Attorney- Adviser (Public Utilities) Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. FERC-ATTY-2025-0002 Department Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Salary $163,964.00 to $191,900.00 Grade 15 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 10/25/2024 Close Date 11/4/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is ranked within the top 5 mid-size agencies through the Partnership for Public Service’s Best Places to Work in the Federal Government Rankings! This Attorney-Adviser position is located in the Office of the Commissioner. For more information visit: Office of the Commissioner.

Duties

The incumbent will serve as a legal adviser to the Commissioner.  Under broad administrative direction and with extreme latitude for exercising independent judgment and initiative, studies, investigates and renders information, conclusions, and advice on very difficult and significant legal problems with which the Commissioner is concerned, including advising on questions of law or administrative/regulatory policy involved in the operations of the Commission and in its contacts with the regulated industries and the general public.  The incumbent's work is of exceptional difficulty and responsibility.  It relates to any of the Commission's responsibilities derived from the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Federal Power Act, Natural Gas Act, Natural Gas Policy Act, Electric Consumers Protection Act, Bonneville Act, other acts, Executive Orders, and Presidential directives.

As an Attorney-Adviser, some of your typical work assignments may include:

  • Advising the Commissioner on legal aspects of formal and informal cases or matters before the Commission; conformance of the recommendations made by the divisions and offices to Commission policies and precedents; whether the recommended action conforms to prior opinions expressed by the Commissioner; the effect of the proposed actions on various hydropower, electric power, natural gas utilities and oil pipelines; government regulation in general; etc.  Such cases or matters involve consideration of applications for new permits and licenses, etc.; transfers of control; revocation of licenses; increases in power; increases in rates; establishment of new services; promulgation of new policies; changes in the Commission rules and regulations; investigations of violations; allocations and utilization of supplies of electrical energy and natural gas; jurisdictional matters; determinations of the interstate nature of sales of energy; proposed legislation directly or indirectly affecting the Commission, or any other matter for which the Commission is responsible. 

  • Reviewing staff reports and proposals, hearing records, testimony and exhibits, proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law; evaluate and study the evidence, and relate such matters to general Commission policy, written or oral representations made to the Commissioner or to the incumbent by applicants or other interested parties, and the viewpoint and opinions of the Commissioner. 

  • Performing legal research requiring interpretation and analysis of statutes, legislation, decisions of high courts, etc., on material to be used by the Commissioner in the preparation of speeches relating to the problems of utility regulation and articles designed for publication in educational, governmental, and other specialized journals; edits such speeches and articles for the Commissioner to ensure that the legal aspects are properly applied and presented.

  • Conducting special studies for the Commissioner on proposed policies or rules which the Commissioner believes necessary or desirable, requiring that the incumbent perform extensive legal research and consult with various groups within and outside the Commission. Discusses such matters with the Commissioner, informing him or her of the probable reactions to such a policy or rule and their effect on various utility groups and the general public; prepares the recommendations to the Commission.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Possess a J.D. or LL.B. degree from an accredited college or university.
  • Current, active bar membership required.
  • A two-year trial period may be required.
  • This is not a bargaining unit position.
  • Generally, male applicants must be registered with the Selective Service.
  • This position has an education requirement; you must submit transcripts.
  • You may be required to divest certain energy-related securities.
  • A background investigation is required.

You must meet all eligibility and qualification (experience and/or education) requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

You must meet the following basic requirements, by the closing date of this announcement: (1) hold a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) or Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from an accredited college or university and (2) be a current, active bar member in good standing.

In addition, to the minimum requirements above, you must meet the following qualifications by the closing date of this announcement:

Specialized experience is defined as: (1) significant law experience that required interpretation of statutes, legislation, and decisions of high courts regarding energy policy issues; and (2) advising senior level staff on difficult and significant legal problems, questions of law, and administrative/regulatory polices related to energy issues.  

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 any volunteer experience.

Please do not cut and paste  the position description, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume, as this will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Education

This position has a basic education requirement listed under the “Qualifications” section of this announcement.

Additional information

Our employees ranked FERC as a top 5 mid-size agency in both Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) and Effective Leadership according to the Partnership for Public Service’s Best Places to Work in the Federal Government!  In addition, FERC was also ranked #1 in Work-Life Balance and we are proud to offer telework and workplace flexibilities in accordance with agency policy.

The duty location of this position is Washington, DC. Agency employees are eligible for telework and other workplace flexibilities. Telework days and waiting periods for eligibility are determined when an employee enters on duty.

