Attorney Advisor (Regulatory Affairs) Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. PHMSA.PHC-2025-0002 Department Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Salary $82,764.00 to $181,216.00 Grade 11 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 12/4/2024 Close Date 1/3/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

This position is an Attorney-Advisor for Regulatory Affairs Law/Office of Chief Counsel.  Under the direction and supervision of the Deputy Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs Law, the Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs Law, and the Deputy Chief Counsel, the position renders legal assistance on matters relating to PHMSA’s regulatory activities and functions.

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 attorney selected will be responsible for rendering legal assistance on matters relating to PHMSA’s regulatory activities and functions, including:

  • Research each of statutes, legal opinions, policies, regulations, guidance, case law, and historical PHMSA and Department practice, on matters for which the Regulatory Affairs Law Division is responsible, including those involving complex or high- profile issues of law or policy.
  • Serving as an Attorney-Advisor for the Regulatory Affairs Law Division and a resource within PHMSA on matters for which the Division is responsible, including those involving regulations, guidance, and pertinent procedure.
  • Serving as a liaison with stakeholders within PHMSA, the Department, OMB, and other pertinent stakeholders, on matters for which the Regulatory Affairs Law Division is responsible. The position represents PHMSA in meetings and conferences with representatives of other Federal Government executive departments and agencies, State regulatory officials, industry, and the public on matters for which the Division is responsible.
  • Preparing, or assisting in preparation of, briefs, memoranda, and pleadings or filings in administrative proceedings and court cases involving PHMSA regulations and guidance.
  • Reviewing and commenting on the accuracy and significance for PHMSA regulatory oversight activities of draft legal materials including legislation, hearing testimony, Departmental regulations and guidance, and regulations and guidance of other Federal agencies.
  • Performing other duties as assigned by supervisors.

This position is perfect for an attorney with experience working in a busy legal office in Federal (e.g., attorney-advisors in other agencies; judicial clerks in the Federal district courts or U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals) or state government; in the non-profit sector; or in the private sector (e.g., as an associate at a law firm). Ideal candidates will have strong project management skills; experience developing legally sound, high- quality work product; and demonstrated initiative, creativity, precision, judgment and strategic thinking.

Specific duties will include reviewing proposed and final rulemakings and related materials, including Regulatory Impact Analyses and Guidance; representing the Division in rulemaking-related meetings, drafting recommendations, and conducting research; and

The ideal candidate will demonstrate each of the following attributes:

  • Strong academic credentials;
  • Project management skills;
  • Excellent legal research and writing skills;
  • The ability to handle and prioritize multiple competing tasks while maintaining collegial working relationships; and
  • Initiative, creativity, precision, judgment and strategic thinking.

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.
  • TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: This position may be eligible for occasional and/or regularly scheduled telework.  The number of telework days approved will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency’s telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position.
  • PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT:  Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection and a service agreement may be required.

Qualifications

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

To qualify for the GS-11 level attorney-advisor, you must have current, relevant experience demonstrating satisfaction of the following experience requirements:

Applicants applying at the GS-11 grade level must have a J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar membership in one of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

  • Experience with any of the following: Federal administrative law, administrative law, corporate and securities law, mergers and acquisitions, utilities, or antitrust laws as it relates to the development and review of regulations, guidance, and other legal materials, and coordinating legal issues.
  • Strong academic credentials (e.g., top 33% of law school class or graduated with honors; either position on a law school journal or a member of law school moot court team).

Applicants applying at the GS-12 grade level must meet GS-11 qualifications plus one year of legal experience, or additional relevant experience that distinguishes an entry-level attorney from the GS-11. This may include: a superior academic record; specific course work or an internship in the relevant legal area; another graduate or doctoral degree.

  • Experience with Federal administrative law or other legal practice areas (e.g., corporate and securities law, mergers and acquisitions, utilities, or antitrust law) requiring skills--independence, initiative, creativity, precision, accountability, judgment, and strategic thinking-- analogous to those involved in development and review of regulations, guidance, and other legal materials, and coordinating legal issues and professional application of legal principles, precedents and rulings.

Applicants applying at the GS-13 grade level must meet GS-12 qualifications, plus must at least two years of legal experience or relevant experience.

  • Experience conducting briefings for and providing legal advice and assistance to senior managers in carrying out their respective responsibilities.
  • Experience either working as a member of teams or on projects in a legal office within Federal or state government or the private sector (e.g., a law firm); or in a post-graduation judicial clerkship (e.g., in the Federal district courts or the U.S. circuit courts of appeals).
  • Experience with any of the following: Federal administrative law, administrative law, corporate and securities law, mergers and acquisitions, utilities, or antitrust laws as it relates to the development and review of regulations, guidance, and other legal materials, and coordinating legal issues.

Applicants applying at the GS-14 grade level must meet GS-13 qualifications requires at least three years of legal experience.

  • Experience conducting briefings for and providing legal advice and assistance to executives and senior managers in carrying out their respective responsibilities.
  • Experience either managing teams or projects in a legal office within Federal or state government or the private sector (e.g., a law firm); or working in a post-graduation judicial clerkship (e.g., in the Federal district courts or the U.S. circuit courts of appeals).
  • Experience with any of the following: Federal administrative law, administrative law, corporate and securities law, mergers and acquisitions, utilities, or antitrust laws as it relates to the development and review of regulations, guidance, and other legal materials, and coordinating legal issues.

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:

  • Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, considering 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.
  • Written Communication - Writes in a clear, precise, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
  • Legal, Government, and Jurisprudence - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, legal practices and documents, Government regulations, Executive orders, agency rules, Government organization and functions, and the democratic political process.
  • 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.

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.  

You will be required to submit proof of your Bar membership as part of your application package to show that you meet this requirement. Any offer is contingent on receipt of a letter or certificate of good standing for each bar of which the applicant is an active member dated within 30 days of any offer.

Additional information

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.

PROOF OF BAR MEMBERSHIP.

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: Your last DD214 (member 4 copy), Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, that shows the type of discharge and all dates of active duty is required to verify your eligibility.  It need not be official.

  • If you are applying to a vacancy opened to all US Citizens under category rating and wish to be considered as a preference eligible, you need to submit a copy of your DD214 (member-4 copy).
  • If you are claiming preference eligibility as a disabled veteran, you must submit proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally a valid letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability.  An SF-15 is desired, but not required.
  • If you are applying to a vacancy opened Status and you are requesting consideration under Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) (https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/shav/#veoa), you need to provide a copy of your last DD214 (member-4 copy), which verifies your military service dates, reason for separation, OR certification of separation that shows a discharge date within 120 days of the closing of this announcement, and eligibility for consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.

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

TO APPLY: PLEASE SUBMIT A COVER LETTER, RESUME, AND PROOF OF BAR MEMBERSHIP VIA EMAIL TO:  PHMSA.Attorney.Jobs@dot.gov no later than 11:59 pm (EST) on the closing date of the announcement.

Indicate that you are applying to the Attorney Advisor (Regulatory Affairs).  job vacancy. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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, PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMIN
Submit Application and Documents Online
1200 New Jersey Ave SE / HAHR - 50
Washington, District of Columbia 20590
United States
Learn more about this agency

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.


© 2006-2024, exclusive of U. S. government job opportunity announcements