Salary: $41.19 - $47.31 Hourly
Location : Bethel, AK
Job Type: Full Time
Job Number: 54562
Department: Administration
Division: Public Defender Agency
Opening Date: 07/17/2026
Closing Date: 8/6/2026 5:00 PM Alaska
Division: Public Defender Agency
Position Open To: Alaska Residents Only
Bargaining Unit: General Government
Range: 14/16

Job Description
This position is open to Alaska Residents only. Please check our residency definition to determine if you qualify.

This position will be filled at either the Paralegal 1 or Paralegal 2 level, depending on the selected applicant's qualifications and job experience.

What You Will Be Doing

This position works in the Public Defender Agency's Bethel office and is responsible for providing litigation assistance to attorneys representing clients in criminal, civil, child in need of aid, and commitment cases. This position is also responsible for assisting attorneys in organizing and managing cases, providing direct client assistance, and utilizing the internal case management system to draft letters and pleadings among other duties

Minimum Qualifications

Paralegal 1 Minimum Qualifications (Range: 14)

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.

Paralegal 2 Minimum Qualifications (Range: 16)

Successful completion of training under a formally established Paralegal 1-2 flexible staffing training plan with the State of Alaska;

OR

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

• Adaptability: adjusts planned work by gathering relevant information and applying critical thinking to address multiple demands and competing priorities in a changing environment.
• Administrative Law: Knowledge of State and federal administrative laws, including procedures, regulations, guidelines, and precedents related to case preparation and settlements.
• 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.
• Stress Tolerance: Deals calmly and effectively with high stress situations (for example, tight deadlines, hostile individuals, emergency situations, dangerous situations).

Equivalent to those typically gained by:

Post-secondary and/or vocational education in a legal, paralegal, criminal justice, or similar legal support area and/or experience performing paraprofessional legal investigation, discovery, and providing support in the preparation of legal cases, reports, documents, and exhibits.
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
Please read the below information carefully. This applies to your application submission.

THIS RECRUITMENT IS FOR ALASKA RESIDENTS ONLY

Please be sure to check our to determine if you qualify.

At time of interview, please be prepared to provide:

• College Transcripts (if using education to meet the minimum qualifications)
• Three (3) professional references, two who have had supervisor experience over you, including current email and/or daytime phone number

FLEXIBLY STAFFED
This position is flexibly staffed. This vacancy may be filled at either the 2, or 3 levels, depending on the applicant's training and/or experience. The full range of salaries is listed above. Starting salary will be determined by the level of the position. If filled at a lower level, promotion to the higher level will only occur upon successful completion of the probationary period and the required training, provided the applicant meets the minimum qualifications of the higher job class and receives final approval from the supervisor.

ACOMS CLERANCE

Due to the nature of the work of the Public Defender Agency and access to ACOMS at the workplace, the individual who is selected for this position will be required to pass a background investigation and may be re-fingerprinted. Full disclosure of ALL past criminal convictions (both misdemeanor and felony including suspended impositions of sentence) at the time of application is required. Convictions may lead to disqualification due to the requirements necessary to access these systems.

EDUCATION
If post-secondary education is required to meet the minimum qualifications, 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 if used to meet the minimum qualifications for a position. Transcripts can be attached at the time of application or within 48 hours of the close of this recruitment to the contact person listed below.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities 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 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.

WORK EXPERIENCE
If using work experience not already documented in your application, also provide the employer's name, your job title, dates of employment, and whether full-or part-time. Applications will be reviewed to determine if the responses are supported and minimum qualifications are clearly met. If they are not, the applicant may not advance to the interview and selection phase of the recruitment.

NOTE: Attaching a resume or curriculum vitae is not an alternative to filling out the application in its en