Summary
We are seeking an experienced attorney and leader with exceptional legal advocacy skills to serve as the Associate Special Counsel of the General Law Division (GLD). This consists of the following units: Alternative Dispute Resolution; Case Review Division; Disclosure; Diversity, Outreach and Training; Hatch Act; Retaliation and Disclosure; and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
Duties
As Associate Special Counsel, you will be a key advisor to the Special Counsel, and directly oversee a broad portfolio of prohibited personnel practice matters, Hatch Act matters, disclosures of wrongdoing, and USERRA, as well as Diversity, Outreach and Training. A number of matters under the Associate Special Counsel's purview will involve investigations, litigation before the Merit Systems Protection Board, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and written advisory opinions.
Duties performed:
- Provides executive direction to all Units within the General Law Division (GLD), effectively achieving OSC legislative mandate in protecting federal employees, applicants, and former employees from prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal for whistleblowing.
- Reviews all recommendations and memoranda, including corrective action letters, before submission to the Principal Deputy Special Counsel, to ensure compliance with and reflect consistent application of appropriate laws, rules, regulations, and OSC policies and procedures.
- Advises the Principal Deputy Special Counsel and Special Counsel on the appropriate enforcement actions, which may include referring cases for disciplinary action, filing complaints with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), or seeking corrective actions.
- Supervises negotiations with other federal agencies and departments to resolve cases efficiently.
- Participates with Senior Staff in establishing and accomplishing OSC's organizational objectives, policies, programs and personnel decisions.
- Provides technical expertise, support and leadership to implement policies and procedures for the integration of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program with the Special Counsel's handling of prohibited personnel practice complaints.
- Engages with federal agencies, Congress, and the public to promote awareness of OSC's mission and to provide training and outreach on prohibited personnel practices and whistleblower protections.
- Promotes and protects whistleblowers by ensuring their disclosures are properly investigated and that they are protected from retaliation.
- Serves as an authoritative advisor to the Special Counsel and Principal Deputy Special Counsel.
- Provides supervision to Division Chiefs to ensure optimal coordination, resource allocation and efficiency and fairness in operations.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- U.S. Citizen or national authorized to work in the U.S.
- Individuals born after 12-31-1959 and required to register for Selective Service under the Military Selective Service Act of 50 USC App. 453, must be registered or otherwise exempt from Selective Service. See "Additional Information" section below.
- Direct Deposit of pay is required.
- E-Verify will be used to confirm employment eligibility on new employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
- Suitable for Federal employment as determined by appropriate background investigation/security clearance.
- Probationary period may be required.
- Veterans' preference is not applicable to the Senior Executive Service.
- The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is required by law to review the executive qualifications of each new career appointee to the Senior Executive Service (SES) prior to appointment.
- All members of the SES are subject to geographic relocation/mobility requirements.
- Public Financial Disclosure required.
Qualifications
To be qualified for an SES job, you must demonstrate exceptional leadership, managerial and people skills and know how to build partnerships and communicate with customers. Senior executives in the SES share a broad perspective of government grounded in the Constitution and make sure federal executive management is responsive to the needs, policies and goals of the nation.
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, your resume (limited to a maximum of seven (7) pages) must demonstrate that you possess:
- Basic SES Requirement; and
- Basic Education; and
- Five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQS); and
- Two Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs).
Basic SES Requirements
Your resume must provide evidence of progressively responsible executive leadership and supervisory experience indicative of senior executive level management capability, and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined below. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-15 grade level in the Federal service, or the equivalent grade level in the private sector, state government, local government, etc. Your resume must demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills and abilities for this position, and can successfully fulfill the responsibilities of an SES, such as:
- Directing the work of an organizational unit;
- Ensuring the success of one or more major programs or projects;
- Monitoring progress towards strategic organizational goals;
- Evaluating organizational performance to take action in improving performance;
- Supervising the work of employees;
- Exercising important policy making, policy determining, or executive functions.
Your resume must explicitly outline your qualifications. We will not make assumptions on your experience.
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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer. Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
Basic Education
You must provide documentation that you meet the following requirements:
- A professional law degree (L.L.B., J.D., L.L.M.) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association; and
- An active membership in good standing in a bar of a state, U.S. Territory, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth or Puerto Rico.
Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ):
Your resume must also clearly provide information regarding your professional experience and accomplishments that demonstrate you meet the ECQs outlined below and identified in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications.
(See "Note" below for current/previous SES members or SES Candidate Development Program graduates.)
- Leading Change: This core qualification 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. Leadership Competencies for ECQ-1: creativity and innovation, external awareness, flexibility, resilience, strategic thinking, vision.
