Duties

Summary

NOTE TO APPLICANTS: The closing date has been extended from 10/18/21 to 10/25/21.

The FRTIB is looking for a highly qualified and motivated individual to serve as the Assistant General Counsel (Agency Operations).

This Job Opportunity Announcement (JOA) may be used to fill other Assistant General Counsel (Agency Operations), GS-0905-15 positions within the FRTIB in the same geographical location with the same qualifications and specialized experience.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The major duties of the position are:

• - Oversees and directs the legal programs and functions in support of the operation and administration of the agency, primarily in the areas of employee relations, ethics, procurement, and use of funds.
• - Supervises the work of staff attorneys; makes assignments; provides guidance and direction as needed; reviews staff work to ensure that it is sound, well-reasoned, and free of obvious errors; and assures that completed work is produced in a timely fashion.
• - Supports equal employment opportunity (EEO) and diversity in the workplace, fostering a cooperative environment where diverse opinions are encouraged.
• - Balances available resources and competing priorities to ensure that agency legal matters are effectively and efficiently carried out in accordance with statutes, regulations, and policies and in support of the mission responsibilities and programs of the agency.
• - Provides written and oral advice and counsel to senior agency officials, Board members, and agency staff regarding legal issues that affect the operations of the agency. Serves as the Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official.
• - Reviews policies, procedures, regulations, directives and other agency publications to ensure compliance with legal requirements of applicable statutes and other pertinent legal authority.
• - Represents the agency on legal matters, questions, and issues confronting the agency.
• - In conjunction with the General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, and Executive Director, participates in the development and issuance of policy, guidance, consultation, and technical instructions pertaining to all aspects of agency legal matters. Gathers facts and information and prepares and presents oral and written reports, including recommendations for a proposed course of action.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position; primarily for conferences or trainings.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
15

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

U.S. citizenship is required.

Must be an active member of the bar.

All qualification requirements must be met by 10/25/2021. Your application package will not be considered if it is missing any of the required documents listed under the "Required Documents" tab.

Probationary Period. Two-year probationary period may be required.

Supervisory Probationary Period. One-year supervisory probationary period may be required.

Selective Service. If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System , or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law.

Background Suitability Investigation. Continued employment is contingent upon satisfactory completion of a background investigation and the granting of a federal suitability or security clearance. If selected, you may be offered tentative employment until the background investigation has been fully adjudicated.

Selectee must complete and submit a confidential financial disclosure as a condition of employment.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position applicants must meet the education requirement, professional certification, and specialized experience requirement as described below.

Education Requirement
Possess a law degree (LL.B or J.D.) and be a graduate from a full course of study in a school of Law accredited by the American Bar Association, or equivalent training. Equivalent training is that training permitted in some states in lieu of attendance at a law school. To be acceptable, this training must be of the kind and nature required by the state in which the bar exam is taken or is to be taken; and

Professional Certification
Be a member in good standing of the bar of the state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and

Specialized Experience
GS-15: In addition to having the above education and certification, applicants must also have at least 5 years of full-time post-J.D. legal experience. Applicants must have at least one year of full-time specialized work experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the next lower level (equivalent to the GS-14) in the federal government. Specialized experience is defined as : (1) conducts legal research and interprets the application of legislation and regulations surrounding at least two of the following: (a) the Federal Employees' Retirement Systems Act (FERSA), and/or (b) the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and/or (c) the Sunshine Act, and/or (d) federal government ethics, and/or (e) federal government employee relations, and/or (f) federal procurement, and/or (g) the use of funds/appropriations, and/or (h) federal privacy laws, and/or (i) the Freedom of Information Act, and/or (j) the Administrative Procedure Act; and (2) communicates in-person and in writing to deliver professional determinations and technical information to explain or defend organization/agency actions or positions with internal and external audiences.

*Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations. 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, including volunteer experience.

Specialized experience must meet 52 weeks equivalent to the next lower grade level. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Education

You must provide your transcripts to support your educational claims. Transcripts may be unofficial copies, but they must come from an accredited college or university, and they also must include course names and the number of credit / semester hours. Click here to search the database of accredited institutions.

Foreign Education. If you are using education completed at foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign education programs. Foreign education must be deemed equivalent to that gained at an accredited U.S. education program. For further information visit the U.S. Department of Education's website concerning foreign qualifications.

