Duties

As a Supervisory Attorney Advisor, you will:

• Supervise or perform all legal functions relating to the regulation of hazardous materials, including the multiple statutes and regulations that comprise Federal Hazardous Material Safety laws and regulations.
• Supervise or perform all legal functions relating to enforcement activity under the hazardous materials safety laws.
• Supervise or perform all litigation support services provided by the Hazardous Material Safety Legal Division of PHC to the DOT Office of General Counsel and DOJ.
• Recommends revisions of policy and procedural guidelines on an ongoing basis, thereby ultimately influencing policy and program decisions. In addition, the incumbent should have strong litigation and enforcement experience, writing and project management skills, in addition to strong knowledge of hazardous material safety laws, environmental laws and rulemaking and regulatory expertise.
• Represent the Department, PHMSA, the Associate Administrator and the Chief Counsel at conferences, seminars, inter-agency negotiations, public hearings and meetings, administrative and judicial hearings, and in numerous other forums related to hazardous material safety.
• Provide legal advice, opinions and services with respect to all aspects of the hazardous materials safety program, including issues concerning the Administrative Procedure Act, Freedom of Information Act, , Federal Advisory Committee Act, Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act, Federal statutes and Executive Orders protecting the environment.

This position is perfect for an experienced attorney with leadership abilities with over 5 years of experience in a leadership role in a busy counsel's office in the federal government or the private sector. The incumbent will be responsible for providing legal advice and assistance to PHMSA officials and their staffs in carrying out the nationwide responsibilities and activities of their respective programs. The incumbent recommends revisions of policy and procedural guidelines on an ongoing basis, thereby ultimately influencing policy and program decisions. In addition, the incumbent should have strong litigation and enforcement experience, writing and project management skills, in addition to strong knowledge of hazardous material safety laws, environmental laws and rulemaking and regulatory expertise.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
• This is an Excepted Service position.
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• TRIAL PERIOD: This is an Excepted Service position. This job will be filled by an alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive service. Applicants selected for an excepted service position may be subject to a two-year trial period.
• ETHICS/CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: All employees are subject to the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 2635, including restrictions on owning financial interests that may conflict with performance of their duties. Some employees, like those involved in contracting or regulating non-Federal entities, are subject to Executive Branch Financial Disclosure requirements set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 263.
• PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection.
  

Qualifications

To qualify, your experience should include experience and education equal or equivalent to the following:

To qualify for the GS-15, you must have: A law degree, bar membership in good standing and at least 1 year of professional attorney experience.

This experience must include:

• Experience conducting briefings for and providing legal advice and assistance to executives and senior staff in carrying out the activities of their respective programs.
• Experience managing attorneys in a legal department or program office.
• Experience in Hazardous Materials safety law, administrative law, rulemaking, legislation, litigation, and environmental law.
• Experience coordinating legal issues and professional application of legal principles, precedents and rulings.
• Experience acting as a legal representative in order to perform a variety of legal functions while maintaining professional relationships with high level private and public officials.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

• Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
• Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
• Legal, Government, and Jurisprudence - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, legal practices and documents, Government regulations, Executive orders, agency rules, Government organization and functions, and the democratic political process.
• Manages Human Resources - Plans, distributes, and monitors work assignments; evaluates work performance and provides feedback to others on their performance.
• Problem Solving - Identifies and analyzes problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations.

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, including volunteer experience.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:

In order to qualify for this position, candidates must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have a professional law degree, and must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia.

Additional information

TELEWORK: Managers may exercise discretion to allow a limited amount of regular or task-based telework for this position.

his is nota Bargaining unit position.

COVID INFORMATION: As required by Executive Order 14043 , Federal employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of the employee's duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.), subject to such exceptions as required by law. If selected, you will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination by November 22, 2021 or before appointment or onboarding with the agency, if after November 22. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request of the agency a legally required exception from this requirement.

This vacancy may be used by any DOT agency to fill similar positions within 90 days.