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Government Information Specialist

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Washington, D.C
Closing date
May 8, 2021
Duties

Summary

The position's primary purpose is to provide administrative and legal support services to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Privacy Act (PA) Unit. Incumbent uses discretion and independent judgment in application of a specialized knowledge of FOIA/PA laws, case precedent decisions, Department regulations, policies and practices of the Antitrust Division, and judicial or administrative proceedings.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

As a Government Information Specialist in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Privacy Act (PA) Unit, duties include:
  • Reviewing and coordinating requests with issues that require interpretation and adaptation of guidance to particular situations related to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and/or Privacy Act (PA).
  • Reviewing incoming requests, contacting the requester for clarification if necessary.
  • Researching requests, identifying legal issues, and analyzing whether there is any basis to assert an exemption to disclosure.
  • Conducting extensive record searches and making disclosure determinations.
  • Drafting outgoing responses that ensure complete coverage of all issues, proper coordination with the appropriate parties, and compliance with FOIA/PA regulations and policies.
  • Independently reviewing, processing, and preparing documents covering diverse and complex legal issues or problems, such as carrying out case development and documentation activities as a case progresses through the administrative appellate system.
  • Researching and analyzing relevant materials and supplying the Unit Chief, Supervisory Government Information Specialist, or other reviewer, with recommendations for action on these documents. Such issues may include the relationships of individuals identified in files in order to balance release of personal information with individual rights of privacy, and to evaluate release of information against possible harm to private financial interests.
  • Performing extensive legal research into the legislative history, precedent cases, decisions, and opinions that may be applicable to particular legal matters. Working with senior staff members on precedent setting cases and participating in special projects dealing with legal issues, which are novel or involve implementation of new legislation.
  • Staying abreast of all policies and procedures affecting records retrieval practices.
  • Developing, organizing, and providing organizational briefings and training programs on FOIA/PA policy, regulations, and procedures.
  • Incorporating developments in FOIA and PA law and legislation, including recent court decisions and agency policies.
  • Performing other related duties as assigned.


Travel Required

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

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
11

Requirements

Conditions of Employment


  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to be considered for this position.
  • You must undergo a pre-employment security investigation.
  • You may be required to take and successfully clear a drug test.
  • You must submit a complete application package by closing.
  • You must meet all time-in-grade and qualification requirements by closing.
  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: All male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must have registered for the selective service (see SSS.gov ). If selected for this position, the applicant must sign a statement certifying his registration, or the applicant must demonstrate exempt status under the Selective Service Law.
  • DIRECT DEPOSIT: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
  • This is a full-time, permanent appointment in the competitive service ineligible for inclusion in a bargaining unit.
  • This is a non-supervisory position which may require completion of a one-year probationary period, in accordance with 5 CFR 315.801.
  • The Antitrust Division participates in the E-Verify program.
  • When promotion potential is shown, the agency is not making a commitment and is not obligated to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval.
  • This position offers career mobility opportunities to qualified Legal Division/Office of Solicitor General employees, who are encouraged to apply.
  • Applications mailed using government postage and/or internal federal government mailing systems are in violation of agency and postal regulations and will not be accepted.
  • We place a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspective and encourage applications from all interested eligible candidates, including candidates from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, women, LGBT individuals, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.
  • Please Note: Additional selections may be made from this announcement. Also, a writing sample and a combination of 3 to 5 business and academic references may be requested of individuals identified as best qualified, to be forwarded to the selecting official along with your application package, upon referral.


Qualifications

You must possess one of the below requirements to qualify at the GS-9 level:
  • Possess one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-7 level. EXAMPLES of qualifying specialized experience at this level include: interpreting and processing Freedom of Information Act requests or appeals; determining the nature of records requests; coordinating and tracking records process request and appeals. OR
  • Hold a Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. OR
  • Possess a combination of experience and education. To combine education and experience, the total percentage of experience at the required grade level compared to the requirement, as well as the percentage of completed education compared to the requirement must equal at least 100 percent. Only graduate level education in excess of the first 18 semester hours (27 quarter hours) may be combined to be considered for qualifying education.

You must possess one of the below requirements to qualify at the GS-11 level:
  • Possess one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-9 level. EXAMPLES of qualifying specialized experience at this level include: evaluating Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Privacy Act (PA) issues/requests in terms of cited legislation and content to determine legislative applicability; interpreting and advising on new developments and recent court decisions, legislative activities, and Congressional initiatives regarding release of information under the Privacy Act; processing complex FOIA/PA requests for access to highly sensitive records including classified materials and grand jury information. OR
  • Hold a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. OR
  • Possess a combination of experience and education. To combine education and experience, the total percentage of experience at the required grade level compared to the requirement, as well as the percentage of completed education compared to the requirement must equal at least 100 percent. Only graduate level education in excess of the first 36 semester hours (54 quarter hours) may be combined to be considered for qualifying education.

