Staff Assistant

Office of the Solicitor; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) within the Solicitor's Office seeks a Staff Assistant to support office leadership and oversee the Division's budget, personnel actions, and travel logistics.

The Staff Assistant will handle confidential administrative duties, coordinate hiring, promotions, awards, the SOL Honors Attorney Program, and FOIA requests, while maintaining office operations. U.S. citizenship and eligibility for security clearance are required.

Qualifications

• 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11) in Federal service.
• Experience supporting an office or operational environment from an administrative perspective (time and attendance, drafting memos, scheduling, basic research).
• Knowledge of grammar and writing techniques; ability to manage executive correspondence and utilize automated systems (word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, email, travel, budget, personnel, matter management).
• Experience with document management/recording procedures and maintaining confidentiality in a legal office.
• Must be a U.S. citizen and able to obtain the necessary security investigation level.

Responsibilities

• Support office leadership, particularly the Deputy Associate Solicitor, in managing the Division.
• Manage the Division budget, track spending, and procure goods and services.
• Oversee personnel actions including hiring, promotions, and awards.
• Administer the SOL Honors Attorney Program.
• Review financial disclosures for senior employees.
• Arrange travel for Division employees.
• Coordinate FOIA requests and responses.
• Oversee office equipment, inventory, and facilities with building management.

Skills

Budget management

HR coordination

Travel coordination

Confidentiality

Administrative support

Document handling

Tools

Word processing

Spreadsheets

Presentations

Email/Calendar

Record management systems

Job description

Summary

The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) within the Solicitor's Office is seeking a Staff Assistant to help manage our office. Our Staff Assistant makes our attorneys' work possible by overseeing our budget, including making purchases of necessary supplies and tracking spending; facilitating personnel matters including hiring, promotions, and awards; and managing attorneys' travel.

Duties

The Staff Assistant is responsible for supporting OLC's office leadership, in particular the Deputy Associate Solicitor, in managing the Division. The Staff Assistant exercises responsibility for a variety of confidential and administrative duties, including:

• Managing the Division's budget, including tracking and projecting spending as well as properly procuring goods and services for the Division;
• Managing the Division's personnel activities, including hiring, promotions, details, and awards;
• Managing the administration of the SOL Honors Attorney Program;
• Assisting the Ethics Program Manager in reviewing senior employees' financial disclosure forms;
• Arranging travel by Division employees;
• Taking responsibility for office equipment and facilities, including monitoring inventory, preparing workspaces, and coordinating with building management as necessary; and
• Coordinating the Division's FOIA requests and responses

This position is outside of the Bargaining Unit.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Must be at least 16 years old.
• Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.
• Relocation Expenses will not be paid.

Qualifications

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements for time-in-grade (52 weeks at the next lower grade), time-after-competitive-appointment (90 days), and minimum qualifications (52 weeks equivalent to the next lower grade in federal service). These requirements must be met within 30 days of the announcement closing date. You must meet the Specialized Experience to qualify for Staff Assistant, as described below.

To qualify for this GS-12: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-11 in the Federal Service.

Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the duties of the position successfully, 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.

Qualifying specialized experience for GS-12 includes: Experience that has equipped the applicant with specific knowledge of experience supporting an office or operational environment from an administrative support perspective to include time and attendance, drafting memos, coordinating schedules, and doing basic research. Managing human resources actions, recruitment processes, onboarding and separation processing, and knowledge of grammar and writing techniques, ability to manage executive correspondence, knowledge of automated systems to carry out administrative functions on behalf of the management staff e.g., word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, email, scheduling, travel, budget, personnel, matter management, and/or other comparable software and systems; knowledge of document management/recording procedures; develops administrative directions, and able to take direction. Must also have experience complying with confidentiality and privilege requirements of an organized legal office.

Education

Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.

If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

Additional information

The mission of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to protect the welfare of workers and job seekers, improve working conditions, expand high-quality employment opportunities, and assure work-related benefits and rights for all workers.

Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION, REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION, FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

As a condition of employment, all personnel must undergo a background investigation for access to DOL facilities, systems, information and/or classified materials before they can enter on duty: BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION

For more information, Click here for Career Ladder Promotion Information

You may not be aware, but in the regulations for agency ethics programs, there are requirements for supervisors. Section 2638.103 of Title 5 of the CFR states: Every supervisor in the executive branch has a heightened personal responsibility for advancing government ethics. It is imperative that supervisors serve as models of ethical behavior for subordinates. Supervisors have a responsibility to help ensure that subordinates are aware of their ethical obligations under the Standards of Conduct and that subordinates know how to contact agency ethics officials. Supervisors are also responsible for working with agency ethics officials to help resolve conflicts of interests and enforce government ethics laws and regulations, including those requiring certain employees to file financial disclosure reports. In addition, supervisors are responsible, when requested, for assisting agency ethics officials in evaluating potential conflicts of interest and identifying positions subject to financial disclosure requirements.

For more information, click Telework Position Information. This is not a remote work position. The selectee will report to an assigned DOL office location on a regular basis and is eligible for participation in telework as determined by management in accordance with DOL policy.

Based on agency needs, additional positions may be filled using this vacancy.

The Fair Chance Act (FCA) prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOL employee has violated your rights under the FCA, you may file a complaint of the alleged violation following our agency's complaint process Guidelines for Reporting Violations of the Fair Chance Act.

Note: The FCA does not apply to some positions specified under the Act, such as law enforcement or national security positions.

All Department of Labor employees are subject to the provisions of the Drug-Free Workplace Program under Executive Order 12564 and Public Law 100-71.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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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.