Senior Paralegal Officer

Update: * Minor modification to the definition of ''recent and significant experience'' in French

Important messages

We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process. If you need to be accommodated during any phase of the evaluation process, please use the Contact information below to request specialized accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Assessment accommodation

On October 6, 2021, the Government of Canada announced its plans to require vaccination across the federal public service.

As per the new Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration Including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, federal public servants in the Core Public Administration and members of the RCMP must attest to their vaccination status. The requirement for employees to be fully vaccinated applies whether they are teleworking, working remotely or working on-site. This is a condition of employment. Accommodation requests will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and will be limited to employees who are unable to be vaccinated due to a certified medical contraindication, religion or any other prohibited ground of discrimination as defined in the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA).

THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY IN WRITING will be assessed through the answers provided to the pre-screening questions.

At Employment and Social Development Canada, we encourage and value the inclusion of all people including members of the LGBTQ2+ community. We therefore encourage you to apply for this opportunity should you believe you are qualified.

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ON-LINE APPLICATIONS
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We strongly encourage applicants to submit their applications on-line. Following are some of the benefits associated with applying on-line:

• Applicants can create and manage their accounts and apply to job opportunities as long as an internet connection is available.
• Applicants can create a profile and retrieve stored application(s) (personal information, covering letter and résumé) previously submitted and modify them, if necessary, before submitting the application.
• Applicants can modify their application/resume at any time BEFORE the closing date indicated on the job advertisement.

Should you be unable to apply on-line on jobs.gc.ca, please submit your application, quoting the Selection Process Number, to the application contact listed on the poster on or before the closing.

Please ensure to indicate your substantive group and level, your language profile, and your security clearance level if you have previously been employed by the Federal Public Service.

Work environment

Work environment – ESDC Legal Services

Are you a paralegal looking to make a difference and contribute to a dynamic and rewarding work environment? Do you have experience in drafting pleadings, conducting legal research, using and updating legal and administrative databases ?

As an employee of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), you would participate in the mandate of the Department: assisting Canadians in maintaining income for retirement and providing financial benefits to survivors, people with disabilities and their families and providing seniors with basic income security. As a paralegal working in ESDC Legal Services, Litigation, Appeals and Pensions Advisory Group, you would be working alongside counsel in the ESDC/VAC Legal Services Unit on files before the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal (FC/FCA) with respect to matters falling under the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security Act and/or the Employment Insurance Act.

You would have carriage of several FC/FCA files. On those files, you would be required to calculate deadlines, draft letters and pleadings, and serve and file Court documents. You would be working closely with the counsel assigned to the file, requiring almost daily communication with him or her. You would also be required to enter the office a few times a month in order to prepare various Court documents for service and/or filing. You may also be required to make appearances before the Social Security Tribunal.

The legal services branch is also looking to staff a few other EC04 positions, where your expertise in Business analytics tied into your legal background, or your experience in supporting ligation matters or reviewing ministerial correspondence or briefing notes will certainly be assets. If you have instead an interest and background in Dispute Resolution, we are also looking for dedicated candidates to fill positions in this team.

Intent of the process

A pool of partially or fully qualified candidates may be established from this process which may be used to staff similar positions within Employment and Social Development Canada or the Department of Justice (and within Departmental Legal Services Units to staff client positions) with various tenures (indeterminate, acting, specified period, assignment/secondment, deployment, etc.), various language requirements and various conditions of employment, which may vary according to the position to be staffed in the National Capital Region.

Presently, the official location (designated workplace*) of the positons to be staffed is in the National Capital Region (NCR). However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some employees are required to work from home. Selected candidates may be required to step into the office in the NCR occasionally upon notice during the pandemic depending on the position to be staffed.

* Designated workplace: location of work or business address where the employee would work if a telework, hoteling or remote working arrangement was not in place

Positions to be filled: 4

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

In order to be considered, your application must clearly explain how you meet the following (essential qualifications)

EDUCATION:
Successful completion of two years of a post-secondary program with acceptable specialization in social science, statistics, library/archival work or a law-related field.