If selected for this position, you will be required to:

  • Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for Federal employment.
  • Have your Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of your choice.
  • Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. FERC also participates in the USCIS Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify). For more information about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify.
  • Attend a mandatory ethics training. We are governed by the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Standards of Conduct, the criminal conflict of interest statutes, and FERC’s supplemental ethics regulation, which specifically prohibits FERC employees from holding certain energy-related securities. To comply with these regulations and statutes, divestiture of these securities may be required after you begin employment. See 5 C.F.R. 2634-41; 18 U.S.C. 201-208; 5 C.F.R. 3401. If selected, you may also be required to file a financial disclosure statement within 30 days of appointment.
  • Receive authorization from OPM on any job offer you receive, if you are or were (within the last 5 years) a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch.

Benefits

For more information regarding Federal benefits programs, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/benefits

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

You will be evaluated for this position based on (1) how well you meet the qualifications above and (2) your responses to the vacancy questions. All applications that are verified to meet the requirements will be referred to the selecting official.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

If you do not provide all required documents by the closing date of this vacancy announcement, you will not be considered for this position.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR ALL CANDIDATES:

  1. RESUME: Your resume should describe your specialized experience and support your answers to the vacancy announcement questionnaire. You must ensure it contains the following information for each experience/position:
    • Position title
    • Name of employer
    • Beginning and ending dates of employment (Month/Day/Year format)
    • Hours worked per week
    • Detailed description of job duties, accomplishments, related skills, and responsibilities to include any supervisory/managerial responsibilities and number of staff supervised (if applicable)
    • Series and grade or equivalent (for federal positions)
    • List your education history, including the type of degree and your major of study
  2. VACANCY QUESTIONNAIRE: You must submit and complete the online eligibility and vacancy questions.
  3. TRANSCRIPTS: You are required to submit copies of your college and law school transcripts to verify your education. Unofficial copies are acceptable; however, if selected you will be required to provide official transcripts before your effective date.
  4. PROOF OF BAR MEMBERSHIP: Documentation showing you are a current bar member in good standing.

OPTIONAL DOCUMENTS TO SUPPORT PREFERENCE OR ELIGIBILITY CLAIMS: 

  1. VETERANS’PREFERENCE (DD-214, VA Disability Letter, etc.): There is no formal rating system for applying veterans’ preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, FERC considers military service a positive factor when reviewing applications. If you are claiming veterans' preference, you are encouraged to submit a copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, DD-214 (Member 4 copy), or other official documentation from a branch of the Armed Forces or the Department of Veterans Affairs showing dates of service and type of discharge. Ten-point preference eligibles must also submit an “Application for 10-point Veteran Preference” (SF-15), along with official VA letter and the required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. For more information about veterans' preference, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Veterans.

OPTIONAL DOCUMENTS FOR CANDIDATES (You are strongly encouraged to submit these documents as a part of your initial application):

  1. COVER LETTER: You may be required to submit a cover letter that showcases how your unique combination of skills and experience(s) meet the requirements of the position.
  2. WRITING SAMPLE: You may be required to provide a writing sample that demonstrates your persuasive writing skills and that reflects your analytic skills.   

How to Apply

The FERC Careers site provides detailed instructions on how to apply to FERC vacancies.  For more information visit:  https://www.ferc.gov/about/careers/job-searchapply.

Here are a few additional tips: 

  • When applying to a FERC vacancy announcement, please remember you must complete and submit your entire application (including your resume, vacancy questionnaire, and any applicable supporting documentation) no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time (ET) on the vacancy closing date. Please note, it may take you longer to apply to some vacancy announcements than others. Starting your application late on the evening the vacancy closes is not recommended because you might not have enough time to ensure your application is successfully submitted and received.
  • When the specialized experience statement in the vacancy announcement requires experience presenting information to a large audience, your resume should include speeches or presentations you've given.
  • Make sure you verify that your resume clearly indicates possession of the competencies and specialized experience listed under the “Qualifications and Evaluations” and “How You Will Be Evaluated” sections of this announcement.
  • Remember to submit all required and supporting documentation listed under the “Required Documents” section of this announcement.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
FERC provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact DisabilityManager@FERC.gov no later than 11:59 pm ET on the vacancy closing date.  The decision to grant a reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

For more information on telework, click the following link: USAJOBS Help Center | What is telework?

For more information on remote work, click the following link: USAJOBS Help Center | What is a remote job?

Agency contact information

Rita Howsare
Phone
202-502-8965
Fax
000-000-0000
Email
rita.howsare@ferc.gov
Address
FERC
888 First Street, NE
Washington, District of Columbia 20426
United States
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications. You will be notified of the status of your application up to four times throughout the application process, via your USAJOBS dashboard. To verify the status of your application, both during and after the announcement open period, log on to your USAJOBS account. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an option to “Track this application.” Your “Applicant status” will also appear along with the dates you applied to this position and when your application was last updated. To learn more about your specific job status and how this helps you track jobs and applications visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status

Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement.

More than one selection for similar positions may be made from this announcement and the program office for that selection may vary. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with any interested selecting official(s).


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


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