Duties

Summary

You are encouraged to read the entire announcement before you submit your application package. Your application may not receive full consideration if you do not follow the instructions as outlined.

This position is located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center , 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC., in the Office of the General Counsel, Division for Acquisition and Assistance (GC/A&A), at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

GC/A&A attorneys provide legal advice and guidance on a broad array of Federal acquisition and assistance issues to contracting/agreement personnel in USAID's Office of Acquisition and Assistance within the Management Bureau (M/OAA) as well as technical officers, fellow lawyers, and senior leadership across the Agency.

The duties of a GC/A&A attorney are focused on operational and policy issues relating to the preparation, award, administration, and close-out of government contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and a variety of other obligating mechanisms (including other transaction authority, contributions to multilateral and bilateral development partners, direct government-to-government assistance, and public-private partnerships) that USAID has at its disposal to implement its activities.

As an Attorney Advisor, your duties may include the following:

• Identifying and resolving A&A legal issues and providing written and oral advice to staff based on case law and other research;
• Supporting acquisition staff on active procurements to develop an optimal Agency position in the event of bid protests and claims;
• Providing day-to-day guidance and advice on acquisition and assistance matters to the procurement workforce;
• Serving as a subject matter expert for other Agency attorneys, including those advising overseas missions, on acquisition and assistance;
• Advising Agency staff on acquisition and assistance policy formulation and application;
• Reviewing contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and other obligating documents for legal sufficiency; and
• Collaborating with representatives from other U.S. departments/agencies and bilateral and multilateral organizations.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Amount of travel will vary depending on the needs of the Office, but will not exceed 25% of the incumbent's time. Travel includes to domestic and international locations.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
15 - The full performance level of this position is the GS-15 grade level.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• United States Citizenship.
• Relevant experience (see Qualifications below).
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
• Males born after 12/31/1959, must be registered with the Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer is required.
• You will be required to serve a one-year probationary period.

You must be a member in good standing of the bar of a state, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.

Qualifications

Required: To qualify for this position, applicants must possess ALL of the requirements below:

A J.D. or LL.M. degree from an ABA-accredited law school,

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 be an active member of the bar in good standing, and

For specific grade level requirements:

GS-12: At least one (1) years of post J.D. or LL.M. legal experience, to include experience: a) providing federal procurement and acquisition advice and guidance; b) advising on solicitations, debriefings, bid protests, fiscal law, or other issues that commonly arise in connection with procurement and acquisition matters; and c) assisting contracting activities, customers, or communities of practice in the development of procurement policies and procedures.

GS-13: At least two (2) years of post J.D. or LL.M. legal experience, to include experience: a) providing federal procurement and acquisition advice and guidance; b) advising on solicitations, debriefings, bid protests, fiscal law, or other issues that commonly arise in connection with procurement and acquisition matters; and c) assisting contracting activities, customers, or communities of practice in the development of procurement policies and procedures.

GS-14: At least three (3) years of post J.D. or LL.M. legal experience, to include experience: a) providing federal procurement and acquisition advice and guidance; b) advising on solicitations, debriefings, bid protests, fiscal law, or other issues that commonly arise in connection with procurement and acquisition matters; and c) assisting contracting activities, customers, or communities of practice in the development of procurement policies and procedures.

GS-15: At least five (5) years of post J.D. or LL.M. legal experience, to include experience: a) providing federal procurement and acquisition advice and guidance; b) advising on solicitations, debriefings, bid protests, fiscal law, or other issues that commonly arise in connection with procurement and acquisition matters; and c) assisting contracting activities, customers, or communities of practice in the development of procurement policies and procedures.

Applicants must have, or be able to obtain through their Component/Agency, and maintain a Secret security clearance.

Preferred: The successful applicant should also have:

• Knowledge of the laws, regulations, and policies governing acquisition, including knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
• Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing;
• Ability to function effectively in an international, multi-cultural environment; and
• Excellent interpersonal and management skills.

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, relevant to the duties of the position to be filled, including volunteer experience.

A well-qualified candidate will not necessarily meet the definition of highly or best qualified when evaluated against other candidates who apply for a particular position. In the absence of selective and quality ranking factors, selecting officials will document the job-related reason(s) for qualification determinations.

Education

You must be a graduate of an ABA accredited law school. Transcripts to support your education are required for the Agency to consider you for this position.

Additional information

USAID is an independent Federal Government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. With headquarters in the District of Columbia, we operate in more than 100 countries around the world, playing an active and critical role in the promotion of U.S. foreign policy interests. When crisis strikes; when rights are repressed; when hunger, disease and poverty rob people of opportunity; USAID acts on behalf of the American people to help expand the reach of prosperity and dignity to the world's most vulnerable people. USAID employees and contractors must commit to maintaining a workplace free of sexual misconduct, including harassment, exploitation, and abuse and adhere to USAID's Counter-Trafficking in Persons Code of Conduct. For information on the effort to counter all forms of human trafficking, including the procurement of commercial sex acts and the use of forced labor, visit http://www.state.gov/g/tip. For more information about USAID, visit http://www.usaid.gov.

This announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

These are Testing Designated Positions (TDP's) under the Agency's approved Drug Free Work Place Program. All applicants selected for this position will be subject to random drug testing once they begin working for the Agency.

Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer is required.

Moving and relocation expenses are not authorized.

M ythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies:

https://hru.gov/Studio_Recruitment/tools/Mythbuster_on_Federal_Hiring_Policies.pdf .

EEO Policy: EEO Policy Statement .

Reasonable Accommodation Policy: Reasonable Accommodation Policy Statement .

Veterans' Information: Veterans Information .

Telework: https://www.telework.gov/ .

Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/ .

It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. Information about an individual's employment experience will be used only to determine the person's qualifications and to assess his or her relative level of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Although an individual's personal conduct may be relevant in any employment decision, including conduct during periods of unemployment or evidence of dishonesty in handling financial matters, financial difficulty that has arisen through no fault of the individual will generally not itself be the basis of an unfavorable suitability or fitness determination.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

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

BASIS OF RATING: Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.

There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, USAID considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s)). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of non service-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).

You may be asked to submit a writing sample if you are found to be amongst the best qualified for this position and referred to the hiring manager for further consideration.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

• Resume showing relevant experience.
• Certificate of Good Standing in the Bar of any State, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia.
• Veterans' documentation, if requesting consideration under any Veterans' hiring eligibilities ( veterans' preference and Veterans Employment Opportunities Act ).
• If seeking eligibility based on any other special hiring authority (e.g. disabled veteran, Schedule A, special hiring programs ).
• If this position requires proof of higher education, you must submit a copy of your transcript(unofficial transcript) or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information. Please be advised that an official transcript will be required if you are selected for the position.

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.