Duties

Summary

This career reserved Senior Executive Service (SES) position is located in the Office of Mission Support (OMS), Environmental Appeals Board. If selected, you must work at the location stated in this announcement. About OMS: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-office-mission-support

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), consisting of four co-equal Environmental Appeals Judges, serves as the final Agency decision-maker in the consideration and resolution of appeals or other requests for a decision in adjudicatory matters required by statute or regulation to be made by the Administrator, and such other issues of a quasi-judicial nature which require a decision by the Administrator which arise out of EPA's regulatory programs. The EAB has full delegated authority to make final decisions in the aforementioned areas. At the request of the Administrator, the EAB also decides, makes decisions, recommends, or acts as a factfinder on other issues for which an independent, objective analysis is required. The EAB's decisions, recommendations, and findings are of the utmost significance to Agency enforcement. Environmental, economic and employment impacts of the decisions rendered by the Environmental Appeals Board are extremely significant, highly complex, and can have far-reaching consequences. The EAB's final decisions are legally binding on those affected and are appealable only to the Federal Courts. The EAB is located in the Office of Mission Support solely for administrative matters. The position reports directly to the Administrator on substantive matters delegated to the Board and the Office of the Administrator for programmatic, operational and performance purposes.

Specific duties of an Environmental Appeals Judge include:

• In concert with the other members of the EAB, serving as the final decision-maker in the consideration and resolution of appeals or other requests for a decision in all administrative proceedings under various laws, in accordance with procedural regulations governing the conduct of such proceedings under which the Administrator has delegated his authority to the EAB.
• Directing the receipt, processing, review, and analysis of appeals or other requests to the Administrator for decision.
• In concert with the other members of the EAB, deciding, making recommendations, or serving as a factfinder on issues for which an independent, objective analysis is required.
• Representing the Administrator in adjudicatory matters with Congress, Agency Administrative Law Judges, Assistant and Associate Administrators, Regional Administrators and other key management and program officials, employees, industry, other Federal agencies, State, regional and local governments, environmental groups and the general public.
• Developing and providing advice to Agency personnel on new or revised administrative procedures.
• Managing and allocating the resources of EAB staff.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
00

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen.
• You must submit resume and required documents (see How to Apply section).
• If you are selected, a pre-employment background check is required.
• You may be required to travel 1 to 5 days per month.

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

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.

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 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 will result in your application being disqualified.

TQ 1 - Demonstrated experience in litigation in matters arising under the federal pollution control laws and in federal or state administrative law, including experience in legal writing, and legal issue analysis and resolution under these laws.

TQ 2 - Demonstrated experience managing or supervising senior attorneys who have extensive experience with the federal pollution control laws.

Education

Applicants must have an 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.

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 has portable work. If selected for this position, you may be authorized to telework after meeting eligibility requirements if approved by the supervisor/manager. Telework is available based on agency policy. NOTE: The agency is currently utilizing maximum telework flexibilities due to COVID. Once normal operations resume, you will be required to report to the location stated in this announcement.

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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

We will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you meet basic qualification requirements, your application will be evaluated based on your narrative statements addressing the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Technical Qualifications (TQs). It will then be forwarded to a three member Rating Panel consisting of SES members for further review. The Rating Panel will decide which Best Qualified applicants will be issued to the Selecting Official by the Human Resources Office.

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Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

Documents to be submitted online:

NOTE: You should ensure your social security number, date of birth, and any other personal information are redacted.

-- Resume clearly stating your experience related to this position as described in the Duties section and Qualifications section. In describing your experience, you need to be clear and specific. We may not make assumptions regarding your experience.

-- A narrative statement covering each of following:

• Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) - Required for competitive applicants - Address each of the five factors individually within a limit of ten pages total. Exceeding this limit will result in disqualification of your application.
• Technical Qualifications (TQs) - Required for all applicants - Address each listed factor individually within a limit of two pages per factor. Exceeding this limit will result in disqualification of your application.

Your examples should use the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) model to emphasize your level of responsibilities, scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments with results of your actions, policy initiatives and level of contacts. Additional information on the proper preparation of ECQ statements and the CCAR model is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf

-- Senior Executive Service (SES) noncompetitive applicants: If you are currently serving under a career SES appointment, are eligible for reinstatement into the SES, or have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program approved by OPM, proof of SES noncompetitive eligibility must be submitted:

• SF-50 showing your status as a:
  
  • current Career SES appointee,
  • former Career SES appointee with career SES reinstatement eligibility, or
  • 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; OR
• A certificate of completion from an OPM-approved SES Candidate Development Program (CDP). This applies only if your ECQs have been approved by an OPM Qualifications Review Board through the SES CDP.

You are not required to submit a narrative statement addressing the ECQs, but are encouraged to do so.

To learn more about submitting documentation, visit Uploading Documents to USAJOBS .

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.