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Summary Imagine starting your career as a Legal Instrument Examiner working in an office that is on the cutting edge of planning, developing, implementing and evaluating all initiatives needed to support the examination and registration of trademarks throughout the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This position is waiting for you to bring your technical expertise to our agency. Responsibilities The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria, Virginia. This position is located in the Records Program Office, Public Records Division which provides overall support and coordination for enterprise systems that facilitate information sharing within the agency and with the public. This role is the ideal next career step for you if: You provide timely and accurate information to internal and external customers via various methods. Use your critical thinking skills to conduct research using automated systems to process applications. Highlight your communication skills to interact with internal and external customers by providing timely and accurate information to via various methods. Contacts other agency employees, applicants and their representative in order to obtain or provide information and to explain certain procedural options and their consequences. The individual selected for this position will… Examines legal documents including applications, petitions or notices along with supporting material for completeness, and compliance with an extensive body of regulations and procedures. Performs review requiring interpretation to determine compliance with legal criteria. Identifies deficiencies in submissions sufficient to request additional information and identify remedial action required, timeframes, and fees for actions required. This position is NOT Telework eligible. You are required to report to USPTO Alexandria Campus for all days of the work week. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. OPM Qualifications Standards are available at Legal Instrument Examining Series 0963 Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped applicants with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the federal service. For this position, the next lower grade level is a GS-06. Specialized experience for this position includes: 1. Experience examining legal documents such as applications, petitions, notices and other similar materials for compliance with legal requirements, regulatory and administrative procedures. 2. Experience utilizing knowledge of rules, procedures and processing stages for examination of assigned type of legal instrument in order to determine compliance with legal criteria and administrative rules and provide information and assistance on administrative requirements. 3. Experience independently performing complete examining functions and carries out the successive steps and handles problems and deviations in the work assignment in accordance with instructions, policies, previous training, or accepted work practices. 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. Education As a general rule, education is not creditable above GS-5 for most positions covered by this standard; however, graduate education may be credited in those few instances where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position. If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to General Schedule Qualification Policies for more information. You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - US Department of Education. Another listing of services that can perform this evaluation is available at the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration. NOTE: Only education and experience acquired before the filing deadline will be considered. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Additional Information If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information. This is a Non Bargaining Unit position. This is a Public Trust position and has a risk level designation of "Moderate". Background Investigation - If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit the Department of Homeland Security Website. All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice. Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid. CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a "well qualified" rating of 85 out of 100. Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: OPM CTAP/ICTAP. CTAP/ICTAP documentation requirements are listed in the 'Required Documents' section of this announcement. More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued. All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. USPTO Job Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should request accommodation(s) from the USPTO at USPTO Reasonable Accommodation. The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation), national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, retaliation for engaging in protected activity, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. If you believe that you have been discriminated against and would like to file an EEO complaint, you must do so within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Claims of employment discrimination must be submitted to the attention of the USPTO's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity via email ([email protected]) or phone (571-272-8292).