Duties

Summary

Come work for the USPTO, we have been ranked as one of the best places to work in the federal government!

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been serving the economic interests of America for more than 200 years. We are responsible for granting US intellectual property rights for patents and trademarks. The USPTO is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, and has over 12,000 employees. For more information about the USPTO, please visit the USPTO Jobs Website .

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This position is located in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Office of the Under Secretary, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).

The TTAB is an administrative board that hears and decides adversary proceedings between two parties, namely, oppositions and cancellations. The TTAB also handles interferences and concurrent use proceedings, as well as appeals of final refusals issued by the USPTO Trademark Examining Attorneys within the course of the prosecution of trademark applications.

The incumbent selected for this position will:

• Coach the team in problem solving methods and techniques, provide advice on work methods, practices and procedures, and assist the team and/or individual members in identifying the parameters of a viable solution.
• Assist and advise the Supervisory Paralegal Specialist in distributing and balancing work assignments and ensuring that work is completed in a timely and accurate manner.
• Research and provide recommendations for workload adjustments among paralegal specialists to accommodate special circumstances.
• Train or arrange for training of team members in methods and techniques of team building and working in teams to accomplish tasks or projects, and provides or arranges for specific administrative or technical training necessary for accomplishment of team initiatives.
• Check work in progress and reviews completed work to see that the supervisor's instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines and quality have been met.
• Review, analyze, provide cite checks, and edits USPTO legal documents drafted by the paralegals for conformance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, the principles of the trademark statutes and regulations to ensure proper form, accurate code and case law citations, and continuity and clarity of text prior to document finalization.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
• You must meet time-in-grade-requirements.
• Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
• Suitable for Federal employment

Time-in-grade/band requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

You must meet the following United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements for the advertised position. OPM's prescribed Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Administrative and Management positions can be found here
You must meet all qualification requirements including time-in-grade (refer to 5 CFR 300.604 for more information on time-in-grade) by the closing date of the job announcement.

Specialized Experience:is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the federal service.

Candidates for the GS-12 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience for this position is defined as:

Experience preparing or reviewing final legal products for correctness, accuracy, and adherence to Federal and trademark regulations and providing formal or informal training, coaching, or mentoring to peers or other legal support personnel at the GS-11 level or lower.

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.

Education

Education may not be substituted for specialized experience at this grade level.

Additional information

Applicants applying for this position must be a United States Citizen.

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position.

This is a Public Trust position and has a risk level designation of "moderate".

Background Investigation - If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.

The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit the Department of Homeland Security Website .

Probationary Period- If selected, you may be required to complete an initial one-year probationary period.

All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.

Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid.

CTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a rating of 85 out of 100. Information about CTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: http://www.opm.gov/ctap . CTAP documentation requirements are listed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued.

All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. If you believe that you have been discriminated against and would like to file an EEO complaint, you must do so within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Claims of employment discrimination must be submitted to the attention of the USPTO's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity via email ( oeeod@uspto.gov ) or phone (571-272-8292).

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume and your responses to job specific self-assessment questions. Your resume will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to demonstrate possession of any specialized experience and how well your background and experience relates to the self-assessment questions in the job announcement.

The self-assessment questions relate to the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies (KSA's). You do not have to respond to the KSA's.

KSA 1 - Ability to coach, mentor, or lead a team and balance/distribute work assignments.

KSA 2 - Ability to assess training needs of individual team members and plan or execute training to meet those needs.

KSA 3 - Knowledge of rules for editing, such as correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation as well as checking information to accurately edit draft documents to include legal documents and standard operating procedures.

KSA 4 - Knowledge of Trademark Rules and Practice, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, and legal citations.

KSA 5 - Skill in oral and written communication to relay information, make recommendations, resolve issues, and advise or brief colleagues, management level staff, and executives.

Your responses to the self assessment questions serve as the basis for your initial rating. You will receive a numerical score based on your responses to these questions. Next, your responses will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information provided in your resume and optional cover letter. Your resume must support your answers to the self assessment questions, or your score may be adjusted or lowered accordingly which may affect your overall final rating. If referred all relevant documents submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the selecting official, due weight shall be given to performance appraisals and awards in accordance with 5 CFR § 335.103(b)(3), during the interview/selection process conducted by the hiring manager. Falsifying your background, education, and/or experience is cause for not hiring you or for changing your scored responses to questions you've answered, which may affect your overall final score.

Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the "Required Documents" section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).
To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process

Required Documents

PLEASE NOTE: Your application and all required documents must be received by 11:59 pm ET on the closing date of this job announcement.

A complete application consists of:

1. A resume or any other written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications; optional cover letter: Your resume should indicate your citizenship and should list your educational and work experience including titles, salary, employment dates, duties, experience and how it relates to the specialized experience in the job announcement. Please Note: Responses to job questions that are not fully supported by the information in your resume may result in adjustments to your rating. Any experience claimed in a cover letter should be substantiated by information contained in your resume. A HR Representative will validate the qualifications of those candidates eligible to be referred to the hiring official.

Supporting Documents:

1. Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) - For current and/or former Federal employees, your status eligibility and highest permanent grade/step/salary held in the Federal service will be validated with a copy of your most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" so that we may verify your time-in-grade.

2. Performance Appraisal - Recent performance appraisal with supervisor's signature showing the official final rating of record, and copy of incentive award(s). In cases where the performance appraisal is incomplete or unavailable, applicants may provide explanation of the reasons.

3. Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) documents - Applicants will be asked to submit:
(1) A copy of your specific RIF notice, written notice of your expected separation or other documents of priority consideration status;
(2) A copy of your latest SF-50 noting current position, grade, and duty location;
(3) A copy of your last performance appraisal and the rating; and
(4) Any documents from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

You can choose ONE of the following methods to submit Supporting Documents:
1) You can upload your documents when you register or update your information on the Dept. of Commerce site which you access through the USAJobs site.
OR
2) You can fax your documents to 571-258-4254 using the system generated fax cover sheet.

NOTE: The preceding documents requirement are based on job requirements and individual applicant eligibility. Not all documents are applicable to all applicants; if you are unsure which documents apply to you, contact the HR Specialist listed on 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.