Summary
The Office of the General Counsel represents the FTC in court and provides legal counsel to the Chair, other Commissioners, operating bureaus and divisions, and other FTC offices. Among its other responsibilities, OGC advises the Commissioners, the bureaus, other offices, and staff on legal issues pertaining to all aspects of the Commission's mission, including compliance with federal laws and regulations. The incumbent reports to the General Counsel and Principal Deputy General Counsel.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
Applications will be accepted from all groups of qualified individuals.
Duties
The Deputy General Counsel for Litigation oversees OGC's role in litigation activities, such as the preparation of all necessary pleadings, briefings, and oral arguments in the federal courts, including appeals to the Circuit Court of Appeals; amicus participations; matters in the Supreme Court; and contempt proceedings and enforcement of compulsory process in Federal District courts. The incumbent also argues cases in federal court, advises Commissioners on litigation matters, advises Commission staff on litigation strategy, briefs congressional staff, appears before Congressional committees to present the Commission's views, coordinates with the Office of the Solicitor General on matters before the Supreme Court, and works with other offices in the Department of Justice to coordinate the defense of litigation.
The Deputy General Counsel for Litigation is a key member of the General Counsel's senior management team. In fulfilling these responsibilities, the Deputy General Counsel for Litigation is responsible, with the other senior management team members, for strategic planning regarding OGC's role in agency missions, and serves as a primary link between OGC, bureau and office heads, and FTC commissioners. In exercising important policy functions, the Deputy General Counsel for Litigation devises and implements OGC policy; reviews policy recommendations that affect agency missions; considers political, social, economic, technical, and administrative factors that potentially affect recommended policies; and formally recommends actions to the General Counsel or other approving official.
The incumbent is one of the agency's key sources for advice on broad questions of law and policy. The incumbent directs, oversees, supervises, coordinates, and reviews (including through a subordinate supervisor) the work of OGC Litigation attorneys in accomplishing OGC's goals and objectives; ensures the training, development, and effective use of Litigation staff; evaluates work product; conducts formal performance reviews; takes action to correct performance of conduct deficiencies; and recommends promotions, awards, and other personnel actions. The incumbent also assesses policy, program, and project feasibility; determines project goals and objectives; develops plans to achieve goals and objectives; identifies, and diagnoses, consults on problem areas related to assignments and goal achievement; and makes decisions on alternative courses of action.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a U.S. citizen to qualify for this position.
- You must possess a J.D. or LL.B. degree from an accredited law school.
- Background investigation (Public Trust) is required.
- You will serve a one-year probationary period unless you have previously completed the probationary period in the Senior Executive Service (SES).
- The individual selected will be required to file an Executive Branch Personnel Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278) in accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
- This position may be eligible for remote work or telework from a regional office. If selected, you must be approved for remote or telework prior to onboarding in accordance with FTC's Workplace Flexibilities Policy.
Qualifications
QUALIFICATIONS:As a basic requirement, applicants must demonstrate technical and professional competence as described in the Mandatory Professional Credentials/Technical Qualifications section below and executive leadership capabilities as described in the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) of the SES listed below. Typically, experiences of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-15 grade level or its equivalent in federal service, or with state or local government, private industry, or nongovernmental organizations.
If you are a current career member of the SES, are eligible for reinstatement into the SES, or have completed an SES Candidate Development Program and have been certified by the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Qualifications Review Board (QRB), you can apply for competitive and/or noncompetitive consideration. For competitive consideration, you must submit a resume and written statements addressing the Mandatory Professional Credentials/Technical Qualifications, ECQs, and other applicable qualifications. For noncompetitive consideration, you must submit your resume, written statements addressing the Mandatory Professional Credentials/Technical Qualifications, and other applicable qualifications. Written statements addressing the ECQs are not necessary for noncompetitive consideration. You must also provide documentation of QRB certification (i.e., SF-50 showing career SES status or OPM-issued SES qualification certificate).
MANDATORY PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS AND TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS:
Mandatory Technical Qualifications (should not exceed two pages per qualification):
MTQ 1: Extensive experience in appellate litigation, with an emphasis on administrative law, competition law and consumer protection law.
MTQ 2: Demonstrated excellence in both written and oral advocacy, particularly in the Circuit Courts of Appeals, including drafting and editing the work of others under time pressure.
MTQ 3: Demonstrated experience managing and analyzing complex legal issues and questions in areas relevant to the broad range of the work performed in the areas of competition law, consumer protection law, administrative law, and economics.
MTQ 4: Demonstrated experience advising the highest levels of an organization, including senior executives and members of a private governmental board or commission on highly sensitive matters of law and policy and risk balancing.
EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS: All applicants must submit written statements describing accomplishments that would satisfy the ECQs. You must respond to all ECQs and address each one separately, as failure to do so will result in a rating of 'ineligible' for the position. You can find additional information on the ECQs in the Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications. A good competency-based qualifications statement should address the following elements for each ECQ: (a) the goal, problem, or activity and its challenge, (b) the context or environment in which the activity took place, (c) specific actions you took to address the challenge, and (d) the results or impact of the activity. Each accomplishment should be clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities, the scope and complexity of the programs you managed, and the results of your actions. You are strongly encouraged to review the Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications. The ECQ statement, addressing all five ECQs, may be no longer than ten pages.
