military retirees can submit a "Statement of Service" if within 120 days of retirement. The "Statement of Service" must be signed by, or by direction of, the adjutant, personnel officer, or commander of your unit or higher headquarters and must indicate when your terminal leave will begin, your rank, dates of active duty service, the type of discharge and character of service (i.e. honorable).
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): Information about ICTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ .
• Military Spouse Preference (MSP) - Spousal Travel Orders/Permanent Change of Station(PCS) Orders, Marriage Certificate, and Military Spouse Preference Self Certification checklist
• Any additional documentation that would provide proof of your eligibility category for which you are applying. Required documents are listed next to the eligibility category in the "Additional Information" section above.

Submission of a resume alone is NOT a complete application. This position may require the completion of additional form/s and/or supplemental materials. Failure to provide the required information and/or materials will result in your application not being considered for employment. All documentation must be received by the closing date of this announcement.

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.