Legal Instruments Examiner

Summary

This position is located in Carlsbad, NM at the Carlsbad Field Office (CFO). Information about Carlsbad and the surrounding area can be found here: City of Carlsbad and information about CFO can be found here: Carlsbad Field Office BLM

We expect to fill 1 vacancy at this time; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement if they become available.

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Duties

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• Review, process, and adjudicate oil and gas applications, including APDs, Sundry Notices, bonding actions, and Plugging and Abandonment documents.
• Conduct research and apply laws, regulations, and policies to evaluate complex factual information and make determinations.
• Perform bonding and bond review responsibilities, ensuring adequate coverage, recommending adjustments, and updating bond records.
• Use agency data systems to collect, enter, and maintain program information (e.g., AFMSS, LR2000 or similar databases).
• Prepare written determinations, correspondence, and case documentation, and maintain complete and accurate case files.
• NOTE: Assignments at the lower grade levels will be developmental in nature.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Be sure to read the How to Apply and Required Documents Sections.
• You cannot hold an active real estate license: nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
• Direct Deposit Required.
• Appointment will be subject to a favorably adjudicated background/suitability investigation/determination.
• Your resume must contain enough information to show that you meet the qualification requirements as defined in the announcement. In addition, your responses to the questions must adequately reflect in your resume.
• An applicant appointed to this position must possess (or obtain within 30 days of entrance on duty) and maintain a valid state driver's license while employed in this position.
• May require a one-year probationary period.

Qualifications

Your application must demonstrate that you meet all requirements for the grade you are seeking. If you are unsure whether your background aligns with the duties listed, please describe your experience clearly and thoroughly in your resume so it can be evaluated. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE GS-05 LEGAL INSTRUMENTS EXAMINER

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In order to qualify for the GS-05 Legal Instruments Examiner using specialized experience, you must possess at least one full year of experience comparable to the GS-04 level or equivalent performing one of the following duties:

• Reviewing applications and supporting documents, preparing control sheets, and checking them for basic completeness
• Using established laws, regulations, manuals, or precedent decisions to gather and verify factual information
• Entering and updating data in automated systems such as AFMSS, MLRS, or similar databases, and maintaining routine case files

OR

EDUCATION SUBSTITUTION: In order to qualify for the GS-05 Legal Instruments Examiner using education as a substitution for experience, you must have successfully completed a full four-year course of study above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college, or university. Please note that per Office of Personnel Management (OPM) policy, one year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school. You must submit a copy of official transcripts in order to qualify.

OR

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: In order to qualify for the GS-05 Legal Instruments Examiner using this method, you must have an equivalent combination of specialized experience and education as described above that, when combined, equals 100% of the total requirement. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. You must submit a copy of official transcripts in order to qualify.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE GS-06 LEGAL INSTRUMENTS EXAMINER

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In order to qualify for the GS-06 Legal Instruments Examiner using specialized experience, you must possess at least one full year of experience comparable to the GS-05 level or equivalent performing one of the following duties:

• Assisting with examining and processing APDs, Sundry Notices, bonding updates, and Plugging and Abandonment documents
• Conducting basic research to gather and verify information using established sources
• Preparing routine correspondence to request additional information
• Entering, updating, and maintaining program data in agency databases (e.g., AFMSS, LR2000) and establishing case files.
• Maintaining operator succession records and verifying bonding documentation

No education substitution is available at this grade.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE GS-07 LEGAL INSTRUMENTS EXAMINER

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In order to qualify for the GS-07 Legal Instruments Examiner using specialized experience, you must possess at least one full year of experience comparable to the GS-06 level or equivalent performing one of the following duties:

• Independently examining and processing NOS, APDs, Sundry Notices, and other oil and gas applications
• Conducting research and analysis to evaluate factual information and apply laws and regulations
• Preparing procedural and compliance-related correspondence and determinations
• Performing bonding and bond review duties, including verifying sufficiency, updating records, terminating bonds, and recommending increases
• Using agency data systems (e.g., AFMSS, LR2000) to collect, update, and monitor case information.

No education substitution is available at this grade.

Other Notes:

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAKE NO ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Volunteer Experience: 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.

You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies".

POSITION DETAILS:

Physical Demands: The incumbent is subject to the pressures associated with meeting deadlines and adjusting to sudden unexpected shifts in priority and workload. The work required of this position calls for the exercise of a high level of concentration. The work is mainly sedentary, but may require

periods of walking, standing, bending, driving an automobile, etc. Incumbent frequently carries case files and other similar materials. The work does not require any special physical effort or ability.

Work Environment: The work area is usually an office setting that is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions.

Education

If using education to qualify, you must submit copies of all transcripts or a list of college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. See Required Documents section for more information.

Additional information

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit E-Verify

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/lnteragency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): These programs apply 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, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information: CTAP or ICTAP

Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service

Travel and relocation expenses will not be paid by the Department of the Interior. Any travel, transportation and relocation expenses associated with reporting for duty in this position will be the responsibility of the selected employee.

The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. The selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

This position is considered a career ladder opportunity, with a full performance level of GS-07. If selected at a lower grade level, you may be non-competitively promoted to the next grade level at the discretion of your supervisor and is contingent upon meeting regulatory and legal requirements for promotion, satisfactory performance, and the availability of higher-level work. Promotion is not guaranteed, and no promise of promotion is implied.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a one-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.