Attorney Adviser (Development Law)

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen. This position is in the Excepted Service. For information on the Excepted Service, please visit: Excepted Service Appointing Authorities@ https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/excepted-service/

As an Attorney Advisor (Development Law), you will advise on:

• Financial Assistance and Project Delivery: Draft and negotiate grant agreements and advise on legal requirements for federal funding, including 2 CFR Part 200 and Buy America provisions and fiscal law matters. Liaise with the Build America Bureau on federal loans.
• Environmental & Historic Preservation: Provide counsel on NEPA, NHPA, and related regulations for infrastructure projects.
• Amtrak Portfolio Support: Advise on FRA's interests in Amtrak, including lien holdings, and grants for operating and capital needs throughout the country.
• Legislative Support: Provide technical assistance regarding intercity passenger rail legislation and railroad development grant programs.
• Litigation: Represent the agency in litigation and administrative matters related to the Development Law portfolio.

The ideal candidate should have knowledge of and experience in a wide range of legal practice areas affecting the transportation industry, including specifically: administrative law; financial assistance programs, including grants; legislation and regulations; and environmental and historic preservation laws, regulations, and guidance.

*PLEASE NOTE: This announcement establishes an open continuous (1 year) vacancy announcement. Given our continuing need for top professionals in this field, we will review applications after the first 21 days of the vacancy opening for early consideration. Then after, applications will be reviewed on an as needed basis. 

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.
• BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
• 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.
• GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.

Qualifications

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

GRADE 12 - You must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11 it must include:

• Be a graduate of an accredited law school with a LL.B., J.D., or equivalent AND at least ONE (1) year of professional legal work experience.
• Be an active member in good standing of the bar in a state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

GRADE 13 - You must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-12, it must include:

• Be a graduate of an accredited law school with a LL.B., J.D., or equivalent AND at least TWO (2) years of professional legal work experience.
• Be an active member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of any state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

GRADE 14 - You must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-13, it must include: 

• Be a graduate of an accredited law school with a LL.B., J.D., or equivalent AND at least THREE (3) years professional legal work experience of a progressively responsible nature.
• Be an active member in good standing of the bar in a state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

GRADE 15 - You must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-14, it must include: 

• Be a graduate of an accredited law school with a LL.B., J.D., or equivalent AND at least FOUR (4) years of professional attorney experience.
• Be an active member in good standing of the bar in a state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

You cannot qualify for any grade on education alone; you must also have experience.

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:

1. Administrative Law - Knowledge of State and Federal administrative laws, including procedures, regulations, guidelines, and precedents related to Federal financial assistance.
2. Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
3. 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.
4. 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.

How you will be evaluated

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

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level

For this announcement, all applicants will be reviewed to determine if they meet the basic qualifications for this position, specifically the educational and specialized experience requirements.

Applicants will not be rated or ranked.

All applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications will be referred to the selecting official.

The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package.  If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers.

• Include a cover letter to share skills and goals relevant to this application.

The following is a list of documents that are only required based on the type of position. Please review each of the following sections to determine which documents you need to provide with your application.

RESUME: In accordance with the OPM memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, resumes with a maximum of two (2) pages in length will be accepted as part of your application.  These should be legible and in a readable font size. A determination of your eligibility and/or qualifications will be based only on those two (2) pages. 

Your resume MUST contain specific information that can be used to make a qualification determination, including employment beginning and ending dates for each position, whether employment is Full-time or Part-time, or average number of hours worked per week,  and position titles.  If the position is/was in the Federal government, you will need to provide the position series and grade level.  The resume should show relevant experience and education, as well as support the required specialized experience.

For assistance with the resume builder, please visit:  https://help.usajobs.gov/

COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE.

PROOF OF BAR MEMBERSHIP: 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.  

TRANSCRIPTS - Transcripts are REQUIRED as there is a stated education requirement for the series. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - click here. 

WRITING SAMPLE: If selected for an interview, a writing sample may be requested.

VETERANS: Department of Transportation attorney positions are in the excepted service, not the competitive civil service. There is no formal rating system for applying veterans’ preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Transportation considers veterans’ preference eligibility as a positive factor 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 supporting documentation, e.g., SF15, DD214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other supporting documentation.

Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system.  You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.

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