• As Division or District Counsel, incumbent directs and coordinates all legal activities in connection with the work of the Division or District.
• Interprets policies, procedures, and regulations of higher authority pertaining to the legal program, and issues supplemental instructions and procedures to the districts as necessary.
• Maintains continuing review of all legal functions and activities, and directs improvements needed to better serve the Division's or District’s missions and operational requirements.
• Incumbent will be responsible for the Government's defense in all contract appeals before the Armed Services Board Contract Appeals.
• Serves as legal and policy advisor to the Division or District Engineer and their staff on all questions of law.
• Advises on statutes, executive orders, regulations, and the opinions and decisions of the Comptroller General or Army General Counsel.
• Makes or recommends final legal decisions of the more complex legal problems and determines when a legal matter is of sufficient importance to require concurrence of higher authority.
• Serves as first-line and/or second-line supervisor, exercising personnel management responsibilities.

Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position requires the incumbent be able to obtain and maintain a determination of eligibility for a Secret security clearance or access for the duration of employment.
• Incumbent is required to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450, (5CFR Part 2634, Subpart I Confidential Financial Disclosure Reports) upon entering the position and annually.
• This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement of 10% of the time.
• A one year probation to assess your ability to perform supervisory duties is required unless previously completed.
• Excepted service positions are subject to a two year trial period unless the appointee has previously met the requirements.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

The minimum qualification requirements must be met before applicants are eligible for further consideration:

Bar membership: Applicant must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Professional Legal Experience: Applicant must have three or more years of professional legal experience, acquired after being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. One year of the required professional legal experience is equivalent to the GS-14 under the General Schedule or other pay systems which includes providing senior-level legal advice on federal contracting matters; conducting legal analysis and recommendations on contract claims, disputes, and bid protests; preparing litigation reports and supporting federal litigation through research, factual development, and coordination with Department of Justice or U.S. Attorneys; delivering authoritative ethics guidance, including reviewing financial disclosures and applying the Joint Ethics Regulation; and supervising attorneys and legal staff by assigning work, reviewing legal products, and offering technical oversight across a geographically dispersed organization.

NOTE: ALL APPLICANTS SHOULD ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

1. Technical Knowledge:

• Experience and/or knowledge in the specialized body of law applicable to civil works authorities, military programs, fiscal law, environmental law, ethics, information law, and general law. This includes extensive experience with and knowledge of Federal, DoD and Department of the Army regulations, guidelines, and policies.
• Experience and mature judgment in handling legal problems including statutory interpretations, preparing legal documents, and reviewing document for legal soundness and accuracy sufficient for accomplishment of difficult, complex and varied legal work relating to complex procurements, litigation, civil works, military construction, regulatory, ethics, fiscal law, and interagency agreements, administrative and international law

2. Management skills and leadership abilities:

• Workload and/or staff direction and management experience. Experience in establishing goals, executing processes, and leading staff to implement and adjust objectives to meet regional mission requirements.

3. Other knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Ability to advise and communicate effectively with senior leadership at all levels.
• Experience in recruiting, managing, and evaluating attorneys; ability to lead and manage complex legal issues, including reviewing work of legal subject matter experts.
• Credentials as indicated in the résumé and other application materials (e.g., awards, performance ratings, educational achievements).

TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENTS: If currently employed as an attorney by the Federal Government you must have completed 1 year at the next lower level within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement or previously served at the same or higher grade as the position being filled.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the application process is complete, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the qualification requirements for further consideration. If you are qualified for further consideration, your resume and supporting documentation will be reviewed and evaluated as to whether and how your experience, knowledge, skills, training and/or education clearly reflect that you possess the required knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of the position. It is in an applicant's best interest to thoroughly address all KSAs in their application. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is an equal opportunity employer. The Corps is firmly committed to recruiting, retaining, and developing a diverse and inclusive workforce where all employees are valued for their talents as members of the team.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation

.NOTICE OF VETERAN'S PREFERENCE: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Defense considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (for example, DD Form 214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty") to their submissions.

Although the point-preference system is not used, applicants eligible to claim a 10-point preference must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference," and supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed. The SF 15 will identify the supporting documentation required along with a list of the types of 10-point preference. The SF 15 is available from the OPM at https://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/type/sf/.

Attorney spouses of active duty military may apply for available positions in accordance with the military spouse program, as identified in DODI 1500.25 Volume 315.us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1) Cover Letter: A cover letter is optional, but highly recommended.

2) Resume:

• A 2-page resume must be submitted and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
• For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present).

3) Official transcript of the applicant's law school record: Photo static copies of documents are acceptable when applying but certified documents must be furnished before entering on duty.

4) Good Standing Certificate: Copy of official certificate showing that the applicant is a member in good standing of the bar. The official certificate must be dated within three months of the date the application is submitted.

The following documents are preferred at the time of application, but not required:

PLEASE NOTE: If you do not have your official law school transcripts, certificate of good standing, or fitness to practice statement, you should not be deterred from applying for this position. While not required at the time of application, these documents will be required for the attorney to enter on duty.

5) Official statement of the applicant's standing in law school class:If the applicant's law school does not rank students, and the transcript does not explain that the school does not rank students, the applicant needs to submit an official statement from the school confirming the practice.

6) Fitness to Practice Statement: Either a sworn and notarized statement by the candidate that his or her fitness to practice law or conduct as an attorney has never been challenged in any jurisdiction or if either has been challenged, a sworn and notarized statement giving the facts and circumstances, and any other explanation that the applicant considers appropriate. As an alternative to a sworn and notarized statement, a declaration under penalty of perjury may be submitted in the following format: I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct .. executed on (date)(signature of applicant)." (28 U.S.C.1746). The statement must be dated within three months of the date the application is submitted. The certificate and statement are required to be submitted by all applicants including attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of the Chief of Engineers.

7) References: List of three professional references. References from current and former supervisors are preferred. Please provide name, title, mailing address, telephone number, and relationship for each reference. Applicants selected for interviews will be asked to provide three letters of recommendation.

8) Writing Sample: A writing sample shall not exceed 10 pages including cover sheets, tables of content, etc. Any pages after page 10 will be discarded and not considered.

9) Current federal employees or reinstatement eligible applicants: Submit a copy of their latest SF 50 and most recent performance evaluation. Applicants currently serving in the military must also submit a copy of their most recent OER and/or DD 214. (Items 2, 3, and 4 above do not apply to Current Corps of Engineers Attorneys).

10) Judge Advocate Candidates: Submit a copy of your orders, or other suitable documentation with a separation/retirement date from your respective Armed Forces branch. This document must be provided within 14 days of a request, unless you receive a waiver from the Command Counsel. NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

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