Job Description

Come join the State of Alaska! This job class uses Competency Based minimum qualifications (MQs). Please read the Competency Based MQ instructions below to learn more.

The Department of Law, Division of Criminal is recruiting for a Paralegal 1 in Palmer! This position is open to Alaska Residents only. Please check our residency definition to determine if you qualify. The person hired into this position will be substituting for the permanent employee while they are on extended leave, which is expected to be until 9/30/2027. This position receives all benefits, including retirement (PERS). In the event the permanent employee returns to work, the incumbent of this substitute position will be placed in layoff status with full layoff rights to the Paralegal job class.

What You Will Be Doing:

In your role as a Paralegal, you will help members in your community who are directly impacted by crime and help victims and witnesses understand their rights and navigate them through the criminal justice system. This includes providing them updates throughout the life of a case as well as informing them of resources available to them. You will also play an important role of the prosecution team working through the criminal justice system to resolve legal issues, including building relationships with other agencies such as law enforcement, court personnel and victim advocates.

Mission and Values/Culture:

Our mission is to seek justice, promote public safety and public respect for government through prompt, effective, and compassionate prosecution of cases in a matter that advocates for the interests of the victims, respects the law enforcement agencies, responsibly stewards public resources, and holds offenders accountable while at the same time protecting the constitutional and legal rights of the accused.

Benefits of Joining Our Team:

You will have an opportunity to learn about the legal system, engage with the court, prepare for hearings and trials, and provide vital support to everyone involved. You can make a difference in someone’s life and take pride in knowing that you have assisted members of your community. The work you will be part of will have a direct impact on promoting safe and secure communities throughout Alaska. This position is considered a flex position. After successfully demonstrating the core competencies outlined in the flex agreement, the incumbent will become eligible to flex to a Paralegal 2 position (Range 16). You can expect a 37.5 hour work week; 12 paid holidays; personal leave accrual starting at 6 hours per pay period (about 21 days annually) and increasing with years of service. The general office hours are 8:00AM to 4:30PM but there is flexibility in establishing your regular hours around core business hours.

The Working Environment You Can Expect:

The Palmer District Attorney's Office is located at 515 E. Dahlia Ave; Suite 150, Palmer, AK. The office environment is friendly, fast-paced, and never boring. In our office, you can become a leader, work as part of a team; work in one or more areas of law and build your office and computer skills.

Who We Are Looking For:

We are interested in candidates who possess some or all of the following position specific competencies:

• Decision Making: Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.
• Information Management: Identifies a need for and knows where or how to gather information; organizes and maintains information or information management systems.

To view the general description and example of duties for the position please go to the following link: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/Alaska/classspecs

If you can imagine yourself in this role, we encourage you to apply!

Minimum Qualifications Paralegal 1

Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in:

• Attention to Detail: Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
• Interpersonal Skills: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.
• Reading: Understands and interprets written material, including technical material, rules, regulations, instructions, reports, charts, graphs, or tables; applies what is learned from written material to specific situations.
• Written Communication: Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.

Equivalent to those typically gained by: Post-secondary and/or vocational education in a legal or legal support area and/or experience preparing, reviewing, or processing legal documents such as affidavits, court reports, demand letters, discovery requests or responses, hearing transcripts, memoranda of advice/instruction/understanding, letters of agreement, motions, legal opinions, subpoenas, and/or writs.

Special Note (All Levels):

Positions may require incumbents to be able to obtain a Notary Public upon hire, and to be able to pass a criminal background check to meet security requirements for using criminal record networks such as Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APSIN) and National Crime Enforcement Information Center/National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NCIC/NLETS). If this requirement is present, it will be stated in the vacancy announcement. Some positions are required to work regular overtime during the standard workweek, on weekends, and/or holidays to provide support to the assigned duty attorney. If this requirement is present, it will be stated in the vacancy announcement.

“Competencies” means a combination of interrelated knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors that enable a person to act effectively in a job or situation. “Paraprofessional” work is typically associated with and supportive of a professional field. It involves extensive practical knowledge gained through experience and/or specific formal or on-the-job training. Work in these occupations may involve substantial elements of the work of the professional or administrative field, but requires less than full knowledge of the field involved. “Progressively responsible” means indicating growth and/or advancement in complexity, difficulty, or level of responsibility. “Technical” means performing tasks, methods, procedures, and computations that are covered by established precedents or guidelines and often require a high degree of skill, care, and precision. “Training” and “education” in this guidance are synonyms for the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through instruction. It includes instruction through formal and informal methods (such as classroom, on-line, self-study, and on-the-job), from accredited and unaccredited sources, and long-duration (such as a post-secondary degree) and short-duration (such as a seminar) programs. “Typically gained by” means the prevalent, usual method of gaining the competencies expected for entry into the job.