- Leading People: This core qualification 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. Leadership Competencies for ECQ-2: conflict management, leveraging diversity, developing others, team building.
- Results Driven: This core qualification 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. Leadership Competencies for ECQ-3: accountability, customer service, decisiveness, entrepreneurship, problem solving, technical credibility.
- Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. Leadership Competencies for ECQ-4: financial management, human capital management, technology management.
- Building Coalitions: This core qualification 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. Leadership Competencies for ECQ-5: partnering, political savvy, influencing/negotiating.
NOTE: If you are a current Senior Executive Service (SES) career appointee, a former SES member having reinstatement eligibility, or an OPM-certified graduate of an approved SES Candidate Development Program, you are not required to submit ECQs within your resume. However, you must submit the appropriate SF-50 (showing SES status) or an OPM Qualifications Review Board certificate.
Mandatory Technical Qualifications:
Your resume must clearly identify that you have demonstrated progressively responsible leadership experience directly related to the Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) related to this position as outlined below.
- MTQ - Demonstrated the ability to manage a legal services program, including the ability to review and assess the organizational effectiveness of program services and policies, and to design and implement procedures to improve/optimize organizational performance.
- MTQ - Demonstrated experience effectively communicating complex legal and technical issues through oral and written communications, including the ability to interact with career and political senior officials, external partners, and internal organizational entities that have differing and often conflicting interests.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Once the application process is complete, your resume and required supporting documentation will be used to determine whether:
a) you submitted a complete application, and
b) you meet the minimum qualifications listed on this announcement.
Applicants with complete applications and who meet minimum qualifications will be reviewed, rated, ranked and/or assessed by an Executive Resources Board (ERB) Panel. The ERB Panel will only receive/review your Resume. (Transcripts, bar verification, SF-50s, etc. will not be submitted to the ERB Panel.)
The ERB Panel of senior managers will determine the degree to which candidates possess the ECQs and MTQs and submit best qualified candidates for interview(s).
The best qualified applicant may be asked to write and submit a 10 page narrative statement addressing the ECQs.
Once a tentative selection is made, selectees may be submitted to OPM for certification (if necessary).
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which may ONLY include:
- Resume, not to exceed seven (7) pages, including a) personal information such as name, address, contact information; b) education; c) detailed work experience related to this position including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment (month/year), title and Grade level for any Federal service, i.e. GS-14; d) scope and complexity of the functions, activities and services you managed and your level of contacts; and any other qualifications. If you submit a longer resume, only the first 7 pages will be considered.
- Transcript(s) to confirm Basic Education;
- Verification of an active membership in good standing in a bar of a state, U.S. Territory, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth or Puerto Rico;
- If you are a current or previous Federal employee (whether Excepted or Competitive service):
- Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) with highest grade held (or promotion potential) on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade; AND
- Most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable. A performance plan, without a rating, is not an acceptable substitute.
If you submit multiple copies of the same document, only your most recent uploaded document (by date & time stamp) will be considered. If your resume or supporting documents are illegible or unreadable, or if you fail to include any of the above-mentioned required documents, you may lose consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
Applicants who disqualify themselves may not be considered further.
If your application materials contain sensitive or inappropriate information, including but not limited to: photographs; classified or government sensitive information; copied and pasted portions of this job announcement; obscene information, etc., you may not be considered.
Falsifying your background, education, and/or experience is cause for non-selection, disqualification from further consideration or withdrawal of tentative or final job offers. You will be required to certify to the accuracy of your application before a final job offer is made.
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.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above.
Your application and supporting documents must be submitted and received through the online application process by 11:59 pm EST on the closing date of this announcement.
If you require Reasonable Accommodation for the application process, or any other assistance/questions with the online application, please contact the Agency (outlined below) prior to the closing date of this announcement.
To begin, click Apply Online to access an online application. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account or you may need to create a new account if you do not have one.
- You will be taken to an online application. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application.
- To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
Next steps
Once your online application is submitted, you will receive a confirmation notification by email that your application was received.Your application will be evaluated as outlined above and if you are found to be among the qualified candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for consideration. We anticipate a large number of applicants, and only the top candidates will be contacted for interview.
You will receive automated notifications through the USAjobs system as updates are available.
Selecting officials may choose any appropriate competitive, non-competitive or alternative candidate under Federal regulations and Agency policy. Interviews may be conducted individually, by panel, by third party, teleconference, video teleconference, or in person. Selecting officials have the option to interview any, all or none of the referred candidates. Management has the right to fill or not a fill this vacancy, as well as to cancel and re-announce as appropriate.
Additional Vacancies
This announcement may be used to fill additional or similar vacancies at the same or equivalent grade level.
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