NOTE: At the manager’s discretion, an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience that is comparable to the minimum education stated above, may serve as an alternative. Whenever the minimum educational standard is met through an alternative, it is met only for the position being staffed, and a candidate must be re-assessed for future appointments and deployments if the manager has asked for this alternative.

If you went to school outside of Canada, you must have your certificates and/or diplomas assessed against Canadian education standards. Read more on Degree equivalency or visit the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC) at: https://www.cicic.ca. This website provides links to a number of Canadian organizations that provide equivalency assessments. Any applicable fees are the responsibility of the candidate.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE

EX.1 Recent* and significant** experience conducting legal research and drafting pleadings involving multiple complex**** issues;

Significant* and recent** refers to the depth and breadth of experience that is generally associated with the carrying out of a large array of complex and interrelated activities during at least 3 years as an appointed legal professional*** within the last 7 years and includes at least 1 year of experience in the past 3 years.

Legal professional*** is defined as a person whom has been appointed fully in the position and has worked in the full scope and capacity of the title. Examples without restricting to these, of a “Legal professional” would be working as a paralegal officer, a Legal assistant, Legal technician, lawyer, etc. Periods of employments done as a student do not count towards the experience gained in this criterion.

**** Complex is defined as the scope and nature involving multiple stakeholders and circumstances where sources of information are absent, rare or conflicting.

EX.2 Experience reviewing documents and incoming requests in order to determine next steps;

EX.3 Experience using and updating legal and administrative databases;

EX.4 Experience organising documents, information and data;

The following will be applied / assessed at a later date (essential for the job)

Various language requirements
Bilingual Imperative- Level: BBB / BBB
English Essential
Either French or English Essential

Information on language requirements

ABILITIES

- Ability to communicate effectively orally.

- Ability to communicate effectively in writing.

- Ability to work effectively under pressure and manage multiple priorities.

PERSONAL SUITABILITY

- Effective interpersonal relationships

- Attention to details

- Dependability

- Judgement

- Initiative

The following may be applied / assessed at a later date (may be needed for the job)

ASSET QUALIFICATIONS
EXPERIENCE

AEX.1 Experience conducting legal research and drafting pleadings involving multiple complex* issues before the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal;

*Complex is defined as the scope and nature involving multiple stakeholders and circumstances where sources of information are absent, rare or conflicting.

AEX.2 Experience reviewing documents and incoming requests in order to determine next steps as per the Federal Courts Rules (Applications and Appeals sections);

AEX.3 Experience appearing before administrative tribunals;

AEX.4 Experience with legal case management business practices such as but not limited to National Timekeeping Protocol; National Protocol for Single Approach to File Management; Legal Complexity and Legal Risk Framework;

AEX.5 Experience providing analysis, advice or recommendations on business-related information, data or systems to support business activities, such as but not limited to priority setting, strategic planning, planning of operational needs, implementation of plans, monitoring, evaluation or performance management;

AEX.6 - Experience working in Litigation support or Litigation;

AEX.7 - Experience reviewing ministerial correspondence or briefing notes;

AEX.8 Experience in conducting interviews with parties or witnesses to obtain relevant information in support of the legal process;

AEX.9 Experience in working as a legal professional** in Dispute Resolution or having at least 45 hours of dispute resolution training;

Legal professional** is defined as a person whom has been appointed fully in the position and has worked in the full scope and capacity of the title. Examples without restricting to these, of a “Legal professional” would be working as a paralegal officer, a Legal assistant, Legal technician, lawyer, etc. Periods of employments done as a student do not count towards the experience gained in this criterion.

AEX.10 Experience providing guidance, mentoring or coaching;

AEX.11 Experience in liaising with clients, stakeholders or senior management (director level equivalent or higher);

AEX.12 Significant*** experience conducting legal research and drafting pleadings involving multiple issues.