Additional information

The FRTIB offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid time off*, life insurance, health benefits, and participation in the 3-tier federal retirement system. The FRTIB also has wonderful benefits and work / life-balance flexibilities that may be right for you. We offer, if applicable:

• -Flexible work schedule options. The FRTIB offers three flexible work schedules, the Gliding Schedule, the Flexible 5-4/9 Schedule, and the Maxiflex Work Schedule. All work schedules allow for an arrival time between 6:30 and 9:30 am. Employees on the Gliding Schedule work 8 hours plus a 30-minute unpaid lunch period. Employees on the Flexible 5-4/9 Schedule work eight 9-hour days and one 8-hour day (plus the 30-minute unpaid lunch period) in each biweekly pay period, and receive one scheduled day off. Employees on the Maxiflex Work Schedule work between 4 and 10 hours per day, and core work hours apply; the latest departure time under Maxiflex is 8 pm.
• -Telework up to 2 days per week for eligible positions.
• - Employee Assistance Program (EAP) . The EAP provides employees with free confidential assistance for help with personal issues that may be affecting work life. The program also provides consultation to supervisors who are trying to best help an employee with performance and/or attendance problems.
• -Work Life 4 You. The FRTIB provides all employees and their family members with access to the Federal Occupational Health managed referral and information service to assist in dealing with life, family, health, education, work, and finance. This service is provided at no cost to the employee.
• -*Annual and sick leave (paid time off). Employees of the FRTIB accrue both annual and sick leave depending on years of service with the federal government. Annual leave may be used for vacation or other personal reasons. Sick leave may be used when you are ill, when you have a doctor, dental, or optical appointment, or when you need to provide care to an ill family member.
• -Fitness center. The FRTIB employees, at no cost, have access to the fitness center conveniently located on the main level of the building featuring state of the art weight training and cardiovascular equipment.
• -Extensive training programs and tools supportive of enhancing organization effectiveness and employee development.
• -A monthly transit subsidy for a portion of your commuting costs to help defray the commuting costs of employees who use mass transportation, including commuter bus, Metrorail or Metrobus, or commuter rail systems.
• -Child care program. The FRTIB's childcare subsidy program offers up to $600 in monthly subsidy paid to qualified child care providers of employees meeting the eligibility requirements.
• -Student loan repayment or recruitment bonus, when applicable.

The FRTIB offices are conveniently located within a few blocks of the Union Station metro station. In addition, private parking is available in the building at the posted daily and monthly rates.

Relocation expenses are not authorized for this position; however, other recruitment incentives may be authorized.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

To preview the occupational questionnaire, click on the following link https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11246838 .

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

Once the application process is complete, a review of the resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

Legal Program Oversight

Legal Review and Analysis

Communication

Staff Management

NOTE TO APPLICANTS : A writing sample is required as part of your application. Please provide a recent (within the past five years) writing sample on an issue related to your work in any area relevant to federal government agencies. The sample should demonstrate your ability to analyze a legal issue and advise or persuade your audience. It should be at least two, but no
more than seven, pages in length.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

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

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

Please be advised, the following documents are required even if you are already a current federal employee or employee of the FRTIB:

1. Resume (please include on your resume the experience you wish to be considered for the review of your qualifications, the dates of employment with month, day and year, and hours worked per week). Resumes that do not contain all of the necessary information to determine qualifications may be marked as insufficient and applicants may not receive consideration for this position. Your latest resume submission is the one that will be used to determine your qualifications.

2. Responses to the occupational questionnaire.

3. Law school transcripts. Transcripts must be legible and possess the school name imprinted on the transcript or be on school letterhead; you may be asked to submit official transcripts upon selection. Failure to supply such a transcript will result in an incomplete application package.

4. 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.

5. Writing Sample. Applicant must submit a writing sample with their application. Failure to supply a writing sample will result in an incomplete application package.

6. Veteran's documentation, if applicable. There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the FRTIB 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. If you are currently on active duty you must submit an official statement of service from your command or other official documentation that proves your military service was performed under honorable conditions.

7. Schedule A documentation, if applicable. A qualifying letter from a doctor's or vocational rehabilitation office indicating you are eligible for hire under the Schedule A hiring authority .

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.