Legal Administrative Specialist (Case Manager) Bilingual

Summary

For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement. This position is also being announced to All U.S. Citizens and Nationals under 26-WDTX-13056483-DE.

Duties

If selected for this position, you will join a well-respected team responsible for providing a wide range of legal support services to one or more Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) involved in criminal and civil enforcements and collections associated with Financial Litigation. As a Bilingual Legal Administrative Specialist, you will: Receive, examine, and evaluate criminal proceeding cases, either pre-collection as referred by the Financial Litigation AUSA or post-conviction. Search a variety of databases for deed records, liens, determine lienholders priority, obtain copies of deeds and/or trust documents as appropriate. Prepare and maintain a variety of court-related documents, e.g., discovery letters, exhibit lists, jury instructions, trial subpoenas, etc. Prepare a variety of substantive legal documents to include preparation of subpoenas, various motions, garnishments, and other legal actions to effect necessary post-judgment action regarding debts owed to victims and the U.S. government. Process debt collection claims referred from client agencies. Propose debt compromises, write-offs, and referral of claims back to the originating agency. Monitor the progress of pending cases and initiates action to ensure that legal pleadings, forms, reports, correspondence, and other documents are prepared and submitted within established deadlines. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress. Qualifications

To be eligible at the GS-7 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a Combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience providing assistance to attorneys by preparing legal documents needed for litigation; researching a variety of legal and non-legal sources to obtain and/or verify information; making proposal and recommendation actions such as settlements and write-offs; and using automated software to produce legal related reports, documents, correspondence and related materials. OR Education: Successful completion of one (1) full year of graduate education (18 semester hours or the number of units your school uses to describe one graduate year of academic study) leading to a master's degree in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Law); which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do legal administrative specialist work. OR Superior Academic Achievement: A full four year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree (or expect to complete within 9 months) in a related field (Criminal Justice, Law), and meet one of the following superior academic achievement provisions: (1) class standing in the upper one-third of the graduating class; (2) a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher as recorded on the official transcript, or computed based on courses completed during the final two full years of the curriculum; (3) a GPA of 3.5 or higher based on the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in a major field completed during the final two years of curriculum; or (4) election to a membership in a national scholastic honor society. OR Combining Education and Experience: Combination of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. In order to qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be in excess of 1 full year. To be eligible at the GS-9 level, you must meet at least ONE of the following conditions, as defined below: Specialized Experience, Education, OR a Combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has provided the ability to perform legal support work in the area of debt collection. Such experience may be preparing legal documents including various motions and garnishments; reviewing claims and supporting documentation; determining the adequacy of the claims; initiating contact with debtors; and processing various actions such as debt compromises, write-offs, and referrals. OR Education: One of the following types of education in a related field (e.g., Criminal Justice, Law): a Master's or equivalent graduate degree (such as an LL.B. or J.D.); OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. Education at the graduate level must be in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position. OR Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. In order to qualify based on a combination, graduate education must be in excess of 1 full year. Selective Placement Factor: A selective placement factor is determined to be essential for successful performance in this position. Those candidates who do not meet the following selective placement factor will be rated "not qualified" for the position. List Selective Placement Factor(s) here. Language proficiency in both English and Spanish to read, write, converse, and understand in both languages. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)- The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates 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 if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in the 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 receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility 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 at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)-The 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 receive a score of 85 or better on established ranking criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) -VEOA allows eligible veterans to apply and compete for positions announced under merit promotion procedures when the hiring agency is recruiting from outside its own workforce. To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, a veteran must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed three (3) or more years of continuous active military service. If you are applying for a Merit Promotion announcement and wish to be considered under VEOA, you must submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214, in addition to any other required documents listed on this announcement. Special Employment Consideration - Persons with disabilities, veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more, certain other veterans, spouses of certain members of the armed forces, and returning Peace Corps volunteers are examples of individuals who are potentially eligible for non-competitive appointments. For further information, click on the links provided below . You must specify in your online questionnaire under what authority you wish to be considered and submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility. Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities Links: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/competitive-hiring/#url=Types-of-Appointments

Education

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 http://www.ed.gov OR Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation. How You Will Be Evaluated

Your complete application package (resume/supporting documentation, online questionnaire, and USA Hire Competency Based Assessment) 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 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 rated on the following Competencies (see The OPM Website for definitions): Attention to Detail, Customer Service, Decision Making, Flexibility, Integrity/Honesty, Interpersonal Skills, Learning, Reading Comprehension, Reasoning, Self-Management, Stress Tolerance, and Teamwork To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Other Information

Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized. The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/. Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal Agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, 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. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline. Political Appointees (Current or Former): 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. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.