Duties

The Solid Waste and Emergency Response Law Office (SWERLO) provides legal counsel, opinions, litigation support, and services with respect to the Agency's solid waste and emergency response programs and activities. SWERLO provides legal support for the Agency's hazardous and solid waste programs and cleanup initiatives. This includes counseling related to Superfund, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Brownfields, Federal Facilities, oil spills, underground storage tanks, and the emergency response program.

The Associate General Counsel plans, organizes, directs, controls, and coordinates the activities of SWERLO in connection with the assigned areas of responsibility under the supervision of the Deputy General Counsel for Environmental Media and Regional Law Offices and the general direction of the Principal Deputy General Counsel and the General Counsel.

Specific duties include:

• Exercising legal responsibility for the review of all questions which arise in connection with regulations, lawsuits, executive orders, legislative proposals, and administrative interpretations involving environmental laws and programs.
• Furnishing legal advice, in connection with the assigned statutes and programs, to OGC senior management and concerned Agency officials.
• Representing the Agency and SWERLO at conferences and meetings held with industry and foreign groups, staff offices of the President, other departments and agencies, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, state and local organizations, representatives of private industry and farm groups, etc.
• Managing the activities of the office and accomplishing or directing actions.
• Supervising litigation teams and other personnel in SWERLO.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen.
• You must submit resume and required documents (see How to Apply section).
• You may be required to travel less than 25% of each month.
• Pre-employment drug testing is required and random testing thereafter.
• Position has education requirements--see Qualifications/Education section.
• An LL.B. or J.D. is required.

If you are selected, you must complete a 1-year SES probationary period, if not previously completed.

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to E.O. 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

The Ethics in Government Act, P.L. 95-521, requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a financial disclosure statement, OGE-278, prior to assuming the SES position, annually, and upon termination of employment.

This position is designated as High Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation. All conditions of the pre-employment security process must be met before an official letter of employment can be issued with a report for duty date.

You will be required to obtain and maintain a top-secret security clearance.

#LI-Onsite

Qualifications

The work of this position is classified in the General Attorney, 0905 series. Applicants must have a LL.B or J.D. degree from an accredited law school; must be admitted to practice before the highest court of a State, U. S. territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and must maintain active status as a member of the bar of one of these jurisdictions. The incumbent must have significant experience in providing legal advice and counsel at EPA; other federal, state, or local agencies; or in private practice.

All applicants must have one year of specialized experience at a level close to the work of this job that demonstrates the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform in this role. Typically this experience can be found in work within this field or a field that is closely related.

As a basic requirement for entry into the Senior Executive Service, applicants must also provide evidence of progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior level management capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Executive Core Qualifications and Technical Qualifications listed below.

A. Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) - Mandatory for competitive applicants - Failure to address these factors individually will result in your application being disqualified, unless you are a noncompetitive eligible applicant.

ECQ 1 - LEADING CHANGE. 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.
ECQ 2 - LEADING PEOPLE. 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.
ECQ 3 - RESULTS DRIVEN. 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.
ECQ 4 - BUSINESS ACUMEN. Involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.
ECQ 5 - BUILDING COALITIONS. 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.

Your responses should be clear and concise and show a level of accomplishment and a degree of responsibility. Leadership competencies for each ECQ can be found at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf

B. Technical Qualifications (TQs) - Mandatory for all applicants - Failure to address these factors individually will result in your application being disqualified.

TQ 1 - Demonstrated experience evaluating Federal laws, regulations, and legal issues arising under environmental laws such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA), the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and other Federal administrative statutes.

TQ 2 - Demonstrated experience directing the work of attorneys or managing significant legal casework.

Education

You must (1) possess a J.D. or LL.M. degree from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university or equivalent apprentice experience as allowed per state law, (2) be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any state, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, and (3) be an active member of the bar of any U.S. jurisdiction in good standing.

For information about accreditation requirements, visit EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures .

Additional information

If you are selected, travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid by EPA. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting to work in this position will be your responsibility.

This position is excluded from provisions of the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP).

Selection under this appointment authority does not confer civil service competitive status.

EPA participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. For additional information: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures .

Veterans' preference is not applicable to the Senior Executive Service.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values at EPA. Our excellence can only be fully realized by staff who share our commitment to these values. Successful candidates are committed to advancing equity and inclusion in the Agency's workplace and mission. We encourage applications from candidates with a variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. At EPA, diversity is a vital element in bringing a balance of perspectives to bear on every challenge we face. We are committed to creating a diverse workforce because we know that the individual strengths and abilities of our employees make us a stronger organization. The more inclusive our employee base is, the greater the variety of ideas that are generated, and the more representative we are of the nation we serve. To learn more about how EPA values and supports our diverse workforce, visit Equal Opportunity Employment at EPA . You can also hear a diverse group of attorneys talk about their careers at EPA on the Legal Careers at EPA Webinar .