Additional Required Information

Members of the Criminal Division are held to high standards of professionalism even in our personal lives. The incumbent must maintain the strictest of confidences with information they will be exposed to and have access to. Applicants should be aware that due to the nature of the work being performed in this office, the incumbent must have the ability to tolerate some exposure to graphic pictures, coarse language, and detailed descriptions of sometimes horrific criminal acts. Please read the information below carefully. This applies to your application submission.

DISCLOSURE OF PRIOR STATE EMPLOYMENT

All employment with the State of Alaska, including but not limited to full-time, part-time, seasonal, temporary, on-call, etc. positions must be disclosed in your application. Failure to provide this information may result in the disqualification of your application.

REQUIRED OF ALL APPLICANTS

At the time of the interview, please ensure that you provide the following materials: Educational transcripts if using education to meet the minimum qualifications of this position. List of three (3) professional references to include daytime telephone and email address. One must be a current or former supervisor. Last two (2) performance evaluations. If unavailable, supervisory letters of recommendation can be substituted.

BACKGROUND CHECK

The Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APSIN) is utilized in this position. A background check and fingerprinting will be required. The incumbent will be required to obtain APSIN access, which will be done through the office.

BARGAINING UNIT

If you are a current state employee, please mark the union you are a member of at the time of application.

EDUCATION

To verify education is being used to meet and/or support the required minimum qualifications/competencies, you must fill in the Education section of the application. If you have not obtained a degree, please indicate the number of units completed. Copies of transcripts are required to verify educational credentials used to meet or support the minimum qualifications/competencies for a position and are required with each application (Unofficial is okay; please ensure the institution/URL name is listed on the transcripts). Transcripts can be attached at the time of application or provided at the time of interview; if not, transcripts will be required before employment.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION

If education is completed in a foreign college or university, it may be used to meet the above requirements, if applicable. If utilizing this education, you must show that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs or an accredited U.S. state university reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas applicable to the curricula at the state university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. The omission of the required documentation listed will result in an incomplete application, and you will not receive further consideration.

WORK EXPERIENCE

When using work experience not documented in your application, please provide the employer's name, job title, employment dates, and whether you worked full-time or part-time. Applications will be reviewed to determine if the responses are supported and if minimum qualifications are met. Work experience needed to meet the minimum qualifications must be documented in the application. If the application does not support minimum qualifications, the applicant may not advance to the interview and selection phase of the recruitment. A resume will not be used to determine that minimum qualifications have been met for the position you are applying for. If you have currently or previously been appointed to a flexibly staffed position, please ensure your work experience within a flexibly staffed position indicates the actual dates employed at each level. Ensure your time and any subsequent flex promotion(s) are documented as a separate position. This is required as minimum qualifications require experience at a particular level in which the lower level may not be considered. If this information is not accurately reflected in your application, this may cause the processing of your application for consideration to be delayed.

NOTE: Attaching a resume or curriculum vitae is not an alternative to filling out the application. Noting "see resume or CV" or any similar response on any portion of your application may lead to a determination that your application is incomplete and removal from consideration for this job posting. The State of Alaska does not provide VISA Employer sponsorships.

MULTIPLE VACANCIES

This recruitment may be used for more than one (1) vacancy. The applicant pool acquired during this recruitment may be used for future vacancies for up to ninety (90) days after this recruitment closes. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply to each recruitment notice to ensure consideration for all vacancies.

APPLICATION NOTICE

You can ONLY apply for this position through the Workplace Alaska website or via a hard copy application. If you accessed this recruitment bulletin through a job search portal such as AlaskaJobs or another database, you MUST use a Workplace Alaska online or hard-copy application to apply successfully. Instructions on how to apply with Workplace Alaska may be found on the Workplace Alaska "How to Apply" webpage, found here: http://doa.alaska.gov/dop/workplace/help/

EEO STATEMENT

The State of Alaska complies with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Individuals with disabilities who require accommodations, auxiliary aids, or services, or alternative communication formats, please call 1-800-587-4095 in Juneau or TTY: Alaska Relay 711 or 1-800-770-8973 or correspond with the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations at P.O. Box 110201, Juneau, AK 99811-0201. The State of Alaska is an equal-opportunity employer.

WORKPLACE ALASKA APPLICATION QUESTIONS & ASSISTANCE

Questions regarding application submission or system operation errors should be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 1-800-587-0430 (toll-free) or (907) 465-4095 if you are in the Juneau area. Requests for information may also be emailed to recruitment.services@alaska.gov. For assistance with applying for a password, please visit https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword. Please be sure to check your junk folder for any messages that may be sent to you about this recruitment.

Contact Information

For specific information in reference to the position, feel free to contact the hiring manager at: Tiffany Saporito Paralegal Specialist 2 Phone: (907)269-5261 Email: tiffany.saporito@alaska.gov