Duties

The Associate General Counsel for Technology Programs will support the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel in providing legal advice to the Secretary,Deputy Secretary, Under Secretary for Science and Technology, and other DHS senior leadership.

Along with the Deputy Associate General Counsel, the incumbent will manage and direct Technology Programs Law Division staff, in the provision of full service legal programs for S&T. The incumbent will provide and manage legal guidance, counsel, interpretation, and advisory services, in coordination with other OGC attorney subject matter experts as appropriate, on matters relating to:

Research, development, test, and evaluation funding agreements with the private sector, academia, and the Federal Government national laboratory complex, including government contracts, grants, and interagency agreements;

Government contracts and grants for operational programs;

DHS's laboratory infrastructure, including three government-owned, government-operated laboratories (Plum Island Animal Disease Center, the Transportation Security Laboratory, and the National Urban Technology Security Laboratory), one government-owned, contractor-operated biosecurity level 4 laboratory for biodefense research (the National Biological Analysis and Countermeasures Center), and a proposed laboratory for the study of foreign animal disease (the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility);

Application of the SAFETY Act;

Compliance assurance with regard to international treaty compliance in the conduct of research and development;

International bilateral agreements regarding research activities;

Technology transfer and intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and data rights; and

Client program lifecycle legal support, working with other divisions within OGC on matters related to fiscal law; personnel and human capital; environmental law; GAO audits and IG investigations; Congressional investigations and testimony/hearing preparation; legislative authority issues; administrative law; Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act; Federally Funded Research and Development Center issues; and regulatory and treaty compliance.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• You must submit to a pre-employment drug test.
• You must be able to obtain/maintain a TOP SECRET/SCI security clearance.
• You may be required to undergo periodic drug testing.
• You will serve a one-year probationary period unless you previously completed the probationary period in the SES.
• Selectee will be required to complete form OGE-278, Executive Personnel Financial Disclosure Form.
• COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement as required by Executive Order 14043, for further details, refer to additional information below.
• You must possess a professional law degree (e.g., J.D., LL.B.) acquired through graduation from a School of Law accredited by the American Bar Association.
• You must be an active member in good standing of the Bar of a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.

Qualifications

As a basic requirement for entry into the SES, applicants must provide evidence of progressively responsible executive leadership and supervisory experience that is indicative of senior executive level management capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under Executive Core Qualifications and Technical Qualifications listed below. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-15 grade level in the federal service or its equivalent in the private sector. As such, your resume should demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully fulfill responsibilities inherent in most SES positions such as:

• Directing the work of an organizational unit;
• Ensuring the success of one or more specific major programs or projects;
• Monitoring progress toward strategic organizational goals, evaluating organizational performance and taking action to improve performance;
• Supervising the work of employees; and
• Exercising important policymaking, policy determining, or other executive functions.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs):

Unless you are currently serving under a Career Senior Executive Service (SES) appointment, eligible for reinstatement into the SES, or a SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) graduate, you must address the ECQs. Your narrative must address each ECQ separately and demonstrate the underlying competencies in the narrative. Examples should be clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities; the scope and complexity of the programs, activities, or services you managed; program accomplishments; policy initiatives undertaken; level of contacts; the sensitivity and criticality of the issues you addressed; and the results of your actions. You should use action oriented leadership words to describe your experience and accomplishments and quantify your experience wherever possible to demonstrate your accomplishments (e.g., number of employees supervised; size of budget managed; amount of money saved, etc.). Applicants should use the Challenge, Context, Action and Results (CCAR) model below when responding to each ECQ:

• CHALLENGE: Describe a specific problem or goal.
• CONTEXT: Describe individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to address a particular challenge (e.g., clients, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale).
• ACTION: Describe the specific actions you took to address a challenge.
• RESULT: Describe specific examples of measures/outcomes that had impact on the organization. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills.

Your narrative response should not exceed 10 pages, be typed in 12 point font with one-inch margins. It is recommended that you include 2 recent (not older than 10 years) examples per ECQ and draft your ECQs in a Word document before uploading into the system to ensure these guidelines are met. Information that exceeds these guidelines will not be reviewed. Detailed information on each ECQ, the underlying and fundamental competencies, sample narratives and a tips sheet for writing effective ECQs are available in the "Guide To Senior Executive Service Qualifications" GUIDE (opm.gov) at Senior Executive Service Executive Core Qualifications

ECQ 1 - LEADING CHANGE . This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment. Leadership Competencies: Creativity & Innovation, External Awareness, Flexibility, Resilience, Strategic Thinking, Vision.

