Paralegal Specialist
What you'd do
This position is located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of General Counsel (OGC), with three vacancies in Juneau, AK; Long Beach, CA; and Saint Petersburg, FL. This position is also announced under vacancy number OGC-26-13007748-ST, which is open to Status Candidates. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both.
Major duties
As a Paralegal Specialist, you will perform the following duties: Support NOAA's Office of the General Counsel (GC) to research existing and proposed NOAA policies, identify potential legal problems, prepare reports of findings, and recommend appropriate solutions. Assist GC attorneys with trial research, litigation, and negotiated agreements and settlements on routine matters with commercial, governmental, and administrative entities, employees and the public. Prepare affidavits, legal evidence, position statements, responses to requests for public records, and other legal paperwork in coordination with Federal, state, or local jurisdictions. Prepare or assist with training and education presentations, classes, and workshops to other paralegals and GC personnel.
What you need to qualify
Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ EDUCATION: There is no positive education requirement for this position. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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. To qualify at the GS-11 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Providing assistance and supporting attorneys to prepare and conduct depositions, hearings, trials, or other legal proceedings; Utilizing automated case management and electronic litigation support systems to provide assistance with processing, proofreading, cite-checking, or editing draft legal documents; and Drafting training presentations on legal topics for paralegals and general audiences. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: 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 COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of related graduate level education and specialized experience.
Before you apply
Federal applications are different: your resume should be 3–5 pages and mirror the language of this announcement. Read our federal resume guide first — it's the #1 reason qualified people get screened out.
Don't miss the next one.
Get an email the moment a similar federal job opens — postings can close in as little as 5 days.