Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Office of the General Counsel (OGC), Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). OGC's mission is to provide full-service legal support for all requirements driven by MCC's mission.

Although the position is advertised equivalent to GS-15, MCC uses a pay banded system to compensate employees. This position is pay band 3A which is generally equal to GS-15.

The first cutoff date for referral of applications is 8/6/2021.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Coordinates team efforts as-well-as outside counsel/consultants to develop, negotiate, implement, monitor, and close out development assistance programs and projects.
• Serves as a technical resource to MCC officials and employees in the identification and resolution of critical program-related issues and problems associated with development assistance programs and projects.
• Assists MCC with assessments of development assistance activities in compact and threshold program countries and with the development of effective new strategies, including the development of strategic objectives and required supporting documentation.
• Reviews, and in some cases prepares, interpretative analysis of compact and threshold program development, implementation, and close out topics and issues, many which involve new and novel initiatives.
• Ensures legal opinions, briefs, memoranda, and other written work are fully researched, and contain accurate and appropriate legal and policy analysis and conclusions.
• Pursues and achieves goals to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of OGC operations.
• Serves as a legal representative and spokesperson for MCC at stakeholder, interagency, and international meetings dealing with a variety of legal issues and information.
• Supports implementation of MCC's position regarding difficult and complex legal problems and issues that may be controversial or of significant public interest. Provides advice and consultation as a technical expert and recognized authority in the fields of U.S. law related to foreign assistance and MCC's operations and mission, as well as international law.
• Works to obtain a balance of conflicting interests by applying a high order of original and creative thought.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
15

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a federal security clearance
• Relocation expenses will not be paid
• More than 1 job may be filled if additional vacancies occur within 120 days
• Some domestic and international travel maybe required

Qualifications

To qualify for pay band 3A you must meet the following:
Applicant must have a minimum of four (4) years of international transactional or relevant development experience as a practicing attorney in private industry, public service, or non-profit arena. This experience must have provided the applicant with the knowledge, skills, qualifications, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Note: This experience MUST be well documented within your resume or application.

This position has a positive education requirement; therefore, all applicants MUST provide a copy of a transcript demonstrating successful completion of a full course of study (graduation with a JD) in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Failure to supply such a transcript will result in an incomplete application package.Bar Membership:

Applicant must provide evidence of current, active membership in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Failure to supply evidence of membership in good standing of a bar association will result in an incomplete application package.

Highly Desirable: The ability to speak, read, write, and review documents in French, especially in a legal and business setting.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit may be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. To receive credit you must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours worked per week.

Education

Additional information

• Due to COVID-19, the agency is operating in a state of maximum telework and most employees are teleworking full-time. Consequently, you will start your work in a temporary telework status and in a virtual environment. Your temporary telework arrangement will remain in effect until the agency informs you that MCC is open and operational for all staff. MCC will provide as much advance notice as possible before you are required to report to MCC office space
• RECRUITMENT/RELOCATION BONUS may be authorized for this position. If you are not a current federal employee this position may authorize a one time Recruitment bonus to be paid over a specified period. Selected individual will be required to a sign service agreement prior to receiving any bonus payments.
• If you are a current federal employee this position may authorize a one time Relocation bonus to be paid over a specified period. Selected individual will be required to a sign service agreement prior to receiving any bonus payments.
• Selectee may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience.
• Application of Veterans' Preference: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Millennium Challenge Corporation considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference are encouraged to include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., DD Form 214 or other substantiating documents) to their submissions.
• The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower level, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.
• Qualifications by Closing Date: You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement. Please note that qualification claims will be subject to verification.
• Pay: Your pay will be set within the range specified in this vacancy announcement and will be based on your qualifications, education, experience, training, and availability of funds.
• Promotion Potential: If the position is advertised with promotion potential, the selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition. Selection at a lower pay band level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level, nor is the promise of promotion implied.
• DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination.
• Selectee may be required to complete a Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278) or a Confidential Financial Disclosure Form (OGE 450).
• Probationary/Trial Period: You may be required to serve a two-year trial period.
  Government Travel Card - You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government contractor issued travel card to be used for official business.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

This job is being filled under Schedule A hiring authority 5 CFR 213.3102 and is excepted from the competitive civil service. You will be evaluated and deemed either eligible or ineligible based on the relevance and quality of your experience and education, bar membership, and on the required and desired qualifications described above. All eligible applicants will be further evaluated by subject-matter experts.

• Technical Competence
• Writing

If, after reviewing your resume and or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience your category can and will be adjusted to more reflect your abilities, and you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

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

The following documents must be received by the closing date of this announcement:

• Resume - Applicants MUST utilize resumes created using the USAJOBS-formatted Resume Builder ( http://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/account/documents/resume/build/
• Unofficial college transcripts - if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify "Unofficial" transcripts are acceptable. If selected for the position, prior to your appointment, an official transcript will be required.

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.