ECQ 1 - Leading Change: This ECQ involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.
ECQ 2 - Leading People: This ECQ involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports the constructive resolution of conflicts.
ECQ 3 - Results Driven: This ECQ involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.
ECQ 4 - Business Acumen: This ECQ involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.
ECQ 5 - Building Coalitions: This ECQ involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.
Education
Total background, including experience, education, awards, self-development, and training will be reviewed.
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 how well you meet the Mandatory Professional Credentials/Technical Qualifications and ECQs stated in this vacancy announcement.
You will be evaluated on the quality and extent of your total accomplishments, including experience, education, awards, self-development, and training. This information will be obtained from the application package, including the required narrative statements for the Mandatory Professional Credentials/Technical Qualifications and ECQs described in this vacancy announcement.
Your application package may be evaluated by a rating and ranking panel consisting of SES members. This evaluation will determine which applicants are Highly Qualified. Highly Qualified candidates may undergo an interview and a reference check.
The selecting official will review results and make recommendations on final selections to the Appointing Authority. Unless the OPM QRB has already certified you, your ECQs must be forwarded to the OPM QRB for certification before your appointment can occur.
Note: Veterans' preference does not apply to SES positions. This is in accordance with 5 USC 2108(3), which defines the term "preference eligible" and provides that this term does not include applicants for, or members of, the SES.
Required Documents
*DO NOT SUBMIT ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION* Extraneous materials such as a cover letter, letters of recommendation, past evaluations, award certificates, etc., will be discarded and not considered.1. RESUME - In addition to your written statements addressing the Mandatory Technical Qualifications, and ECQ Narrative (not to exceed 10 pages), submit a resume (not to exceed 5 pages) to describe your qualifications. Your resume should provide the following information:
- Vacancy Announcement number: EXEC-20240617-11183-OGC-JN
- Full name, email address, and day/evening telephone numbers. *PLEASE REDACT/REMOVE YOUR MAILING ADDRESS*
- Educational information including the name, city, and state of colleges or universities you attended, as well as the type of any degree received. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by the U.S. Department of Education. For more information, you may refer to the U.S. Department of Education website: https://www.ed.gov/accreditation
- Information about your paid and nonpaid work experience related to this position including job title, duties and accomplishments, employer's name and address, duration of employment, and salary
- Information about honors, awards, and special accomplishments
2. Mandatory Technical Qualifications: A narrative statement specifically addressing each Mandatory Technical Qualification. Statement should not exceed two pages per qualification.
3. Mandatory ECQ Narrative: Narrative statement should not exceed 10 pages maximum and MUST specifically address all five ECQs (Leading Change, Leading People, Results Driven, Business Acumen, and Building Coalitions). In lieu of the narrative statement, current career SES members, reinstatement eligibles, and SES Candidate Development Program graduates must provide the documentation in item #5.
4. Copy of the Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50): Current and former federal employees, to include career SES members, must provide an SF-50 showing their status or reinstatement eligibility. Candidates who have successfully completed an OPM-approved SES Candidate Development Program must submit a copy of their ECQ certification. *PLEASE REDACT/REMOVE YOUR SSN AND DATE OF BIRTH*DO NOT SUBMIT ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION* Extraneous materials such as a cover letter, letters of recommendation, past evaluations, award certificates, etc., will be discarded and not considered.
*EFFECTIVE MARCH 18, 2016* OPM must authorize any employment offers made to individuals who are currently serving in or have previously served in political positions within the last 5 years. These positions include Presidential appointees with or without Senate confirmation, Schedule A or Schedule C political appointees, appointees serving in a political capacity under an agency-specific authority, and Noncareer SES employees in the Executive Branch. If you are currently a political appointee or have been within the last 5 years, please indicate this in your resume. Serving in a political position WILL NOT eliminate you from consideration.
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 SUBMIT AN APPLICATION: Please select the "APPLY" button at the top of this announcement.
Your online resume is not considered a complete application. In order to expedite the review of your application, you must submit a complete online application package to include a Resume, Mandatory Professional Credentials, Technical Qualifications, and ECQs.
Carefully read the "Required Documents" section of this announcement to verify whether any additional information is required, as well as how it should be submitted.
If you are unable to apply online, please see the Reasonable Accommodation Policy at the bottom of this vacancy announcement.
*DO NOT SUBMIT ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION* Extraneous materials such as a cover letter, letters of recommendation, past evaluations, award certificates, etc., will not be considered.
Next steps
After all application packages are received, a preliminary review of applications by a human resources specialist will be completed to ensure your application meets the basic qualification requirements. An executive Rating and Ranking panel may evaluate qualified applicants based on the information provided, and will generate a certificate of "Highly Qualified" candidates for the selecting official. The selecting official may interview the "Best Qualified" candidates before making a selection recommendation to the Appointing Authority. We will verify performance, suitability, and security information and consider this information in making employment offers. You should expect a response on the outcome of your application within 90 workdays of the closing date of the announcement, excluding weekends and holidays.
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