Supervisory Attorney-Adviser (General)

Duties

As a Supervisory Attorney-Advisor with the Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor, Departmental Ethics Office, Advice and Counsel Branch located in Washington, DC your specific duties will include:

• Supervising attorneys providing advice and counsel to Departmental employees, tracking and assigning work, and providing legal review as necessary for work produced by non-attorneys in other DEO organizational branches;
• Rendering appropriate and timely legal advice to officials and employees in the Department and its Bureaus on all legal Issues pertaining to Government ethics, including criminal conflict of Interests laws, Executive Branch Standards of Conduct and the Hatch Act;
• Researching and writing opinions for the Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official (ADAEO) on complex and novel ethics issues at the Department;
• Reviewing public and confidential financial disclosure reports and recommending appropriate action;
• Coordinating advice with the Office of Government Ethics, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, the Office of Special Counsel, the Office of White House Counsel, and other agencies' ethics officials as necessary;
• Identifying, reviewing, and analyzing the impacts of changes In law or regulations on the operations of the Department's programs and ethics implications of such changes;
• Assisting in the drafting and development of ethics program-wide policies, procedures, and guidance and make recommendations for improvement in the work of the ethics program;
• Collaborating with ethics officials throughout the Department on the identification and resolution of ethics matters;
• Ensuring that information regarding possible violations of law is referred to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) as required, referring other matters for OIG investigations as appropriate and providing technical assistance to the OIG in the analysis of potential ethics violations;
• Reviewing legislative proposals and assisting with the Department's response on items that affect the Department's ethics program;
• May assist In preparing Congressional testimony or responding to requests from Congress on issues relating to the Department's ethics program;
• May assist in ensuring that ethics training goals for employees are met, to include creating and presenting such training.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Key Requirements:

• Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
• Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
• Must be an active member of the bar.
• Selectee may be subject to serving a 2-year trial period.
• More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.

Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position?

• If selected you may be asked to provide information regarding your COVID-19 vaccination status for the purposes of implementing workplace safety protocols, such as those related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.
• A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
• If selected for this position, you may be required to file one or more financial statements and/or a procurement integrity certification of compliance upon reporting and annually, some of which may be subject to public disclosure.
• Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.
• This position requires completion of a one year supervisory/managerial probationary period, if one has not previously been completed.
• Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment. Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued.

Qualifications

Basic Qualification Requirements

Applicants must be law school graduates with LL.B. or J.D. degrees AND must be an active member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar.

• To qualify for a GS-15 applicants must possess at least 6-years of professional legal experience following law school graduation;

For any of the grades indicated above you can substitute one year of experience with any of the following:

• have a second professional law degree; OR
• meet any of the criteria indicated below:
• academic standing in top one-third of law school graduating class;
• graduation with academic honors;
• significant participation on the law school's law review;
• significant participation in the law school's moot court competition;
• significant participation in a clinical legal aid program;
• significant summer law office clerk experience; or
• other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement.

Candidates should have excellent oral communication, writing, research and analysis skills, and the ability to work effectively with other people, and exercise sound judgment.

All applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

• 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.
• Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.usgs.gov/about/organization/science-support/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs .

Additional information

Other Information:

• The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.
• DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify .
• The Department of the Interior (DOI) places a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspectives and encourages applications from all interested eligible candidates. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are fundamental principles that guide the Department and allow us to successfully achieve our mission.
• THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

Agency Benefits:

• Working for the DOI, Office of the Solicitor offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid vacation, sick leave , and holidays ; health, life, dental, vision, and long term care insurance, flexible spending accounts , and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System .
• SOL has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework in accordance with the DOI Telework policy and with supervisor approval. The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis.
  
• For additional information on telework you may access the Department of Interior's Telework Handbook at https://www.doi.gov/telework/policies .