Attorney Job in Rockville, MD

Vacancy No. OGC/LEAL-2024-0003 Department Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Salary $139,395.00 to $181,216.00 Grade 14 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 9/27/2024 Close Date 9/26/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Rockville, MD


Summary

This position is located in Office of the General Counsel,Division of Legislation,Ethics,& Admin Law (LEAL)
The supervisor is Tison Campbell 
This position is Non Bargaining Unit

This position is subject to Confidential Financial Disclosure reporting & security ownership restriction reporting requirements.

This is an Open Until Filled Vacancy Announcement. Positions will be filled as vacancies occur.  Applications will be reviewed and referred for positions biweekly.

Duties

The successful candidates will serve as attorney under the Assistant General Counsel and Deputy Assistant General Counsel for LEAL in the Office of the General Counsel.  The selectees will be placed in LEAL but may move to other OGC divisions as workload needs change over time. 

The successful candidate will have the experience, poise, temperament, judgment, collegiality, and professional stature required to successfully perform the important duties and responsibilities of an attorney providing legal advice to the General Counsel (and the Deputy General Counsels and Associate General Counsel, if applicable), the Commission, and the NRC staff.  The successful candidate will have excellent written and oral communication skills and have a demonstrated ability to make fair and impartial decisions in a timely manner.

The following duties are performed with a high degree of independence:

  1. Providing advice and legal services related to a variety of legal topics, such as administrative law, international law, information law, Commission governance, and the federal ethics program.
  2. Reviewing documents to determine their legal sufficiency, performing difficult original legal research, developing solutions to novel and complex legal issues, providing legal opinions and advice, and identifying and addressing policy matters, including consideration of relevant risks.
  3. Providing leadership and guidance to assigned back-up attorneys, including making assignments to the back-up attorneys and providing comments and revisions to documents and other work products connected with assigned matters.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship Required.
  • This is a Drug Testing position.
  • Subject to OGE Confidential Financial Disclosure reporting requirements.
  • Also subject to NRC's Prohibited Securities rule.
  • Background investigation leading to a clearance is required for new hires.

You must meet the qualifications for this position by no later than 30 calendar days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, you must have at least one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade level in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector.

Specialized experience

GG 14: includes experience that is defined as attorney or judicial work experience in a federal or state government, federal or state judiciary, or the private practice of law that provided the candidate with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the work of this position. Minimally qualified candidates will have multiple years of work experience, including substantial regulatory and statutory interpretation and litigation experience sufficient to perform independent work on complex and major assignments.

The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the following:

  1. Ability to provide legal advice and support to the General Counsel, the Commission, and the Commission staff on two or more of the below topics (the ability can be as to any combination of the enumerated topics, with each individual topic accorded equal weight):
    • Advising on administrative law matters, including information law and intellectual property.
    • Advising on matters such as treaties and conventions, international arrangements and project agreements, and exports and imports.
    • Advising on the responsibilities of agency heads in a commission or board-like setting and on internal governance of commissions or boards. 
    • Interpreting legislation and supporting the agency in its communications with Congress.
    • Supporting the agency’s federal ethics program, including the review of Office of Government Ethics confidential and public financial disclosure forms or providing advice on the Hatch Act.
    • Providing support on non-appellate adjudicatory matters and in federal court appellate litigation.
  2. Ability to identify, interpret, and analyze federal laws, statutes, regulations, and cases. Examples of qualifying experience include: knowledge and understanding of legal principles and laws applicable to federal or state agencies, such as the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 2005, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and other statutes applicable to federal or state regulatory agencies; legislative history and case law; and NRC or other regulatory agency rules, regulations, and policies.
  3. Ability to identify, analyze, and prepare detailed legal memoranda and resolve complex legal issues.
  4. Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing to provide legal advice.
  5. Ability to make fair and impartial decisions in a timely manner.

A description of how you possess specialized experience and satisfy the ideal candidate language should be addressed in your application package.

Education

You must be a graduate of an accredited law school with a J.D., LL.B., or equivalent degree, and you must be an active member in good standing of the Bar of a state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia.

Additional information

The duty location of this position is Rockville, MD. In general, employees are expected to be in the office at a minimum of 4 days per pay period.  Telework schedules, including full-time telework, are approved, on a case-by-case basis. If selected, telework will be determined in accordance with Agency policy and the Collective Bargaining Agreement, if applicable.

Based on the staffing needs of the agency/area of consideration, additional selections may be made from this vacancy announcement.

The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate.  Individuals with disabilities may contact the Selective Placement Coordinator for assistance with the application or hiring process via Disability.Resource@nrc.gov. Deaf applicants may contact the Disability Program Manager by calling the NRC videophone at 240-428-3217.

Individuals who are eligible for non-competitive appointment under an OPM special appointing authority may apply for consideration under a comparable NRC non-competitive appointing authority. Veterans, please visit:  http://www.fedshirevets.gov/

Selectees will be required to complete a "Declaration of Federal Employment", (OF-306), prior to being appointed to determine their suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.  False statements or responses on your resume or questionnaire can jeopardize your employment opportunity and subject you to disciplinary action, including removal from Federal service.

