Supervisory Paralegal Specialist
for section headings. Use - for any list of duties/requirements/benefits. Use
for prose.
We need to preserve all substantive information: That includes location info, organizational location, maybe note about additional selections for other divisions. Also note about residency requirement, citizenship, selective service, background investigation, drug testing, ethics, E-Verify, bargaining unit not covered, probationary period, supervisory probationary period, leadership training, etc. Also note about Reasonable Accommodation, veterans, etc. Also note about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility. Also note about education (not specified). Also note about required documents (but we don't have details). We should keep all that.
We need to avoid repeating lines. Ensure we don't include navigation/legal/EEO boilerplate. The text includes many paragraphs that are substantive.
We need to format as HTML fragment.
Let's extract sections:
About the role: summary paragraph: "Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, New Orleans Field Office, Area Port of New Orleans, LA. Additional selections may be made for other organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above." Also maybe the first sentence: "Joining the Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations will allow you to use your expertise to perform and supervise administrative and operational work of the Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures program. Apply for this exciting opportunity to strengthen Homeland Security by performing paralegal activities such as reviewing and finalizing claims, preparing cases, and participating in the work of a paralegal team." That could be part of About the role.
Responsibilities: list of major duties: bullet points from "Major duties for this position include but are not limited to:" then list items. Also include supervisory probationary period, leadership training maybe as additional responsibilities.
Requirements: list of requirements: citizenship, selective service, residency, background investigation, drug testing, ethics, E-Verify, bargaining unit not covered, etc. Also note about pre-employment processes in English, etc.
Qualifications: experience requirements, education note, time in grade, political appointee disclosure, etc. Also note about volunteer experience counting, etc. Also note about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, reasonable accommodation, veterans, etc.
Pay: salary range and locality pay tables link, special pay rate charts.
We must not include links as headings; we can keep them as plain text within
or
- . The instruction: preserve all substantive information; we can keep the URLs as text.
We must not include markdown fences.
Let's craft.
Structure:
About the role
Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, New Orleans Field Office, Area Port of New Orleans, LA. Additional selections may be made for other organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.
Joining the Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations will allow you to use your expertise to perform and supervise administrative and operational work of the Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures program. Apply for this exciting opportunity to strengthen Homeland Security by performing paralegal activities such as reviewing and finalizing claims, preparing cases, and participating in the work of a paralegal team.
Responsibilities
- Supervising the day-to-day operations of a Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures (FPF) office service area and processes the adjudication of all liquidated damages, penalty, and seizure cases.
- Reviewing and processing all cases within their area of authority through final adjudication and solution and ensuring that all cases are legally sufficient in order to establish the violation, as well as that case files contain the correct supporting documentation.
- Having the authority to cancel any cases where it is determined that no violation exists or that certain types of cases are DE MINIMIS as defined by written policies of CBP.
- Making the final determination as to whether prior disclosures are valid pursuant to relevant Title 19 authority.
- Receiving and analyzing legal arguments in petitions and appeals to original decisions/supplemental petitions and determines whether grounds for additional relief are present.
- May be required to serve an 18‑month supervisory probationary period upon appointment.
- All newly appointed first‑time CBP Supervisors are required to complete mandatory leadership training (3 weeks in‑residence at Harpers Ferry, WV) within the first 90 days of appointment; this training may be waived if previous training has been completed.
Requirements
- Must be a U.S. Citizen.
- Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service.
- Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (see residency details).
- All pre‑employment processes will be conducted in English.
- May be required to pass a background investigation.
- CBP follows the DHS Drug‑Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures.
- As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce dedicated to accomplishing the mission while maintaining the trust of the Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards; conduct subject to ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees and to CBP employees specifically, as well as criminal conflict of interest statutes.
- Once on duty, must obtain approval for outside employment or business activity to ensure such activity is not prohibited and does not interfere with official duties.
- DHS uses E‑Verify to confirm eligibility of newly hired employees to work in the United States.
- This position is not covered under a bargaining unit.
Qualifications
Experience: You qualify for the GS‑13 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
- Preparing final decision letters, referral packages, and litigation requests by documenting findings of fact, conclusions of law, penalty assessments, and case recommendations for review.
- Evaluating all evidence, facts, and circumstances relating to cases and making determinations and recommendations as appropriate within the requirements of the mitigation guidelines, policies, laws and regulations, and violators' participation in partnership programs.
- Reviewing and making determinations as to the presence of probable cause and/or the acceptability of evidence.
- Providing training and guidance to staff by assigning work based on priorities and employee capabilities, developing performance standards, evaluating performance, identifying training needs, resolving employee concerns, and recommending personnel actions.
- Conducting legal and factual research, performing Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures casework involving the initiation, review, adjudication, or recommendation of decisions on seizure, penalty, forfeiture, and liquidated damages under related laws and regulations.
NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible.
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.
