Attorney Advisor (General) Job in Cambridge, MA

Vacancy No. OST.RVOLPE-2025-0012 Department Office of the Secretary of Transportation
Salary $100,371.00 to $183,353.00 Grade 12 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 5/2/2025 Close Date 5/12/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Cambridge, MA


Summary

The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, (U.S. Department of Transportation), improves transportation by anticipating and addressing emerging issues and advancing technical innovations across all transportation modes. Volpe partners with agency as well as public and private organizations to assess transportation needs, evaluate research and development endeavors, assist in the deployment of state-of-the-art technologies, and inform transportation decision making.

This job is open to

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/

Duties

The Volpe Center Attorney-Advisor (General) for the Office of Legal Services will be responsible for providing legal services and representation for all aspects of the Center’s operations and programs. You will serve as a legal advisor to Center staff and represent, or assist higher-level attorneys in representing, the Center in all legal matters. There is opportunity for involvement in complex and novel legal issues in diverse fields of law due to the Center’s unique status as a fee-for-service agency.

The ideal candidate is a superb communicator and enthusiastic attorney with at least 1 year of experience committed to providing public sector organizations with the highest quality legal services and customer service. They will have skill and experience providing sound and timely legal services in one or more of the following areas: financial agreements, financial compliance and audits, ethics, labor and employment law, equal opportunity, privacy and public records laws. Dedication to fostering the highest levels of legal and ethical compliance is critical. The ideal candidate will analyze complex areas of federal law and develop and implement strategic solutions to legal issues. The ability to resolve issues and propose legally sound solutions is key. The candidate must be able to provide excellent customer service, working independently or in teams.

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.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position may involve travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • WRITING SAMPLE: A writing sample will be requested from applicants who are determined as qualified and referred to the selecting official.
  • FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of appointment and annually thereafter.

Qualifications

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

GRADE 12 - A professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) and be in good standing; AND 1 year of relevant professional legal experience providing legal advice and counsel to the Federal or a state government, or in private practice, including researching, analyzing, and advising on legal policies, procedures, practices, and applicable laws, and Federal guidance.

GRADE 13 - A professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) and be in good standing; AND 2 years of relevant professional legal experience providing legal advice and counsel to the Federal or a state government, or in private practice, including researching, analyzing, and advising on legal policies, procedures, practices, and applicable laws, and Federal guidance.

GRADE 14 - A professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) and be in good standing; AND 3 years of relevant professional legal experience providing legal advice and counsel to the Federal or a state government, or in private practice, including researching, analyzing, and advising on legal policies, procedures, practices, and applicable laws, and Federal guidance.

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. Communication: Knowledge of and experience in providing legal guidance, analysis and advice in a manner that promotes legal compliance across the Center; build effective relationships with individuals and groups across the organization, inside and outside the agency; explain, advocate and express legal concepts, facts and ideas in a compelling manner.
  2. Ability to prepare and present legal concepts and training materials before diverse audiences. Ability to write clearly, concisely and persuasively, with particular emphasis on the ability to analyze and explain complex legal issues.
  3. Writing: Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a succinct and organized manner; produces written information, which may include technical material, that is appropriate for the intended audience.
  4. Customer Service: Ability to maintain effective working and reporting relationships with interagency peers, subject-matter experts, support staff, and management officials.
  5. Partnering - Develop networks and builds alliances; collaborates across boundaries to build strategic relationships and achieve common goals.

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

PLEASE NOTE: 

Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expense: will not be paid.

Relocation expenses will not be authorized.

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, FairChanceAct@dot.gov. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

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.

Review our 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.

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.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

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: Your resume MUST contain specific information used to make a qualification determination that includes 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. Formatted resumes may be uploaded later in the application process. For assistance with the resume builder, please visit:  https://help.usajobs.gov/

COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE.

Certificate of bar membership and proof of good standing. Prior to receiving an offer, you will be asked to provide a certificate of bar membership and proof of good standing.

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. 

FOREIGN EDUCATION must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

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.

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

You must submit a complete application package (including resume, vacancy questions and supporting documents) no later than 11:59 pm (EST) on the closing date of the announcement.

  • To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
  • Follow the directions to register, submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
  • You may review your saved application(s) at https://help.usajobs.gov/

If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at Transjobs@dot.gov.

Agency contact information

Automated Staffing Office
Address
DOT, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE / HAHR-50
Washington, District of Columbia 20590
United States

Next steps

You may check your application status by logging into USAJobs.com (Select "My USAJobs" and click "Applications".  Within two weeks of the closing date, a Human Resources Specialist will evaluate your application. Qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager.  Appropriate veteran's preference will be applied. If you are selected for an interview, the hiring agency will contact you directly.  Once the position is filled, we will notify all applicants of their final status.


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


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