Significant*** in the asset qualifications refers as to the depth and breadth of experience that is generally associated with the carrying out of a large array of complex and interrelated activities during at least 4 years as an appointed legal professional**

Legal professional** is defined as a person whom has been appointed fully in the position and has worked in the full scope and capacity of the title. Examples without restricting to these, of a “Legal professional” would be working as a paralegal officer, a Legal assistant, Legal technician, lawyer, etc. Periods of employments done as a student do not count towards the experience gained in this criterion.

At Employment and Social Development Canada, diversity is our strength. If you’re a woman, an Aboriginal person, a person with a disability or a visible minority and are interested in bringing in different perspectives and insights, let us know by completing the Employment Equity (EE) section in your application. Appointments of members of these EE groups could be made to ensure our workforce is inclusive and representative of the Canadian public we serve.
Selection may be limited to members of the following Employment Equity groups: Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, women

Information on employment equity

Conditions of employment

Various security profiles to meet the various requirements of the positions to staff.

Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and attest to their vaccination status or have a supported accommodation measure based on a medical contraindication, religion, or any other prohibited ground for discrimination as defined under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Other information

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians we serve. We promote employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the designated groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

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ASSESSMENT
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The Essential Qualifications and Asset Qualifications may be assessed using various methods of evaluation including, but not limited to interviews, written exams, standardized tests, reference checks, and simulation exercises.

Unsupervised second language evaluation will be used to assess language for bilingual positions.

Please note that asset qualifications, top-down and/or random selection or organizational needs may be used to identify which applications will be given further consideration.

Candidates must meet the essential qualifications to be appointed to a position.

Top-down ranking may be used at any stage of the assessment process where only the top scoring candidates will be invited to the next stage of the assessment. Please note that different pass marks and cut-off scores can be used at various stages of the assessment process. Candidates who attain the pass mark might not be further considered in the process if they do not achieve the cut-off score.

Please note that the assessment will only be rescheduled under exceptional circumstances:
•Illness (a medical certificate will be required);
•Emergency circumstances (verifiable);
•Operational requirements (must be confirmed in writing by your director);
•Pre-approved annual leave (must be confirmed in writing by your supervisor).

Failure to attend the assessment without good reason will be construed as a withdrawal from the appointment process.

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TRAVEL STATUS - TRAVEL COSTS
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Please note you will not be considered to be in travel status or on government business and that travel costs will not be reimbursed. Consequently, you will be responsible for travel costs.

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COMMUNICATION
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All communication regarding this process will be administered via e-mail. It is the candidate's responsibility to provide a valid e-mail address and update their personal information when it changes. If special circumstances prevent you from having access to your email, please contact the person noted below.

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BILINGUAL POSITIONS
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To be considered for a Bilingual Imperative position, you must be willing to undergo Second Language Evaluation testing OR you must already have Second Language Evaluation (SLE) results (proof will be required).

If you have undertaken a SLE by the Public Service Commission (PSC), you can obtain a copy of the SLE results, by requesting it at the following website: http://www.psccfp.gc.ca/ppc-cpp/test-examenresult/result-eng.htm.

Second Language Writing Skills Self-Assessment: In order to help you decide if you should apply to a bilingual position, an optional self-assessment of your writing skills in your second official language is available for you to take before completing your application. https://www.canada.ca/en/public servicecommission/services/secondlanguage-testing-public-service/self-assessmenttests.html.

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OTHER INFORMATION
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You must indicate on your application if you require a technical aid for testing or an alternative method of assessment.

An assignment, secondment or acting appointment requires approval of your supervisor.

Indeterminate employees at the same group and level or equivalent are welcome to apply for this posting and may be considered for deployment if selected at the end of the selection process.

We thank all those who apply.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans first and then to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, with the exception of a job located in Nunavut, where Nunavut Inuit will be appointed first.

Information on the preference to veterans

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.