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General Attorney (Title VI and IX Teams) GS-905-13/14 (Open Continuous)

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Washington, D.C
Closing date
Nov 1, 2021
Duties

Summary

Positions are located in the Office for Civil Rights, Washington, DC, and serve on the Program Legal Group (PLG), which provides policy, legal guidance and information related to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975,Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and their implementing regulations. Openings are for PLG's Title VI and Title IX Teams.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

As a General Attorney in the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Program Legal Group (PLG), the incumbent serves on a PLG Team that provides policy and legal guidance and information to the Team Leader, PLG Director, Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Policy and the civil rights compliance and enforcement program. Duties are not limited to:

Performs or participates in a variety of activities related to providing legal services and policy guidance for OCR under the various legal authorities.

Reviews the Department's and other agencies' proposed regulations and proposed legislation that may affect OCR's regulatory and enforcement activities to ensure conformance with the laws under OCR's jurisdiction.

Assist PLG's managers and the DAS for Policy, as well as the Enforcement Division staff, in interpreting legal standards and regulations and in applying OCR policy in the conduct of complaint investigation compliance reviews, proactive compliance activities, monitoring, and other compliance related activities.

Develops and presents training to team members and others on issues of moderate complexity, statutory and regulatory standards, changes in case law, new policy decisions, investigatory techniques, negotiation skills, and other case development issues.

Researches a wide range of legal problems of moderate complexity concerning civil rights compliance; researches and analyzes state statutes and state agency regulations, policies and guidelines where conflicts may exist between state and Federal law.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Less than 10%

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14 - The full promotion potential for this position is a GS-14.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen
  • Must complete a background investigation and fingerprint check
  • Relocation expenses will not be paid.
  • This position will be subject to a one year probationary period.


You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

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. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.

Qualifications

This is an open continuous announcement with cutoff dates. Applications will be referred based on receipt of application and established cutoff dates as follows:

1 st cutoff: July 30, 2021

2 nd cutoff: August 30, 2021

3 rd cutoff: September 30, 2021

4 th cutoff: October 30, 2021

5 th cutoff: November 30, 2021

6 th cutoff: December 30, 2021

7 th cutoff: January 30, 2022

8 th cutoff: February 28, 2022

9 th cutoff: March 30, 2022

10 th cutoff: April 30, 2022

11 th cutoff: May 30, 2022

12 th cutoff: June 15, 2022

END DATE: June 29, 2022

Minimum Qualification Requirements

A. Has obtained the first professional law degree or training which is permitted in some states in lieu of attendance at the law school AND

B. Is an active member in good standing in the Bar of a State, Territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

AND

Specialized Experience for the GS-13

One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 performing two of the following duties or work assignments:

1. Experience evaluating the legal adequacy of case resolution documents and reports on civil rights compliance with the laws OCR enforces, particularly Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX).

2. Experience developing recommendations on program management and legal policy issues relating to the laws OCR enforces, particularly Title VI and Title IX.

3. Experience conducting extensive research to solve complex problems relating to the laws OCR enforces, particularly Title VI and Title IX.

Specialized Experience for the GS-14

One year of experience equivalent to the GS-13 performing two of the following duties or work assignments:

1. Experience providing legal and policy advice that reflect extensive knowledge of the civil rights laws enforced by OCR, particularly Title VI and Title IX.

2. Experience serving as an authority on civil rights issues, particularly Title VI and Title IX.

3. Experience coordinating and communicating on complex legal and policy issues relating to the civil rights laws enforced by OCR, particularly Title VI and Title IX.

Education

Additional information

Veterans' Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email Iwork@ed.gov to schedule a session with a career counselor ("Veterans Counseling Session" should be placed in the subject line of the email).

Student Loan Default: If selected for this position, we will verify that you have not defaulted on any loan funded or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are found to be in default, we will contact you to make arrangements for repayment prior to making an official offer of employment.

Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and successfully complete a pre-appointment investigation/background check.

Essential/Non-Essential: This position is considered non-essential for purposes of reporting to work during federal government closures.

Financial Disclosure: This position does not require financial disclosure.

Telework: During the current period of mandatory telework required by the Agency's COVID-19 response, telework will be mandatory. When it is determined the Agency will be moving to the reopening phase, employees will be expected to physically return to the office of their official duty locations. Telework days and any required waiting period for eligibility will be determined at that time.

Bargaining Unit: This position is included in the bargaining unit.

Selections: Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligibles and may fill a vacancy in the competitive service by any method authorized. We may make additional selections from this vacancy announcement within 90 days from the date the selection certificates are issued, should vacancies occur. We may also share selection certificates amongst program offices across the agency.

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 application and documentation submitted to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will refer the best qualified candidates to the Selecting Official of the job for further review and consideration. You will be evaluated to determine if you meet qualifications required, and on the extent to which your application shows that you possess the knowledge, skills and abilities associated with this position as defined below. Please be sure to give examples in your resume and explain how often you used these skills, the complexity of the knowledge you possessed, the level of people you interacted with, and the complexity and sensitivity of the issues you handled.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

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

Trust determination process
Credentialing

Required Documents

You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS):

•A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments related to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire.

You are not required to submit bar card or transcripts to apply to the vacancy announcement, but you will be required to submit them upon request from hiring panel or the HR Specialist. Writing sample and/or list of references may be required of selected applicants at later stages in the selection process.

If you are claiming Veterans' Preference you must submit:

•A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge, member copy 4 (Separated Members only); OR

•A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR

•The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference; AND/OR

•Proof of Sole Survivorship Preference (e.g., certificate of death or 100% disability as a result of serving in the armed forces).

Veteran's Preference: Department of the Education attorney positions are in the excepted service, not the competitive civil service. There is no formal system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Education considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor consideration in the attorney hiring process. If you are eligible for veterans' preference in hiring, you are encouraged to include that information in your application along with the supporting documentation, e.g., SF-15, DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other supporting documentation.

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.

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