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Summary About the Position: This is a GS-0950-9/11 Paralegal Specialist, position with USACE, Ft. Worth District, Office of Counsel in Fort Worth, TX. This is an Open-Continuous Announcement. This announcement is for current, permanent Army employees that would like to be considered for a time-limited promotion, reassignment or change to lower grade. External status candidates should apply to Announcement # CE-DD-12845681-MP Please see "Additional Information" section below for further details. Responsibilities Assist Attorneys with selected assignments and/or selected phases/parts of legal issues. Administrative/Paralegal support not limited to travel, timekeeping, procurement of supplies and receiving reports. Serve as alternate in providing legal assistance and general support to staff attorneys with the preparation, research, development and maintenance of files. Prepare and organize charts, graphs, and other demonstrative materials. Review Record and Non-Record Title Evidence for compliance. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities. The Area of Consideration is limited to employees serving continuously within the agency - Current Department of Army Civilian Employees Applying on Time-Limited Assignments In order to qualify, you must meet the experience and/or education requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. For GS-09: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes 1) Utilizing automated systems and/or databases to retrieve, update and/or store legal information; AND 2) Performing legal research and assembling the information for use by attorneys. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07). OR Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: legal studies. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. For GS-11: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes 1) Drafting legal briefs, pleadings, litigation recommendations, and/or other legal documents or correspondence; AND 2) Conducting legal research and/or analysis to assist attorneys with investigations and responses; AND 3) Compiling legal references, case files, and/or other sources for information required by attorneys or court personnel. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09). OR Education: Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: legal studies. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. For GS-09: Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-07). For GS-11: Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-09). Education FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Note: This is an open continuous announcement. First cutoff occurs 10 days after open date. Applications after first cutoff will receive consideration as future vacancies occur. Period of Eligibility: Your application will remain active for 3 months from the date it is received. After 3 months, to receive further consideration, you must submit a new application package. Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration. You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. One year trial/probationary period may be required. Direct deposit of pay is required. Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees. If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. This is a(n) Professional Services - Legal Career Field position. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement. When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction/ for more information. Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest. Recruitment/Relocation/Retention Incentives may be authorized. Student Loan Repayment; and Advanced Leave Accrual may be authorized. Position may be filled as a time-limited promotion, reassignment or change to lower grade not to exceed (NTE) 3 Years by a current permanent Army employee. Time-limited promotions may be extended up to a maximum of five years. Time-limited reassignments and changes to lower grade may exceed five years; however, return rights may be impacted. Position may be made permanent without further competition. Current, permanent USACE employees who are selected for this position will receive administrative return rights for the duration of the initial assignment and for any extensions up to 3 years, with potential to request further return rights to a maximum of 5 years. Return rights for non-USACE Army employees will be negotiated upon selection. If return rights are approved, a return rights agreement/statement of understanding will be required to be completed prior to appointment.