Office of Personnel Management Logo
Position Title
Senior Paralegal Specialist
Agency
Office of Personnel Management
Announcement Number
24-JOW-12553430-MP Opens in new window
Open Period
Monday, September 23, 2024 to Monday, October 7, 2024
For preview purposes only. To apply, please return to the USAJOBS announcement and click the Apply button.
Eligibilities
Please mark "YES" to ALL eligibility options below for which you wish to be considered for, we can ONLY verify eligibility options for which you claim and provide proper documentation, see required documents section. If you fail to select at least one eligibility below or you select an eligibility that you do not provide proof of, your application may be marked INELIGIBLE as out of the area of consideration. The full performance level of this position is GS-12.

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1. Do you claim Veterans’ Preference? (limit characters)
2. Are you a current employee of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) who meets the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service? If yes, confirm you meet all of the following requirements:
  • You are located in the same local commuting area of the vacancy;
  • Your grade is equivalent to or below the grade level of the vacancy; 
  • Your last performance rating of record is at least fully successful or the equivalent.
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3. Are you a current Federal Employee who currently holds a career or career conditional appointment in the competitive service?
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4. Competitive Merit Promotion

Are you a current OPM employee who holds a career or career conditional appointment in the competitive service? (Internal OPM employees only)
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5. Non-Competitive 

Are you a current OPM employee who holds a career or career conditional appointment in the competitive service and has held a permanent (non-temporary) position in the competitive service at the same or higher full performance level as the position being announced? (Internal OPM employees only and must have held the Promotion Potential i.e. the full performance level posted in announcement.) 

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6. Are you a current or former federal employee who meets the definition of displaced (CFR 330.702)  from a position in the competitive service from a Federal agency?  If yes, confirm you meet all of the following requirements:
 
  • You are located in the same local commuting area of the vacancy;
  • Your grade is/was equivalent to or below the grade level of the vacancy; 
  • Your last performance rating of record is at least fully successful or the equivalent;
  • It has been less than a year from your separation from Federal service (see ICTAP eligibility period CFR 330.708.)
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7. Are you a Military Spouse Eligible under E.O. 13832 and P.L. 115-232: The spouse of a member of the armed forces on active duty, the spouse of a 100 percent disabled member of the armed forces, or the spouse of a deceased member of the armed forces?
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8. Are you eligible for appointment under the Excepted Service authority for Individuals with intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities or psychiatric disabilities? [5CFR 213.3102(u)]?
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9. Are you a former permanent, competitive-service employee of the Federal Government OR veterans' preference eligible who held a career or career-conditional (non-time-limited) appointment eligible for reinstatement?  

If you are, your previous SF-50 will reflect career status, Tenure 1 in box 24  OR
Your previous SF-50 will reflect career-conditional status: Tenure 2 in box 24 and you will have separated within the last three years OR
Your previous SF-50 will reflect career-conditional status: Tenure 2 in box 24 and you have veterans preference.
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10. Are you a Current Federal Employee who currently holds a career or career conditional appointment in the competitive service and has held a permanent (not time limited) position in the competitive service at the same or higher full performance level as the position being announced? (Must have held the Promotion Potential i.e. the full performance level posted in announcement.) 
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11. Are you eligible for consideration under VEOA?  This includes:
  • preference eligible (defined in title 5 U.S.C. 2108(3)), OR
  • veterans who substantially completed 3 or more years of active service under honorable conditions.
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12. Are you a current or former employee of a Land Management Agency and are serving or served under a time-limited competitive service appointment?   This service is qualifying for consideration under the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act, P.L. 114-47
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13. Reasonable Accommodations for taking the online assessments are provided on a case-by-case basis only to qualified individuals with a disability covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

Do you have a disability (physical or mental) that you believe will interfere with completing the online assessments and require a Reasonable Accommodation?

