Duties
This series covers positions managing, supervising, leading, and/or performing administrative and management work.
- Vacancies filled under this public notice may have varying levels of promotion potential and supervisory level, if any.
- Positions may be filled as permanent, term, or temporary with a full-time or part-time work schedule.
As a Paralegal Specialist You May
- Provide analyses, interpretations, and opinions to assigned Department of Energy (DOE) offices on a variety of cases and issues that include legal and policy positions that will broaden or restrict DOE activities, or have an important impact on energy and related industries and the public.
- Represent DOE in meetings with peers and management officials.
- Serve under direction of supervisor or senior attorneys on important intra-agency and interagency task forces.
- Perform legal research and provide recommendations to the supervisor based on the legal principles involved.
- Review and comment on legislation, rulemaking, and regulatory activities of DOE or other agencies to ensure adequate consideration of DOE concerns and to assess the impact of those activities on DOE's statutory missions or policies.
- Draft legal policies and procedures for use in the DOE in relation to suits from various Courts on behalf of, or against the United States, rising from activities of the DOE.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
- This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
- Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
- Subject to the appropriate background investigation to determine suitability or fitness for federal employment. Continued employment is contingent upon favorable adjudications of periodic reinvestigations, if applicable.
- May be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
- These positions are to be filled under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Inflation Reduction Act or Scientific, Technical, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) direct hire authority.
- This position is included in a Bargaining Agreement.
- A one year probationary period may be required.
Qualifications
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS GS-11:: You must have one year of experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the
GS-9 grade level in the Federal service. Experience is defined as:
- Gathering legal material for use by attorneys for opinions, briefs, motions, pleadings, and other legal documents.
- Assists with the review of documents to determine whether the requestor meets eligibility requirements and to ensure compliance with legal requirements and technical accuracy.
- Utilizes computerized systems to process and maintain documents such as invention disclosures, confirmatory licenses, assignments, and patent applications.
OR EDUCATION: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.M., if related.
OR COMBINATION: You may qualify on a combination of education and experience, the total percentage of experience at the required grade level compared to the specialized experience requirement, as well as the percentage of completed education compared to the educational requirement must equal at least 100 percent. Only graduate level education in excess of 36 semester hours (54 quarter hours), may be used to combine education and experience.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS GS-12:: You must have one year of experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the
GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Experience is defined as:
- Performing legal research and gathering legal material for use by attorneys for opinions, briefs, motions, pleadings, and other legal documents.
- Reviewing documents to determine whether the requestor meets eligibility requirements and to ensure compliance with legal requirements and technical accuracy.
- Utilizes computerized systems to process and maintain documents such as invention disclosures, confirmatory licenses, assignments, and patent applications.
There is no substitution for education at the GS-12 grade level.
"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.
OPM Qualification Standards for the GS-0950 series can be found at the following website:
CTAP/ICTAP candidates: To be considered "well qualified" you must meet all of the requirements as described in this section.
All requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Education
If substituting education for specialized experience you must submit proof of your qualifying education.
Failure to provide college transcripts may result in a rating of 'Ineligible'. Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see
Additional information
The U.S. Department of Energy fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
- This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across DOE.
- For general information on government-wide Telework polices visit:
- Status and Non-Status applicants from outside DOE selected under these authorities are required to serve a mandatory one (1) year probationary period. A DOE career status employee selected for this position may be required to serve a new one (1) year probationary period, pursuant to 5 CFR 315.802.
- If you believe that you are eligible for the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), please visit the
- This public notice is to gather applications that may or may not result in a referral or selection.
- There may or may not be actual/projected vacancies at the time of your application.
- More than one selection may be made under these hiring authorities.
- Some positions may require completion of a probationary period of up to 1 (one) year.
- Many positions require successful completion of a background investigation.
- Positions may be filled at varying levels of leadership, ie Team Lead, Manager, Supervisor.
- Supervisory positions may require a 1-year probationary period, if not yet completed.
- New employees to the Department of Energy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit
- Veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. For more information, please visit the links at the bottom of this page or visit the
- All males born after December 31st 1959 must abide by laws regarding Selective Service registration. To learn more about this law, visit the Selective Service web page,
- EEO Policy:
- Reasonable Accommodation Policy:
- Veterans Information:
- Selective Service Registration:
- The Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged non-compliance by completing the Fair Chance Act Intake Form and submitting it to the Administrative Investigations Program at
- 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.
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.
