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Lead Paralegal Specialist

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Washington, D.C
Closing date
Sep 24, 2021
Duties

Summary

This position is in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Passport Services, Office of Legal Affairs and Law Enforcement Liaison, Legal Affairs Division (CA/PPT/S/A).

The incumbent is responsible for leading a team dedicated to the denial, limitation & revocation of passports by utilizing a variety of coordinating, coaching, facilitating, consensus-building & planning techniques.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

  • Articulates and communicates to the team assignment, project, milestones, program issues under review and deadlines, and time frames for completion.
  • Coaches the team in the selection and application of appropriate problem solving methods and techniques, provides advice on work methods, practices and procedures and assists the team members in identifying the parameters of a viable solution.
  • Resolves the most highly complex or sensitive cases associated with the initial or continuing eligibility of applicants to receive passports under the laws and regulations governing passport denial, limitation or revocation.
  • Provides instructions, direction and guidance to passport agencies and production centers and US embassies and consulates abroad on the administration of procedures to follow in cases where a passport is denied, limited or revoked.


Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
  • One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.
  • Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.


Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements, including education, and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement. If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript with your application.

NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements, by the closing date of this announcement.

Time-In-Grade Requirements: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions, per 5CFR 300, Subpart F.

Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:
  • Experience analyzing facts and issues for cases or situations regarding the acceptance or denial of sensitive documentation;
  • Experience researching and responding to requests regarding records maintained by an organization;
  • Experience acting in a liaison capacity with other departments or agencies to ensure the consistent interpretation of applicable laws and regulations;
  • Experience drafting correspondence, cables, and other written material; and
  • Experience applying a variety of coordinating, coaching, facilitating, consensus-building and/or planning techniques to enable a team to deliver quality, quantity and timely services and/or work products to customers.

There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-13 position.

Education

See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements, if applicable.

Additional information

For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or ReasonableAccommodations@state.gov .

If eligible, telework and remote work agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. Please note that any approved remote work arrangement is subject to the locality pay area of the alternative telework worksite.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:
  • Knowledge of administrative concepts, principles, and practices.
  • Experience determining the appropriate action needed to resolve issues and problems.
  • Ability to investigate citizenship - ownership relationships.
  • Knowledge and experience with Passport Laws, regulations, policies and procedures.
  • Experience providing legal support.
  • Ability to research and compile data utilizing a variety of computer applications / databases.

Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. 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). Your resume should include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week. For assistance with creating a resume, please click here .

Qualified candidates are assigned a score between 70 and 100. Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) candidates must be rated "Well Qualified" for the position and earn a score of at least 85 (when applicants are rated in a range of 70 to 100) to receive consideration for selection priority. If, after reviewing your resume and self-assessment questionnaire responses and a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, a score will be manually determined that reflects your documented experience. This may result in a lower score, which may also eliminate you from consideration for this position.

Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any required supporting documentation by the closing date of this job opportunity. Your application package must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. Applicants found to be among the top qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview

To preview questions please click here .

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

All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to our automated system "Gateway to State" by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

1. Resume - your resume or any other written format you choose should contain the required information as specified in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section. Insufficient information will result in an ineligible rating.

2. A completed online job specific self-assessment questionnaire through the Department's automated system "Gateway to State".

3. Transcripts - if applicable, see the Qualifications section of the announcement. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.

4. If you are qualifying based on other criteria listed under the Qualification Section of this announcement, you must submit the required supporting documentation (certificates, certifications, etc.) with your application by the closing date.

5. Current eligible DOS employees (per 3 FAM 2313.4(a)(5)), including current employees applying under a non-competitive hiring authority, must submit a SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) that shows: effective date, position title, series, grade, salary, tenure, position occupied, full promotion potential, and name of agency. Examples include promotion, within-grade increase, and separation SF-50s. Award SF-50s often do not show the required information. Multiple SF-50s may be needed to show all required information.

6. Current eligible DOS employees are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of their most recent (i.e., usually within the last 18 months) final (i.e., not a mid-year review) official (i.e., signed by the rating official and in original format) annual performance appraisal for the hiring manager's consideration. If a performance appraisal is not available, you may provide a statement and/or a statement from your supervisor explaining the reason one is not available and your servicing HR Office contact information (name, email address, phone number).

Note 1: You may be requested to provide an appraisal to the hiring official if one was not provided with your application.

Note 2: To receive a promotion, the employee's most recent performance rating must be "fully successful" or an equivalent level or higher. Employees who are tentatively selected to receive a promotion will be required to provide performance documentation within two business days of request. Servicing HR Offices may be contacted to verify performance ratings.

7. If you are a current eligible DOS employee applying under a non-competitive hiring authority, you MUST submit proof of non-competitive eligibility with your application. For information related to special hiring authorities for severely disabled persons visit: http://www.opm.gov/disability/PeopleWithDisabilities.asp

8. CTAP eligibles must submit a copy of the appropriate documentation with their application. See link below:

CTAP Considerations

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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