Librarian (Law)

About the role

This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), in various locations around the US.

Responsibilities

• Provide reference and research support, including guiding users to appropriate legal resources and compiling legislative histories.
• Advise and train OPLA employees in new and emerging library technologies, references, and related information.
• Draft written training and outreach materials.
• Aid in preparing content for publication via SharePoint.
• Assist in maintaining the library budget and preparing budget requests.
• Enhance resource sharing through DHS and other agency partnerships.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position. You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. Selective Service registration required. Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required. One-year probationary period may be required. A pre-employment drug test will be required. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application. DHS uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing. Incentives may be authorized; however, this is contingent upon funds availability.

Qualifications

• Basic Requirement: You must meet one of the items listed below (A or B):
  • Completion of 1 full academic year of graduate study in library science in an accredited college or university, in addition to completion of all work required for a bachelor's degree. (Must provide transcripts)
  • A total of at least 5 years of a combination of college-level education, training, and experience. To qualify on this basis, the applicant must establish conclusively that the education, training, and experience provided a knowledge and understanding of the theories, principles, and techniques of professional librarianship; a knowledge of literature resources; and the knowledge and abilities essential for providing effective library and information services. (Must provide transcripts)
• Specialized Experience, GS-13: You must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-12 level in the Federal service that included performing at least 3 of the following:
  • Assisting customers with research queries involving multiple variables;
  • Locating legal information to address novel questions;
  • Monitoring legislative or regulatory developments to provide information to customers;
  • Identifying information gaps to provide targeted research solutions.
• Law Specialization Requirement: Because this position is primarily concerned with providing library services in law and legal reference, applicants must also meet the requirements specified in one of the paragraphs below:
  • Legal Education Completion of at least 24 semester hours of legal study in an accredited law school for positions primarily concerned with providing library services in law or legislative reference. (Must provide transcripts)
  • Law-Related Experience Four years of pertinent experience of such nature and level to provide a knowledge of the basic principles, theories, practices, techniques, terminology and expressions of law; an understanding of the standard methods, procedures, and techniques of research and analysis in law or legal-related field; ability to acquire additional information about the field and related fields; and some knowledge of literature resources in the field. Such experience must be equivalent to that which would have been acquired through successful completion of legal training as described in (a) above.
  • Combination of Legal Education and Experience Any time-equivalent combination of experience as described in (b) above and education as described in (a) above.