Please Note: Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position as described below, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled.

Education

Education must be reviewed and certified by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be creditable toward your qualifications. Therefore, you should provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

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 specializes 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 more information about this requirement, please visit the U.S. Department of Education website for Foreign Education Evaluation

*All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

Additional information

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 rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is online .

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (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 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 rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating 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 is online .

The Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) allows veterans to apply to announcements that are only open to "status" candidates, which means "current competitive service employees." To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, your latest discharge must be issued under honorable conditions (this means an honorable or general discharge), AND you must be either (1) a preference eligible (defined in title 5 U.S.C. 2108(3)), OR (2) a veteran who substantially completed 3 or more years of active service. When applying under VEOA, you must rate and rank among the best qualified when compared to current employee applicants in order to be considered for appointment. Veterans' preference does not apply to internal agency actions such as promotions, transfers, reassignments and reinstatements.

DOJ EEO Statement/Policy
OPM Reasonable Accommodation Policy Statement
DOJ Reasonable Accommodation Policy Statement
Veterans Information
Legal and Regulatory Guidance

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated under DOJ's Merit Promotion Plan, and rated under DOJ's Category
Rating and Selection Procedures.

Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the basic qualifications for the position listed in this announcement. Please Note: Basic qualifications will be determined based on a comparison of your resume against the quality and extent of experience or related education as reflected in the position requirements.

If you are found to be minimally qualified for this position, your resume and supporting documentation will be further assessed and compared to the responses of your occupational/assessment questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive will be based on your responses to the Questionnaire. The rating is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the competencies, knowledge, skills, and abilities required for this position, and will determine the rank in which you place (Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Best Qualified).

Your application will be further assessed based upon the following competencies, knowledge, skills, and abilities:
  • Legal, Government and Jurisprudence
  • Technical Competence
  • Writing


If, after reviewing your resume and or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully as errors or omissions may affect your rating.

Performance Appraisals and Awards:
You will receive an additional point added to your final score for a 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.

We place a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspective and encourage applications from all interested eligible candidates, including candidates from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, women, LGBT individuals, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.

Fair & Transparent
The Federal hiring process is setup to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy
The United States Government does not discriminate in employment 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 factor.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) for federal employees & job applicants

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

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

1. Résumé or equivalent - 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 résumé and cover letter. Applicants are encouraged to ensure work experiences, as represented in their résumé, clearly show the possession of knowledge of the subject matter pertinent to the position, and the competencies and technical skills to successfully perform the duties of the position. A cover letter is optional.
RESUME REQUIREMENTS: ALL APPLICANTS: you must submit a resume supporting your specialized experience and responses to the online questionnaire. The federal government has very specific resume requirements. If you have not written a federal resume before, you may want to watch this Resume Writing Tutorial video on the USAJOBS YouTube channel , or read through a helpful Resume Writing FAQ on the USAJOBS Help Site to learn what details you should, and should not, include in your resume. A CV (curriculum vitae) may not contain enough information to meet these resume requirements.
  • Your resume should list all work experience (paid and unpaid); you must list the full name and address of each employer.
  • For all types of work experience, you should indicate the start and end date (include month and year); you must also list the average number of hours per week that your worked.
  • Your resume should also include any education and training you have completed (list the program title, subject area, number of hours completed, and completion date).
2. Completed Assessment Questionnaire.
3. 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 SF50s include promotions, Within Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s over one year old). If you have promotion potential in your current position, please provide proof.
4. Most Recent Performance Appraisal (if current federal employee).
5. SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, documenting receipt of a Performance Award received
within the last 3 years (if applicable).
6. Documentation of eligibility for special hiring authorities (if applicable) to prove appointment eligibility. Examples include Schedule A disability letter, Peace Corps volunteer letter and:
  • Documentation of eligibility for CTAP and ICTAP (if applicable) - You must provide written notification of your eligibility for CTAP and/or ICTAP; your most recent Performance Appraisal, and your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action.
  • Veterans Preference Documentation (if applicable) - If you are a discharged, non-disabled veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character discharge (Member Copy-4), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives .
    • 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 mother or spouse of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a completed SF-15 and all additional proof required by the SF-15, as applicable. If you don't have your Department of Veterans Affairs letter establishing proof of disability, you may request it online 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.

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