ECQ 2 - LEADING PEOPLE . This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts. Leadership Competencies: Conflict Management, Leveraging Diversity, Developing Others, Team Building.

ECQ 3 - RESULTS DRIVEN . This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks. Leadership Competencies: Accountability, Customer Service, Decisiveness, Entrepreneurship, Problem Solving, Technical Credibility.

ECQ 4 - BUSINESS ACUMEN . This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. Leadership Competencies: Financial Management, Human Capital Management, Technology Management.

ECQ 5 - BUILDING COALITIONS . This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals. Leadership Competencies: Partnering, Political Savvy, Influencing/Negotiating.

NOTE: Those applicants currently serving under a career Senior Executive Service appointment, who are eligible for reinstatement into the Senior Executive Service, or who have successfully completed a Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program approved by OPM, need not submit a narrative statement covering each of the Executive Core Qualifications. However, those applicants must address the following Mandatory Technical Competencies.

TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION (TQ)s:

In addition to the Executive Core Qualifications, all candidates must show evidence of the following TQs below in order to meet basic qualifications for this position. Please label and include your name on each page. Please give examples and explain how often you used your skills, the complexity of the knowledge possessed, the level of people you interacted with, the sensitivity of the issues you handled managing a large public or private sector organization that administers complex, rules-based benefits or services, etc. It is recommended that you draft your TQ(s) in a word document and then upload into the system. You must address each TQ separately and you should not exceed 2 pages per TQ. You are required to respond to all TQs. If you fail to do so, you will be rated as 'ineligible.'

TQ 1. Experience in providing legal advice to private sector or to government entities in applicable technology fields concerning some or all of the following: research and development government contracts, interagency agreements, and grants; laboratory management and operations legal issues; technology transfer; and intellectual property.

TQ 2. Demonstrated management abilities involving both legal and administrative matters in an agency, law firm, or other organization. The ability to work with legal and other professionals to evaluate and develop policies, procedures and objectives for an organization.

DO NOT COMBINE THE TQ AND ECQ STATEMENTS. Failure to meet the basic qualification requirement and address all Mandatory Technical and Executive Core Qualification factors will result in your application being disqualified.

Veteran's Preference does not apply to the Senior Executive Service.

Education

You must possess a professional law degree (e.g., J.D., LL.B.) acquired through graduation from a School of Law accredited by the American Bar Association, and be a member in good standing of the Bar of a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States. You must submit documentation supporting that you meet this qualification when applying to this job opportunity announcement.

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications; applicant's resumes and supporting documentation should only reflect education received from schools accredited by such institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following Website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html.

If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency (a U.S. private organization's interpretation that such education has been deemed at least equivalent to conventional U.S. education programs) with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For more information regarding evaluation of foreign education for federal employment, please visit the U.S. Department of Education webpage .

Additional information

As required by Executive Order 14043 , Federal employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of the employee's duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.), subject to such exceptions as required by law. If selected, you will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before a Final Job Offer is released. The agency will provide additional information in your Tentative Job Offer regarding how you will submit this proof of vaccination or request a legally required exception from this requirement.

Due to COVID-19, the component is currently in an expanded telework posture. Therefore, if selected, you may be expected to temporarily telework, even if your home is located outside the local commuting area. Once employees are permitted to return to the office, you will be expected to report to the duty station listed on this announcement. At that time, you may be eligible to request to continue to telework one or more days a pay period depending upon the terms of the component's telework policy.

Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expenses may be authorized at Management's discretion.

Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of its mission, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires each and every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation for Top Secret/ Sensitive Compartment Information clearance as a condition of placement in this Special Sensitive position. This review includes financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U. S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U. S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Pursuant to Executive Order 12654 and DHS policy, DHS is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and, therefore, conducts random and other drug testing of its employees in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. Headquarters personnel in safety- or security-sensitive positions are subject to random drug testing and all applicants tentatively selected for employment at DHS Headquarters are subject to drug testing resulting in a negative test result.

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, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

DHS uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.

May be required to perform the duties as a member of the DHS Emergency Relocation Group (ERG).