Attorney Advisor GS-0905-13/14, FPL 14 (ED only)

The mission of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) is to administer the federal financial aid programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Each year, these programs provide billions of dollars in federal loans, grants, and work-study funds to students and their families for education beyond high school. By funding America’s future, one student at a time, FSA is committed to keeping the promise made through the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Duties

APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 150 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 150th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first. We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

As a Attorney Advisor, GS-905-13, you will be responsible for:

• Exercising professional judgment on legal and factual matters relating to analysis, investigation, and adjudication of borrower defense claims or analysis and recommendations related to investigations.
• Devising and implements strategies to investigate, analyze, and decide borrower defense claims, or recommend actions on investigations working independently on projects of routine and moderate complexity and with supervision on more complex matters.
• Crafting legal memoranda detailing relevant evidence, applicable law, and bases for recommendations regarding alleged acts or omission by schools that may provide a basis for relief under the borrower defense regulation or may provide a basis for administrative actions arising from investigations.
• Participating in decision making for borrower defense or investigation matters.

As a Attorney Advisor, GS-905-14, you will be responsible for:

• Exercising sound professional judgment on complex legal and factual matters relating to analysis and investigation of borrower defense claims or analysis and recommendations related to investigations.
• Devising and Implements strategies to investigate, analyze, and decide borrower defense claims, or recommend actions on investigations, working independently on projects of moderate complexity and with minimal supervision on more complex matters.
• Rendering legal advice to supervisor and EO resulting in formulation and implementation of management decisions.
• Producing well supported legal analyses of routine, moderate, and complex matters.

Salary

• $107,103 - $195,200/year

Conditions of Employment

• Relocation will not be paid.
• May be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period.
• Must be a US Citizen
• Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

You must meet all time-in-grade and time-after competitive appointment qualifications within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement. To verify that you meet these requirements, we will review your responses to the core eligibility questions on the occupational questionnaire, as well as your submitted resume and required documents.  To make an accurate determination, you will need to include on your resume your federal position title, pay plan, occupational series, grade level, agency, dates for which you held the grade level (stated as MM/YYYY to MM/YYYY, OR MM/YYYY to PRESENT), and total hours worked per week.  

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. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements for GS-13:

1. You must be a graduate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association,

AND

1. Proof of admission to the Bar of the highest court of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and current membership in such Bar as would permit the practice of law. You must be a member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar,

AND

1. Has three years professional legal experience, at least one of the three years MUST be at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, 

OR

Has two years professional legal experience, at least one of the two years MUST be at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, PLUS a second professional law degree (LL.M.) which requires one full year of graduate study

OR

Has two years professional legal experience, at least one of the two years MUST be at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, PLUS record shows superior law schoolwork or activities as demonstrated by one of the following:

1. Academic standing in the upper third of the law school graduating class.
2. Work or achievement of significance on his/her law school’s official law review.
3. Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, such as election to the Order of the Coif.
4. Winning of a moot court competition or membership on the moot court team that represents the law school in competition with other law schools.
5. Full-time or continuous participation, for one year or two semesters of law school, in a legal aid program (as opposed to one-time, intermittent, or casual participation).
6. Significant summer law office clerk experience after beginning law school.
7. Other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement.

NOTE: For purposes of counting the number of years of legal experience after graduating from law school, equivalent writing and legal analysis performed as a judicial law clerk will be considered even if the applicant was not admitted to the bar at the time.

AND

Specialized Experience for the GS-13:

One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-12 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments.

1. Experience adjudicating borrower defense to repayment claims or overseeing the review of borrower defense to repayment claims pursuant to 34 C.F.R. § 685.222, 34 C.F.R. § 685.206(c)-(d).
2. Experience and knowledge of borrower defense to repayment regulations, specifically 34 C.F.R. § 685.222, 34 C.F.R. § 685.206(c)-(d).
3. Experience preparing memoranda/reports outlining facts and legal issues, analyzing the factual and legal issues involved, explaining the application of legal principles and precedents to the relevant facts, and justifying recommendations or conclusions.

Minimum Qualification Requirements for GS-14:

1. You must be a graduate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association,

AND

1. Proof of admission to the Bar of the highest court of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and current membership in such Bar as would permit the practice of law. You must be a member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar,

AND

1. Has four years professional legal experience, at least one of the four years MUST be at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, 

OR

Has three years professional legal experience, at least one of the three years MUST be at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, PLUS a second professional law degree (LL.M.) which requires one full year of graduate study 

OR

Has three years professional legal experience, at least one of the three years MUST be at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, PLUS record shows superior law schoolwork or activities as demonstrated by one of the following:

1. Academic standing in the upper third of the law school graduating class.
2. Work or achievement of significance on his/her law school’s official law review.
3. Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, such as election to the Order of the Coif.
4. Winning of a moot court competition or membership on the moot court team that represents the law school in competition with other law schools.
5. Full-time or continuous participation, for one year or two semesters of law school, in a legal aid program (as opposed to one-time, intermittent, or casual participation).
6. Significant summer law office clerk experience after beginning law school.
7. Other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement.