You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 09/29/2026.
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.
Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non‑prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances.
Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:
- Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military.
- A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government.
- Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university.
- Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government.
Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete
for prose. We need to preserve all substantive information: That includes location info, organizational location, maybe note about additional selections for other divisions. Also note about residency requirement, citizenship, selective service, background investigation, drug testing, ethics, E-Verify, bargaining unit not covered, probationary period, supervisory probationary period, leadership training, etc. Also note about Reasonable Accommodation, veterans, etc. Also note about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility. Also note about education (not specified). Also note about required documents (but we don't have details). We should keep all that. We need to avoid repeating lines. Ensure we don't include navigation/legal/EEO boilerplate. The text includes many paragraphs that are substantive. We need to format as HTML fragment. Let's extract sections: About the role: summary paragraph: "Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, New Orleans Field Office, Area Port of New Orleans, LA. Additional selections may be made for other organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above." Also maybe the first sentence: "Joining the Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations will allow you to use your expertise to perform and supervise administrative and operational work of the Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures program. Apply for this exciting opportunity to strengthen Homeland Security by performing paralegal activities such as reviewing and finalizing claims, preparing cases, and participating in the work of a paralegal team." That could be part of About the role. Responsibilities: list of major duties: bullet points from "Major duties for this position include but are not limited to:" then list items. Also include supervisory probationary period, leadership training maybe as additional responsibilities. Requirements: list of requirements: citizenship, selective service, residency, background investigation, drug testing, ethics, E-Verify, bargaining unit not covered, etc. Also note about pre-employment processes in English, etc. Qualifications: experience requirements, education note, time in grade, political appointee disclosure, etc. Also note about volunteer experience counting, etc. Also note about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, reasonable accommodation, veterans, etc. Pay: salary range and locality pay tables link, special pay rate charts. We must not include links as headings; we can keep them as plain text within
or
About the role
Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, New Orleans Field Office, Area Port of New Orleans, LA. Additional selections may be made for other organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.
Joining the Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations will allow you to use your expertise to perform and supervise administrative and operational work of the Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures program. Apply for this exciting opportunity to strengthen Homeland Security by performing paralegal activities such as reviewing and finalizing claims, preparing cases, and participating in the work of a paralegal team.
Responsibilities
- Supervising the day-to-day operations of a Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures (FPF) office service area and processes the adjudication of all liquidated damages, penalty, and seizure cases.
- Reviewing and processing all cases within their area of authority through final adjudication and solution and ensuring that all cases are legally sufficient in order to establish the violation, as well as that case files contain the correct supporting documentation.
- Having the authority to cancel any cases where it is determined that no violation exists or that certain types of cases are DE MINIMIS as defined by written policies of CBP.
- Making the final determination as to whether prior disclosures are valid pursuant to relevant Title 19 authority.
- Receiving and analyzing legal arguments in petitions and appeals to original decisions/supplemental petitions and determines whether grounds for additional relief are present.
- May be required to serve an 18‑month supervisory probationary period upon appointment.
- All newly appointed first‑time CBP Supervisors are required to complete mandatory leadership training (3 weeks in‑residence at Harpers Ferry, WV) within the first 90 days of appointment; this training may be waived if previous training has been completed.
Requirements
- Must be a U.S. Citizen.
- Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service.
- Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (see residency details).
- All pre‑employment processes will be conducted in English.
- May be required to pass a background investigation.
- CBP follows the DHS Drug‑Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures.
- As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce dedicated to accomplishing the mission while maintaining the trust of the Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards; conduct subject to ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees and to CBP employees specifically, as well as criminal conflict of interest statutes.
- Once on duty, must obtain approval for outside employment or business activity to ensure such activity is not prohibited and does not interfere with official duties.
- DHS uses E‑Verify to confirm eligibility of newly hired employees to work in the United States.
- This position is not covered under a bargaining unit.
Qualifications
Experience: You qualify for the GS‑13 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
- Preparing final decision letters, referral packages, and litigation requests by documenting findings of fact, conclusions of law, penalty assessments, and case recommendations for review.
- Evaluating all evidence, facts, and circumstances relating to cases and making determinations and recommendations as appropriate within the requirements of the mitigation guidelines, policies, laws and regulations, and violators' participation in partnership programs.
- Reviewing and making determinations as to the presence of probable cause and/or the acceptability of evidence.
- Providing training and guidance to staff by assigning work based on priorities and employee capabilities, developing performance standards, evaluating performance, identifying training needs, resolving employee concerns, and recommending personnel actions.
- Conducting legal and factual research, performing Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures casework involving the initiation, review, adjudication, or recommendation of decisions on seizure, penalty, forfeiture, and liquidated damages under related laws and regulations.
NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible.
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.
You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 09/29/2026.
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.
Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non‑prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances.
Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:
- Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military.
- A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government.
- Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university.
- Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government.
Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete