Duties

Summary

The General Services Administration is interested in attracting the best talent for our diverse cadre of SES members from within GSA, the Federal government and the private sector. Please review this announcement in its entirety on how to apply.

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Responsibilities

Overview

The Associate General Counsel for General Law is responsible for planning, developing, and coordinating all legal functions and activities and providing legal services and advice pertaining to: standards of conduct and procurement integrity, labor law, finance, appropriations, acquisition, procurement, personnel, FOIA, Privacy Act, FACA, Civil Rights, Small Boards and Commissions and Committees for Special Groups. The incumbent of this position reports to the General Counsel of GSA and may also receive direction from the Deputy General Counsel. The incumbent brings to the attention of the General Counsel those matters which are of a highly controversial in nature or involve policy interpretations.

Further, the Associate General Counsel:

• Serves as Associate General Counsel for General Law, providing day-to-day guidance and direction to programs of the Office of General Counsel with respect to general law matters.
• Reviews and approves all matters which go to the General Counsel for approval. Reviews such other work of the legal staff which may involve complex or difficult questions of law or policy for which no precedent has been established or that concern legal matters of unusual or novel nature.
  
• Provides technical supervision and assistance to the Offices of Regional Counsels on matters related to the assigned program areas. Provides day-to-day legal support services for Heads of Services and Staff Offices of GSA.
  
• Confers with and advises private parties or their attorneys and other Government agencies on legal questions pertaining to GSA activities.
  
• Formulates and recommends to the General Counsel plans, policies and operating methods which will provide effective resolution of disputes in general law matters, including without limitation, administrative hearings, arbitration proceedings, mediation and litigation. Recommends the need for new or revised legislation, Executive Orders and regulatory material.
• Provides leadership, mentoring, and supervision to subordinate supervisors and staff; fosters the development of a world-class workforce and facilitates cooperation and teamwork.
• Enables and entrusts subordinate supervisors in their day to day activities, providing executive level support, guidance, and final approval on all actions requiring such higher level approval.
• Responsible for furthering the agency's Equal Employment Opportunity program within the General Law Division, assuring equal opportunity in recruitment, selection, promotion, training, awards, assignments and special program objectives.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Occasional travel may be required.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
00

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Proof of bar membership/license is required. Please review announcement.
• Resume must not exceed 5 pages, including an optional cover letter
• Application must be received by the closing date of the announcement
• Veterans preference is not applicable to the SES
• Applicants must be U.S. Citizens
• Apply online (See How to Apply section)

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• This position is a critical-sensitive national security position and appointment requires that you undergo a single scope background investigation and that the GSA security office grant you a Top Secret national security clearance. Applicants do not need this level of clearance in order to apply. If you are not a GSA employee, the security office must grant the clearance before you are appointed to this position unless a pre-appointment waiver of this requirement is approved.
• If tentatively selected, you will be required to submit a Declaration for Federal Employment.
• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 will be required to complete a certification document confirming their selective service status.
• Persons selected for their initial appointment to an SES position must have their executive qualifications approved by the Office of Personnel Management before being appointed to the position.
• If selected, you will be required to serve a one-year probationary period unless you have previously successfully completed a one-year probationary period in the Senior Executive Service.
• Veteran's preference does not apply to positions in the Senior Executive Service.
• If selected, you must file a Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278) upon appointment in accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
• This position has been designated under Executive Order 12564 as being subject to random drug screening. If tentatively selected for this position, you may be required to submit to a urinalysis screen for illegal drugs prior to appointment. Appointment to the position will be contingent upon your receiving a negative test result.
  

Qualifications

You MUST be a member of the bar (in good standing) of a State or territory of the United States of America, or the District of Columbia; proof of license is required.

All applicants must meet the Mandatory Technical and Executive Core Qualification requirements listed below to be eligible for consideration. Eligibility will be based on a clear demonstration that the applicant's training and experience are of the scope, quality and level of responsibility sufficient to successfully perform the duties and responsibilities of this executive position.

Your resume must show possession of the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ's) listed below but must not address the ECQ's through separate narrative responses.

You must submit a supplemental statement that separately addresses the Mandatory Technical Competency (MTC) listed below. Your resume should also corroborate your possession of the MTC. Your application will not be considered if you fail to submit this supplemental statement.

Please see the "Required Documents" section below for complete instructions on the content and format of your application package.

