Supervisory Legal Administrative Specialist
About This Position
For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/.
Qualifications
GS-12: To be eligible at the GS-12 level, you must have at least ONE full year of Specialized Experience as defined below. Specialized Experience: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level. Specialized Experience is defined as performing the following types of duties: providing paralegal support to a professional attorney staff; managing a multi-faceted scope of legal support functions; training and mentoring legal support staff personnel; performing extensive legal research in support of complex case work; conducting analysis of statutes, legislative intent, judicial precedents, agency rules and regulations, etc.; and providing and organizing legal staff support for criminal cases.
Major Duties
The incumbent exercises a full range of supervisory responsibilities and is directly responsible for: Assigning, directing, reviewing, and coordinating work of subordinates; Establishing priorities in consultation with subordinates and making assignments for completion of work; Coordinating with other units, divisions and offices concerning matters of priorities and procedures and preparing workload production and fiscal reports as necessary; Interviewing candidates for positions and making recommendations for appointments, promotions, or reassignments; Developing Performance Work Plans, evaluating performance, recommending training and awards, and proposing and taking disciplinary action where warranted; Monitoring attendance including approval of annual and sick leave; Hearing and resolving complaints and non-formal grievances from employees, referring group grievances and more serious complaints not resolved to the Criminal Chief; and, Planning, coordinating, and personally conducting or overseeing the training of assigned personnel. Additionally, the incumbent performs a variety of complex legal support assignments that require a significant knowledge of federal criminal law applicable to the following duties and responsibilities: Coordinating closely with the E litigation Coordinator's Group to ascertain best plan of action to get litigative support work accomplished; Collecting, analyzing, and evaluating investigative reports, testimonies, interviews, summaries, and documents for a variety of cases to identify pertinent material and prepare exhibit and fact summaries; Preparing and maintaining a variety of investigative and trial-related documents and databases, e.g., discovery correspondence, exhibits, responses to motions, pleadings, jury instructions, etc., employing familiarity of the Federal Rules of Evidence and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and application of practical litigative experience; Providing a variety of legal assistance and technical work requiring a specialized knowledge of processes, procedures, and practices to support legal activities. Support assignments of this nature involve the form, content and issues of legal instruments and documents and the steps and procedures involved in processing, storing, and retrieving legal actions and legal information pertaining to the activities of the USAO; and, Performing a variety of administrative duties in support of assigned AUSAs.
Support assignments of this nature involve administrative support not of a strictly legal nature, but which typically involves automation support or other administrative subject-matter areas. Performs other duties as assigned.
How You Will Be Evaluated
Your complete application package (resume/supporting documentation, online questionnaire, and USA Hire Competency Based Assessment) will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the online questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.
If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.
You will be rated on the following Competencies (see The OPM Website for definitions): To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.
In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies.
You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered.
You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.
Additional Information
The salary listed above for this position is supplemented by a Non-Foreign Cost of Living Allowance (COLA). Current COLA rate for the U.S. Virgin Islands is 11.88%. The COLA is not subject to federal or territorial taxation.
In addition to accrual of annual leave and sick leave benefits, United States Attorney's Office employees hired from outside the Territory accrue five days of home leave each year after completing two years of continuous service in the district. Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication which includes fingerprints, credit and tax checks and drug testing. Additionally, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized. The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law.
See http://www.sss.gov/. Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal Agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly.
Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline.
Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 06/02/2026 the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: 1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
- Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
3.
Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on 06/02/2026.
4.
After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email notification.
- If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments.
Click here for Computer System Requirements (https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_System_Requirements) 6. Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account.
To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, please click the following link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12960179To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application.
The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/ Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments.
Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments.
You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package, which includes: - Required: Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process). - Required: Your resume cannot exceed two pages - you will be deemed ineligible and receive no further consideration if your resume exceeds two pages - see USAJOBS for formatting requirements. Include relevant employment history as outlined below for each job: Official position title (if Federal, include series/grade), Employer name and contact information, Start and end dates (for full consideration you must include month, day, and year), Indicate full-time or number of hours worked per week if part-time, and A list of duties performed and accomplishments. 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. - Required if you are a current or former Federal employee: a recent copy of an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing title, series, grade, and full performance level (FPL); AND a copy of your most recent performance appraisal. Please note your SF-50 must include your FPL in the remark section (e.g., appointment, reassignment, promotion actions), pay adjustments and awards do not include this information so they are not acceptable. - If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you must submit documentation to support your request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found at: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire - Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office by providing a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment: Position title; Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee); Agency; and Beginning and ending dates of appointment.