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Preferences
1. What is the highest grade you have held on a non-temporary basis in the federal service? If you have never held a federal position, please type "N/A". (limit characters)
2. What was the date of the promotion/appointment for the highest grade held above? Your response will assist in verifying the time-in-grade requirement. If you have never held a federal position, please type "N/A". (limit characters)
3. Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently employed, or have been employed within the last 5 years, in any one of the categories below, you must disclose this information. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.

Are you a current or former political appointee as described under 5 U.S.C. sections 5312 through 5316?
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Are you a current or former Schedule A or Schedule C political appointee, or an appointee who serves/served in a political capacity under agency-specific authority in the Executive Branch?
-OR-
Are you a current or former political appointee or non-career SES Executive Branch employee?
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4. I authorize my application information being shared with hiring managers for similar positions. I understand this option may not result in further consideration for additional positions nor will it impact my application for this announcement. (limit characters)
Assessment 1
Thank you for your interest in the Senior Paralegal Specialist GS 0950-12 position with the Office of Personnel Management. We will evaluate your resume and your responses to this assessment questionnaire to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for this position. Your responses are subject to verification. Please review your responses for accuracy before you submit this questionnaire. (limit characters)
Select “Yes” or “No” to the following question(s). (limit characters)
1.

Do you possess at least one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level or payband in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) performing work on cases associated with retirement, insurance, or other Federal benefits and entitlements?

Note: Your resume must fully support this experience.

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2. Do you possess at least one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level or payband in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) responding to inquiries from individuals or groups requesting privileged information or records?
Note: Your resume must fully support this experience.
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3. Do you possess at least one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level or payband in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) participating in collaborative work teams to apply the laws and regulations that govern federal benefits?
Note: Your resume must fully support this experience.
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4. Do you possess at least one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level or payband in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) Performing assessments and evaluations of systems and processes to propose enhancements and optimizations?
Note: Your resume must fully support this experience.
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For each item, select the one response that most accurately describes your current level of experience and capability using the scale below. (limit characters)
5. Interpret court order regulations and policies to make decisions on compliance or denial of the court order. (limit characters)
6. Perform manual computations for unique deductions for survivor and health benefits. (limit characters)
7. Respond orally and in writing to internal and external customers (who may be irate) to include Congressional sources, agency and union officials, retirees, survivors and others to provide clear, responsive explanations of actions taken and the bases for them. (limit characters)
8. Function as the group liaison to external stakeholders, managing inbound communication from dissatisfied customers to resolve their concerns or challenges. (limit characters)
9. Review recommendations and decisions made by other specialists to ensure correctness regarding retirement procedural requirements. (limit characters)
10. Provide technical guidance and assistance on matters of high complexity or that require seasoned judgment. (limit characters)
11. Collaborate with others by serving as a coach, facilitator and mentor to provide advice and assistance to less-experienced specialists. (limit characters)
12. Expedite resolution of special, unique case or court order problems or actions through interaction with managers and supervisors. (limit characters)
13. Evaluate court orders of unusual technical difficulty by interpreting law and regulations as applied to the specific instance. (limit characters)
14. Make post-adjudicative determinations and authorize adjustments of benefits when applicable. (limit characters)
15. Develop automated data processing (ADP) changes to implement enhancements to the automated system. (limit characters)
16. Research and recommend solutions to problems with systems or procedures. (limit characters)
Select “Yes” or “No” to the following question(s). (limit characters)
17. Have you received awards or been recognized as part of your annual performance appraisal for work that was based on performance of one or more of the competencies described for this position? Due weight of this recognition will be given in the evaluation process. You may submit documentation of this recognition. (limit characters)
Please take this opportunity to review your ratings to ensure their accuracy. By agreeing to the statement below, you are confirming that you: 1) understand this warning; 2) have reviewed your responses to this questionnaire for accuracy, and; 3) verify that your responses accurately describe your current level of experience and capability (limit characters)
18. Failure to agree or respond to the statement below will disqualify you from further consideration for this position. (limit characters)