MANDATORY TECHNICAL COMPETENCY:
1. Ability to oversee the provision of legal services in the areas of general law including: employment and labor law, fiscal and appropriations law, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Privacy Act, Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), administrative law, and claims and litigation related to these areas.

2. Ability to lead or manage a team providing legal advice or performing other legal functions.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs)
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.

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.

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.

4. Business Acumen - This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.

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.

For guidance on how to address the ECQ's in the context of your resume, please refer to page 29 of the "Guide to SES Qualifications" at: http://www.opm.gov/ses/references/GuidetoSESQuals_2012.pdf.

Education

You must be a graduate from an accredited law school or institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Additional information

The 1993 Hatch Act Reform Amendments prohibit oral and written political recommendations for Federal jobs.

TELEWORK: GSA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and keep talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. Telework by Federal employees also reduces energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and traffic congestion. At the discretion of the supervisor, this position may be designated as telework eligible.

NOTICE REGARDING SALARY: Current SES members whose salary equal or exceed the maximum advertised salary for this vacancy ($188,220), will not lose pay if appointed to this position.

OFFICE AND LOCATION FOR THE VACANCY:
Office of the General Counsel
Washington, DC

THIS POSITION IS DESIGNATED SES CAREER RESERVED

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

An SES review panel will evaluate your resume based on the quality and extent of your total accomplishments, experience, and education. Applicants determined to be highly qualified may undergo an interview and a reference check and may be required to provide a writing sample or work plan. If selected, you must be certified by an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Review Board (QRB), unless you are a current or former career SES member or have successfully completed an OPM approved SES Candidate Development Program. You must receive QRB certification before you can be appointed to the position.
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Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Top Secret

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

Please review the following information to determine which documents you must submit in order to complete your application.

ALL APPLICANTS: You must submit a resume (not to exceed 5 pages, including optional cover letter) which demonstrates your experience, accomplishments, training, education and awards, indicating possession of the Executive Core Qualifications listed in this announcement, but your resume must not address the ECQ's through separate narrative responses. Your resume should also corroborate your possession of the Mandatory Technical Competencies (MTC's) listed in this announcement, which you must address separately in a supplemental statement as described in the paragraph below. Information beyond the five page resume will not be evaluated. PLEASE DO NOT submit the Optional Application for Federal Employment (OF-612) in lieu of a resume. PLEASE DO NOT submit separate narrative responses to address the Executive Core Qualifications.

• ALL APPLICANTS: You must submit a supplemental statement that separately addresses the SES Mandatory Technical Competency (MTC) stated in this announcement. Your supplemental statement must be restricted to no more than one page for the MTC listed in the announcement. INFORMATION BEYOND THE ONE PAGE LIMIT WILL NOT BE EVALUATED.

• SES NON-COMPETITVE APPLICANTS: Proof of SES non-competitive eligibility is required.
  
  Proof consists of:

(1) an SF-50 showing your status as a:

(a) current Career SES appointee,

(b) former Career SES appointee with career SES reinstatement eligibility, or

(c) current or reinstatement eligible Career SES-equivalent executive who is/was employed in a Federal government agency that has an interchange agreement with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) allowing for movement between the agency's SES-equivalent personnel system and the SES.

NOTE: This applies only to current or reinstatement eligible Career SES-equivalent executives of the Government Accountability Office, the Transportation Security Administration, or the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Postal Service.

OR

(2) a certificate of completion from an OPM-approved SES Candidate Development Program (SES CDP).

NOTE: This applies only if your Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ's) have been approved by an OPM Qualifications Review Board (QRB) through the SES CDP. These documents may be used to determine your eligibility to be considered under this announcement. Non-Competitive applicants must submit a complete application package as noted above. The agency has the option of considering you non-competitively or including you in the competitive process.

YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE NON-COMPETITVE CONSIDERATION IF YOU FAIL TO SUBMIT PROOF OF NON-COMPETITVE ELIGIBILITY.

• CURRENT CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEE APPLICANTS: You must submit an SF-50 that shows your current position, title, series, grade and rate of basic pay as well as Tenure Group. This document may be used to determine your eligibility to be considered under this announcement.

ALL APPLICANTS: Proof of bar membership/license is required and must be submitted with your application package; failure to provide bar membership/license may result in non consideration. You must be a member of the bar (in good standing) of a State or territory of the United States of America, or the District of Columbia.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.