A transferable security clearance from another agency or a background investigation leading to a clearance is required for all new hires.  To begin work at the NRC without a security clearance, you must be granted a temporary waiver of the required clearance, referred to as a 145(b) waiver.  To be eligible for a 145(b) waiver you will need a favorable education verification, reference, credit, and criminal history checks.  If a wavier is granted, the successful completion of a background investigation and favorable adjudication is required for continued employment.  If you have resided outside the U.S. for an extended period of time, the agency may not be able to (1) grant the 145(b) waiver where the required investigation cannot be completed in a timely manner, or (2) achieve timely completion of the background investigation required for a security clearance.

The NRC is a zero tolerance agency with respect to illegal drug use.  Individuals selected for this position will be subject to pre-appointment drug testing unless currently in a NRC position subject to random drug testing AND will be subject to random drug testing upon appointment to the NRC.

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.

As an NRC employee you will enjoy excellent Federal Benefits, including: comprehensive health and life insurance plans; Flexible Spending Account Program for health and dependent care; Dental and Vision Insurance; retirement savings and investment plan similar to 401(k) (Thrift Savings Plan); annual (vacation) and paid sick leave; family friendly leave policies; 11 paid holidays per year; transit benefits. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal employees. https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Pay_and_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.

When the application process is complete, your application will be reviewed to determine if you meet the job requirements.  You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume and responses to any vacancy questions to determine your level of knowledge, skill and ability related to the job requirements.  If you are among the top candidates for this position, your application will be referred to the hiring manager.

Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position.  Therefore, we encourage you to submit a thorough resume that directly relates to this position.

An applicant should possess the experience, poise, temperament, judgment, collegiality, and professional stature required to successfully perform the important duties and responsibilities of an attorney providing legal advice to the General Counsel (and the Deputy General Counsels and Associate General Counsel, if applicable), the Commission, and the NRC staff.  An applicant’s resume should describe any prior experience with federal labor and employment law. A successful applicant should have excellent written and oral communication skills and have a demonstrated ability to make fair and impartial decisions in a timely manner.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

List of required supplemental material that may be applicable:

If you are a NRC employee you are required to submit your most recent Rating of Record (Performance Appraisal) or a statement saying that one is not available. Additionally, you must also submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action which is not an award action).

If you are a current/reinstatement eligible Federal employee with status (Tenure Group 1 or 2), you will be considered under our merit promotion procedures and must submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) to verify competitive status or reinstatement eligibility.  

Veterans' Preference documentation, if applicable (e.g. DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; Current Active Duty members must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA letter.)  You can find additional information about Veterans' Preference at http://www.fedshirevets.gov/.

If you are applying for a position that requires a college degree, you must submit your College Transcripts.

Applicant must submit with their application an original legal writing sample consisting of no more than 10 pages (an excerpt is acceptable) and preferably dated within the last five years.


All supplemental documents will now be collected electronically and should be submitted before the closing date of this vacancy announcement.  You have three choices for submitting your supplemental documents:

1.  Use the "USAJOBS" feature to download documents from your USAJOBS portfolio; or
2.  use the "Upload" feature to upload documents directly from your computer.  The following types of documents can be uploaded:  .gif, .jpeg, .png, .rtf, .pdf, and .doc; or
3. use the "Fax" feature to print the Fax Cover Sheet and fax it, along with your supplemental documents to 1-571-258-4052.

How to Apply

We strongly encourage you to complete your USAJOBS profile before you submit your application for this position.

Please read the entire announcement.  Your application for this vacancy must be received online via the USAJOBS application system BEFORE 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the closing date of this announcement. If you fail to submit a complete online application, you will not be considered for this position.

To ensure you are using the correct resume type when applying to our vacancies, please make sure that the resume you are using during the application process is listed with a format type of "USAJOBS Resume" and a source type of "Built with USAJOBS Resume Builder. Verifying this information on your USAJOBS resume before applying will ensure the successful submission of your application to the NRC job vacancy.

Paper applications will not be accepted unless hardship circumstances can be demonstrated. Requests for extensions WILL NOT be granted. If applying online poses a hardship for you, the Human Resources Specialist listed on the announcement will provide assistance to ensure that applications are submitted online by the closing date. Applicants must contact the Human Resources Specialist during business hours BEFORE the closing date of the announcement and speak to someone who can provide assistance for your online submission.

You must answer any job specific vacancy questions. You will be rated based on your responses to any vacancy questions and especially the information provided in your resume. Breadth, recency, and length of experience in the field; training, awards, and commendations; past and current performance; and community or outside professional activities will be considered to determine your level of knowledge, skill or ability for this position. Abbreviated responses to the vacancy questions, such as “significant experience” or “see resume” do not provide enough information and should not be used. You will not be considered for this position if you leave any of the vacancy questions unanswered.


To begin the application process, select the "Apply On-line" button to the right on this screen. Then follow the prompts to login/register, submit all required supplemental documents, and complete the application process.

Agency contact information

Nicole Harper
Phone
301-415-7000
TDD
240-428-3217
Fax
301-415-0189
Email
nicole.harper@nrc.gov
Website
https://www.nrc.gov
Address
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer
Mail Stop T-2 77A
Washington, District of Columbia 20555
United States
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

You may check the status of your application at any time after the announcement closes by logging onto USAJOBs and selecting "Application Status."


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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