PARALEGAL SPECIALIST

Summary This position is part of the Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The incumbent will be responsible for serving the Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (LC), the Office of Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (OCJCS/LC), military judge advocates, and civilian attorneys assigned to the OCJCS/LC. Responsibilities As a PARALEGAL SPECIALIST at the GS-0950-11 some of your typical work assignments may include: Acts as the research, review, and document development paralegal to LC, the Principal Deputy Legal Counsel, Chief, International and Administrative Law, OCJCS/LC Senior Ethics Attorney, and supports OCJCS/LC attorneys by providing extensive, detailed legal research, and writing in complex areas of Ethics and Standards of Conduct and administrative law. Prepares legal memos, summaries, and proposals of significant content, depth, and complexity for LC, the Principal Deputy Legal Counsel, Branch Chiefs, OCJCS/LC Senior Ethics Attorney, and OCJCS/LC military and civilian attorneys review and approval. Serves as the paralegal to LC, the Principal Deputy Legal Counsel, Branch Chiefs, OCJCS/LC Senior Ethics Attorney, and supports OCJCS/LC military and civilian attorneys in the development, design, management, maintenance, and oversight of the OCJCS/LC ethics and standards of conduct program. Receives, analyzes, provides technical reviews of Public Financial Disclosure Reports (OGE 278e's) in the Integrity mandatory electronic filing system, and Confidential Financial Disclosure Reports (OGE 450's) in the Financial Disclosure Management (FDM) mandatory electronic filing system. Monitors changes in law and regulation pertaining to ethics and standards of conduct, and supports LC, the Principal Deputy Legal Counsel, Branch Chiefs, and OCJCS/LC Senior Ethics Attorney in the development and execution of the OCJCS/LC annual ethics training program. Serves as the OCJCS/LC Law Office Manager for legal research including LexisNexis as well as the Assistant Security Manager. Acts as an official, unbiased witness to attest to the identity and signature of JS personnel entitled to notary and other legal assistance services. Directly supports OCJCS/LC attorneys and JS Directorates for negotiation and reporting of international agreements with the JS, Combatant Commands, and as required throughout Department of War (DoW). Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications You may qualify at the GS-11, if you fulfill the following qualifications: A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service: Providing law office administrative support including customer, client, and co-worker support, preparing legal memos, summaries, and assessments of significant content, depth, and complexity for military and civilian attorneys review and approval; Applying Administrative Law, including Investigations, Military Justice, Civilian Personnel Law, Equal Employment Opportunity issues, Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, litigation support and associated discovery, Claims, International Agreements, Memorandums of Agreement and Memorandums of Understanding, and Legislative Affairs; Understanding the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) financial disclosure program including Public Financial Disclosure Reports (OGE 278e's) in the Integrity mandatory electronic filing system, and Confidential Financial Disclosure Reports (OGE 450's) in the Financial Disclosure Management (FDM) mandatory electronic filing system, supporting senior officials, General and Flag Officers and Senior Executive Service (SES) personnel regarding potential for disqualification for conflicts of interest, divestiture of personal financial interests, and other corrective actions; Accepting gifts offered to the federal government, analyzing gift requests and determining appropriate legal basis for acceptance or rejection, drafting gift acceptance documents, and providing written briefs of the legal and policy basis for gift acceptance and/or rejection; Recognizing Official Tasker Support and demonstrating knowledge of Department of War (DoW) policies, processes, and procedures in the execution and management of official tasking management systems including the ETMS2 (Enterprise Task Management Software Solution) system ensuring proper handling, marking, and protection of classified information, controlled unclassified information, and other sensitive information protected by law, such as the Privacy Act and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. OR B. 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 C. You have some specialized experience as described in A, but less than one year; and you have more than one year but less than two years of education as described in B. You have computed the percentage of the requirements that you meet, and the total is at least 100%. (To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond the first year by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.) 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. This announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Education ARE YOU USING YOUR EDUCATION TO QUALIFY? You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement. GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study. Foreign education may be qualifying if a private organization specializing in interpreting foreign education programs has deemed the foreign education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program or a U.S. accredited college or university has given full credit for the foreign courses. Unofficial transcripts from U.S. Department of Education accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions listing your name, the name of the school, the date and degree awarded, and the list of classes and credits earned are acceptable for the application process. If selected, official transcripts are required before a firm job offer is made. A photocopy of your degree/diploma is not acceptable. When relying on foreign education, submit transcripts and a copy of the equivalency evaluation results letter with a course-by-course listing. Documents must be in English or include an English translation. The hiring employer for this position does not evaluate degrees from foreign colleges or universities. For further information, visit: Foreign Education Additional Information Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment under Merit Promotion procedures, the veteran must be a preference eligible or a veteran separated after 3 years or more of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Programs: This program applies to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position; Well qualified is defined as possessing the type and quality of experience that exceeds the positions minimum qualifications. and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. For more information: Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities: For more information on noncompetitive appointment authority eligibility requirements: Persons with Disabilities - Schedule A Special Hiring Authority for Veterans Special Hiring Authority for Certain Military Spouses Other Special Appointment Authorities - Subpart F Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see The selecting official may choose to conduct interviews, and once the selection is made, you will receive a notification of the decision. NOTE: Declining to be interviewed or failure to report for a scheduled interview will be considered as a declination for further consideration for employment against this vacancy. Selective Service Requirement: Please visit for more information. For more information, please visit Other Notes: Re-employed Annuitant: This position DOES NOT meet criteria for re-employed annuitant. The DoW criteria for hiring Re-employed Annuitants can be found at: This position is subject to an initial drug screening, and random testing thereafter. A negative drug test result must be received by HR within 30 calendar days after the EOD (i.e., start date). The selectee's inability successfully pass; or refusal to conduct the test may result in: 1) the tentative or FJO being withdrawn during the recruitment process; or 2) subsequently being removed from Federal service for failure to meet a condition of employment. You may be required to sign a "Drug Test Statement of Understanding" if you are selected for this position. As required by 5 C.F.R. § 302.106., DLA will provide Section 508 conformant ICT to employees with disabilities. All ICT interfaces with the public related to vacancy announcements and career transition opportunities must conform to the applicable requirements in the current ICT Standards and Guidelines (36 C.F.R. § 1194). Status candidates must meet time-in-grade requirements (52 weeks at the next lower grade level). This announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.