NOTE: For purposes of counting the number of years of legal experience after graduating from law school, equivalent writing and legal analysis performed as a judicial law clerk will be considered even if the applicant was not admitted to the bar at the time.

AND

Specialized Experience for the GS-14

One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-13 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:

1. Experience in performing legal analysis and formulating recommendations to senior managers.
2. Experience adjudication complex borrower defense to repayment claims and experience performing quality control adjudication reviews of borrower defense to repayment claims pursuant to 4 C.F.R. § 685.222, 34 C.F.R. § 685.206(c)-(d).
3. Experience as a subject matter expert in applying borrower defense to repayment regulations, specifically 34 C.F.R. § 685.222, 34 C.F.R. § 685.206(c)-(d), to borrower defense applications and school investigations.

Education Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must submit a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, please click Foreign Education. Other Information Veterans’ Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email sro_recruiting@ed.gov to schedule a session with a career counselor (“Veterans Counseling Session” should be placed in the subject line of the email). Student Loan Default: If selected for this position, we will verify that you have not defaulted on any loan funded or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are found to be in default, we will contact you to make arrangements for repayment prior to making an official offer of employment. Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and successfully complete a pre-appointment investigation/background check. Essential/Non-Essential: This position is considered non-essential for purposes of reporting to work during federal government closures. Financial Disclosure: This position does require financial disclosure. Bargaining Unit: This position is included in the bargaining unit (American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252). Selections: Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligibles and may fill a vacancy in the competitive service by any method authorized. We may make additional selections from this vacancy announcement within 90 days from the date the selection certificates are issued, should vacancies occur. We may also share selection certificates amongst program offices across the agency. Required Documents

• Your DD-214 or Statement of Service shows if you qualify for Veterans' Preference, the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 or the Veterans Opportunity to Work to Hire Heros Act. We prefer the member 4 copy of your DD-214.
• Your resume should include relevant work experience, applicable education and your contact information. For current or previous federal employees, include the pay plan, series and grade.
• A separation notification used to determine employment eligibility.
• Your SF-15 shows if you qualify for 10-point Veterans' Preference.
• Your SF-50 shows a federal position you've held, grade level and duty location. Your SF-50 can support position changes, conversions or separation for employment eligibility.
• Transcripts may support your qualifications for a federal job and can include high school, college or other schools.

A complete application package includes a resume, required documents and completion of the vacancy announcement questionnaire. Please see this guidance: What to include in your resume (https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include/)

1.      At a minimum, your resume must indicate: job title(s) (include job series and grade, if federal); duties description; education; starting and ending dates (month and year); and either full-time or hours worked per week. If a part- time work schedule is reflected, the hours must be annotated to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade. We recommend using the USAJobs Resume Builder to ensure you do not miss any information; however, it is not required. Your resume should describe your specialized experience and support your answers to the vacancy announcement questionnaire.

2.      SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action: If you are a current or former Federal employee, you must provide the most current Notification of Personnel Action (Form SF-50) that verifies career/career-conditional status, title, series and grade (such as the initial hire, promotion, or reassignment SF-50; do not submit an Award SF-50). Also provide the SF-50 that reflects the highest grade level held on a permanent basis or the full performance level of your current position, whichever is higher. Failure to do so will result in an ineligible rating. Time in grade will be determined by reviewing your resume and required SF-50s. file:///C:/Users/CHEPEL~1.CHR/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.png" width="4" height="5" border="0" />If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess the one-year time-in-grade, as required by this announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade, such as a Within Grade Increase.

4.      Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) documentation: If you are a displaced ED/FSA employee within the local commuting area, you must include: 1) Proof you are a displaced Federal employee, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be rated well-qualified or above 85 on the rating criteria for this position.

5.      Documentation that you meet applicable selective factors.

6.      College transcripts, if qualifying based on education.

Please note: The eligibility section of the application process is designed to allow you to choose how you wish to be considered for this vacancy announcement. You will ONLY be considered for the appointment eligibilities that you select. You must provide the supporting documentation to support your claim. Please review the list of documentation provided in the eligibilities language to ensure you provide the appropriate information. You may choose more than one eligibility.

How to Apply

Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov.

Step 2: Upload a resume. Ensure that your resume demonstrates your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiates your responses to the assessment questionnaire.

Step 3: Upload any required documents (e.g. certifications) into your USAJOBS account (must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX)). 

Step 4: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the brief assessment questionnaire and attach any required documents. Verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the agency's hiring system. You will have the opportunity to upload any additional required documents in the agency's hiring system. Click “Finish” to submit your application.

NOTE: You may update your application or required documents at any time while the announcement is open by logging into your USAJOBS account, clicking on "Application Status," clicking on the position title, clicking "Update Application,” and following the prompts.

In order to receive consideration for this position, you must submit your complete application, including all required documents, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. If the vacancy announcement has an application limit, we recommend that you submit your complete application at the time of initial application. We will not accept any required documentation after the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

Benefits As an ED employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a work life balance, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you include alternative work schedules. You may be eligible to receive a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to receive a relocation incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to participate in the Student Loan Repayment Program as a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive student loan repayments, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon.