Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open to the public. This position is designated as confidential or policy-determining under the Administrative Office (AO) Personnel Act, Section 3(a)(5)(B) and, as such, is not covered by the AO's personnel regulations developed under the AO Personnel Act of 1990. Relocation expenses will not be provided unless specifically authorized by the Director of the AO.

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) is seeking an exceptional leader to serve as Deputy Legislative Affairs Officer. The Deputy Legislative Affairs Officer serves as the primary advisor to the Legislative Affairs Officer who serves as the senior legislative advisor to the AO Director. Together, the Legislative Affairs Officer and the Deputy Legislative Affairs Officer ensure OLA's mission, objectives, and goals are met.

OLA carries out the judiciary's legislative liaison activities with Congress, other governmental entities, and private sector organizations. OLA works with the Judicial Conference of the United States (JCUS) and its committees to develop policy positions on legislative issues, promotes legislative initiatives, identifies and monitors congressional activity impacting the judiciary, and develops and coordinates responses to policy and legislative inquiries from Congress.

The Deputy Legislative Affairs Officer serves as an expert on a wide range of legislative subject-matter areas of interest to the federal judiciary; serves as Acting Legislative Affairs Officer during the absence of the Legislative Affairs Officer; and represents the Legislative Affairs Officer at senior-level agency meetings and committee meetings.

The incumbent must have excellent legal research and analytical skills and should possess strong
professional management, problem-solving, and written and verbal communication skills. The ideal candidate must have experience in providing analysis of complex legal and legislative issues for executive-level decision-makers and exercising sound judgment to negotiate solutions and execute decisions on behalf of executive-level officials.

The duties of the Deputy Legislative Affairs Officer include, but are not limited to:

1. Assisting the Legislative Affairs Officer in planning, developing, coordinating, advising, and directing the activities of the office.
2. Advising the Legislative Affairs Officer and OLA team on strategic decisions and oversight activities of the Judicial Conference Committees on the Judicial Branch and Federal-State Jurisdiction.
3. Providing legal and legislative advice and recommendations to office and agency officials on legislative matters of importance to the judiciary.
4. Identifying and developing sound strategies to resolve legislative issues of importance to the judiciary.
5. Building relationships and coordinating regularly with Hill staff, judiciary stakeholders, and AO leadership.
6. Providing leadership, management, supervision, and coordination to attorneys, paralegals, and support staff.
7. Responding to legislative inquiries from the Congress, the AO Director, judges, court officers, and others.
8. Attending congressional meetings, hearings, briefings on behalf of the judiciary.

Conditions of employment

Qualifications

Applicants must have demonstrated experience which shows competence in the qualifications as listed below. This requirement is according to the AO Classification, Compensation, and Recruitment Systems which includes interpretive guidance and reference to the OPM Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions.

Bar Membership: Applicants must currently be an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or a federal court of general jurisdiction. Applicants are responsible for citing minimum qualifications such as J.D. and bar membership information (institution name, state(s) for bar, and dates) on their respective resumes. Failure to supply details will constitute an incomplete application. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Post J.D. Experience: Applicants must also possess at least 4 years of post J.D. experience.

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one full year (52 weeks) (preferably 5 or more years) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-15/JSP-15/CL 31 level which is in or directly related to the line of work of this position. Specialized experience for this position is defined as follows:

• Expertise and demonstrated experience in the political, administrative, and legislative processes of Congress.
• Demonstrated ability to provide strategic advice and communications with executive-level officers.
• Demonstrated ability to solve executive-level complex and sensitive problems.
• Demonstrated expertise in composing, reviewing, and revising legal memoranda, legislative documents, explanatory materials, congressional testimony, executive-quality correspondence, speeches, and reports.
• Demonstrated ability to assess executive-level, complex, and sensitive information, identify key issues, and implement appropriate solutions.

• Experience in the federal legislative or judicial branches.
• Staffing a judicial or legislative committee or working with judges, legislators, or executive-level officials.

Additional Assessment: Applicants who meet the specialized experience requirements also will be assessed on the following Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) and Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).

Mandatory Technical Qualifications: The MTQs listed below should be evident in your resume. A supplemental narrative must be uploaded and attached to your application addressing each MTQ listed below. Please limit your response to one page for each MTQ.

1. Expert experience dealing with members of Congress and congressional staff, executive branch agencies, and the media. Demonstrated experience staffing congressional hearings or preparing individuals for written and oral testimony before congressional committees.
2. Excellent skills in oral and written presentation of complicated legal and policy matters. The ability to express, orally and in writing, complex legal and policy issues in clear and succinct language so that the concepts are easily understood by both judges, lawyers, and non-lawyers. Expert experience conducting and overseeing legal research on pending legislation or regulatory changes, including experience preparing legal analysis, documents, and responses in the form of letters, memoranda, and white papers.

Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs): Applicants currently serving in an AOES and Court Unit Executive positions or under a career Senior Executive Service (SES) appointment, eligible for reinstatement into SES, or have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) approved by OPM are not required to submit a narrative response for the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ). A narrative response as part of the application package for each of the following ECQs is MANDATORY for all other applicants. Please limit your response to two pages for each ECQ.

1. Leading Change: This core qualification 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. Leadership Competencies: Creativity & Innovation, External Awareness, Flexibility, Resilience, Strategic Thinking, Vision.
2. Leading People: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts. Leadership Competencies: Conflict Management, Developing Others, Team Building.
3. Results Driven: This core qualification 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. Leadership Competencies: Accountability, Customer Service, Decisiveness, Entrepreneurship, Problem Solving, Technical Credibility.
4. Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. Leadership Competencies: Financial Management, Human Capital Management, Technology Management.
5. Building Coalitions / Communication: This core qualification 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. Leadership Competencies: Partnering, Political Savvy, Influencing/Negotiating.

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your resume and supporting documentation and compare this information to your responses on the occupational questionnaire to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for this job. If you meet the minimum qualifications for this job, we will evaluate your application package, to assess the quality, depth, and complexity of your accomplishments, experience, and education as they relate to the requirements listed in this vacancy announcement.

You should be aware that your ratings are subject to evaluation and verification. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume and/or narrative responses, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Failure to submit the mandatory narrative responses will result in not receiving full consideration and/or rating credit. Deliberate attempts to falsify information may be grounds for not selecting you, withdrawing an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.

For this job announcement the following documents and/or information are required:

• Resume - Any written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications.
• MTQ Narrative - Statement addressing the MTQs
• Current or former career AOES/SES members - Provide a copy of your AOES/SES appointment SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action), and an SF-50 showing current career AOES/SES status or reinstatement eligibility.
• Applicants who have successfully completed an OPM approved SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) - Submit a copy of your CDP certification.
• ECQ Narrative - A narrative response as part of the application package for each of the following ECQs is mandatory for all applicants who are not current or former career AOES/SES members, and/or completed an OPM approved CDP.
• Citizenship - Include country of citizenship on resume.
• Current or former Federal Civilian employees - All applicants outside of the AO must submit a copy of your latest SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action)to verify current or former Federal employment status.
• Veterans Preference documentation - Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214), if applicable Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) and an official statement, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from a branch of the Armed Forces, certifying to the veteran's present receipt of compensation.

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