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RECRUITMENT: Legal Assistant

 

Salary Range: $39,576 - $63,733 per year     

 

Series & Grade:  GS 5 - 7                               Position Information: Full-Time (Permanent)

                                                                                           

Promotion Potential:  GS-8                           Duty Location: Little Rock, AR 

 

Who May Be Considered:  U.S. Citizens 

 

NOTE: Telework may be available in accordance with agency policy. This IS NOT a virtual position.

 

Job Summary:

 

Millions of Americans depend on the Social Security Administration (SSA) for their well-being. Social Security programs offer protection against the risk of reduced income due to retirement, disability or death, and assist aged, blind, and disabled people in financial need.  SSA offers challenging careers and professional advancement.  Make a difference in people’s lives and your own. Join our dynamic team!  Serve as legal assistant and provide support to one or more Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and other professional employees in a Social Security Administration (SSA) Hearing Office (HO).

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required
  • Selective Service Registration, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
  • Fingerprinting and background and/or security investigation may be required
  • Job offers are contingent on fingerprinting and background / security investigation results
  • Selectees may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period
  • Relocation expenses will not be paid
  • All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement
  • Selectees may be required to complete off-site training

 

Major Duties:

 

Legal assistants provide quasi legal and technical support to ALJs and other technical and professional positions in the processing of entitlement cases pursuant to Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act, as amended, as the administrative appeals level. Legal assistants are responsible for developing and processing requests for hearing cases from their receipt in the office to the completion, independently performing a wide range of case development actions, and processes more complex cases where analysis of pertinent issues and interpretation of the provisions of the laws, regulations, rulings, precedents, policies, procedures, and guidelines relative to the cases is necessary. 

 

QUALIFICATIONS:     

 

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. If you are using experience to qualify, you must have:

GS-5: One (1) year of full-time specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 level in the Federal Service performing all or most of the following tasks: Applying laws, rules or regulations and written guidelines; Communicating orally in order to provide information, assistance, or instructions to members of the general public or their representatives; Performing administrative and clerical processes using a computer to reconcile discrepancies, associate documents with related files/records, etc.; Writing correspondence in response to inquiries and drafted a variety of other written products.

GS-6: One (1) year of full-time specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in the Federal Service performing all or most of the following tasks: Reviewing legal or medical documents for accuracy in accordance with applicable rules and regulations; Communicating with a wide variety of individuals in order to provide or elicit information; Applying & interpreting laws, rules or regulations and written guidelines; Using a computer to prepare correspondence in draft and final form or to prepare reports.

GS-7: One (1) year of full-time specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 level in the Federal Service performing all or most of the following tasks: Reviewing and processing a variety of legal and/or medical documentation, records and evidence in accordance with applicable rules & regulations; Communicating with a wide variety of individuals in order to provide advice/guidance about medical or legal claims, hearings process, insurance claims, or other related programs; Interpreting complex laws, rules or regulations and written guidelines & explaining the provisions to others; Using a computer to prepare correspondence and has experience using word processing software (i.e., Word, Access, Excel) for data input, queries, reports or case tracking. 

 

Note: Experience and education will be computed as percentages of the overall requirements and must equal to 100 percent when combined.

 

HOW TO APPLY:

Interested applicants must submit:

RESUME: You must meet the basic qualification requirements for the position being filled, including any positive education requirements and/or selective placement factors. All applicants must submit a resume showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed. Your resume must provide specific details as to how your experience meets the qualifications for the posted position(s). When describing your experience in your resume, please be specific; we will not make assumptions regarding your experience. Ensure that your resume includes the grade (if you are a current or previous federal employee) and month, day, and year that you began and ended each position held. Without this information, the experience gained while in that position may not be credited toward meeting the qualifications requirements. The resume should indicate if the work is full-time or part-time. Part-time work is prorated (e.g., if you work 20 hours per week for a 12-month period, you will be credited with 6 months of experience).

PROOF OF EDUCATION: If you are qualifying on the basis of education or satisfying an educational requirement, submit a copy of your transcripts that includes your name, the name of the educational institution, course title(s), number of credits, grade, and date of completion. Unofficial transcripts or screenshots of electronic/web transcripts with the required information will be accepted at the time of application. You must submit your transcripts according to the application submission details of this announcement. Documents will not be accepted via email or regular mail. If selected, you may be required to provide your official college transcripts prior to the effective date of the personnel action placing you into the new position.

Submit your resume electronically to OHO.R6.Little.Rock.Resumes@ssa.gov, or to:

 

            Sherri Rowland 

            Hearing Office Director 

            Social Security Administration Office of Hearings Operations

            700 W. Capitol Ave. Rm 2405

            Little Rock, AR 72201

            

Candidates with questions may contact the office at: OHO.R6.Little.Rock.Resumes@ssa.gov.

 

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.

INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP): ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority for competitive service vacancies. To receive selection priority, candidates must meet the requirements for the Well Qualified. Well-qualified is defined as having knowledge, skills, and abilities that clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. Candidates must also provide:

  • proof of eligibility with your application. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation Notice of Personnel Action, (SF-50); and
  • proof of your most recent performance rating of at least "fully successful" (Level III) or equivalent.

For more information visit http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

Veteran's preference does not apply under this Direct Hire Authority.