Supervisory General Attorney

About the Position: This is a Supervisory General Attorney, GS-0905-14 position with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Southwestern Division (SWD), Tulsa District, Office of Counsel. This is a permanent and full-time position and will be located in Tulsa Oklahoma. .**A recruitment or relocation incentive may be authorized for this position.**

Duties

• You will serve as full Deputy to the District Counsel and, as such, participate thoroughly in the accomplishment of overall office activities and objectives.

• Incumbent has full authority to function independently as the Deputy District Counsel.

• As principal assistant to the District Counsel, shares full responsibility for and participates in all legal and administrative functions and in the management of all activities of the Office of Counsel.

• Review the work of subordinates to include determining legal sufficiency, conformance to policy, and general soundness of legal conclusions.

• Share with the District Counsel professional responsibility for the work of all attorneys supporting the district’s environmental, project management, civil works and planning, contracts, labor, and real estate missions

• As the full deputy to the District Counsel, represents the District Counsel in meetings, conferences, etc., when the District Counsel is unable to attend.

• Train Office of Counsel personnel on work methods and procedures.

• Provide legal services for special missions, projects, and undertakings relating to all areas of District involvement.

• Render legal advice to include assistance, and support to all organizational elements of the district on the complex and difficult legal matters involving unique/novel questions of law, difficult legal or factual issues, very large sums of money.

• Provide the District's response to matters of civil litigation arising from the projects, programs and missions under the district’s jurisdiction.

• Prepare legal opinions to include legal instruments, and render advice to clients on complex legal matters.

Salary

• $122,198 - $158,860/year

Conditions of Employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• You may be required to serve a one year supervisory probation/trial period.
• You will be required to submit a Financial Disclosure on a yearly basis.

Qualifications Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

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

Education: An applicant must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have the first professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.). Law school transcripts must be submitted at the time of application.

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

Experience: An applicant must have more than three years of professional legal experience, acquired after being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position.

Time in Grade Requirement: If currently employed as an attorney by the Federal Government you must have completed one year at the next lower grade 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.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:

Specialized Experience in Leadership

• Knowledge, skills and abilities to perform and/or oversee administrative functions and office management, including budget, training and other office management matters.
• Demonstrated experience in reviewing attorney legal work and opinions for soundness of judgment, application of legal principles, and conformance with governing policies and regulations.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate and communicate professionally with higher echelons.
• Demonstrated experience briefing and advising senior leadership as a functional expert.
• Demonstrated experience in training and mentoring legal professionals.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.

Supervisory Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge, skills and ability to directly supervise non-attorney staff in the Office of Counsel.
• Knowledge, skills and ability to assist the District Counsel in the overall management of the Office of Counsel.

Specialized Experience in providing Legal Services

• Demonstrated ability to provide specialized legal expertise in unique, complex, and critical matters.
• Demonstrated ability to identify, research and address, with practical experience and mature judgment, extremely complex and difficult legal questions affecting USACE missions.
• Demonstrated ability to furnish expert legal advice, assistance, and services to the District Engineer.
• Demonstrated ability to provide legal advice on such other varied programs and subjects as administrative investigations, the Federal Tort Claims program, Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, and fiscal law issues.

Legal Advice Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated experience in providing legal advice and assistance to all organizational elements of the district on complex and difficult legal matters and in practicing preventive law.
• Demonstrated experience in federal civil litigation.
• Demonstrated experience in federal government procurement law.
• Demonstrated experience in federal labor and employment law.
• Demonstrated experience in real estate law.
• Demonstrated experience in federal environmental law and in providing legal support for the Corps of Engineers civil works mission and regulatory program.

Education FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Other Information

• NOTICE OF VETERANS' 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 (e.g., 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 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. (SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preference and the required supporting documents, is available from the Office of Personnel Management Website at www.opm.gov.)
• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• One year trial/probationary period may be required.
• Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
• This position requires you to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter.
• Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
• If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
• This is a Legal Career Field position.
• You may claim military spouse preference (MSP).
• If a MSP applicant is determined best qualified and selected, placement must be at the full performance level for priority consideration.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction/ for more information.
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest.

Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist for Public Announcements. 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. Your resume:

• Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• 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). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• For additional information see: What to include in your resume.

2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Writing Sample (10 page maximum)
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
• This position has an individual occupational requirement and/or allows for substitution of education for experience. If you meet this requirement based on education you MUST submit a copy of your transcript with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses
• This position requires a job-related license or certification. You MUST submit a copy of your license or certification with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses

3. ***ALL APPLICANTS (EXCEPT FOR CURRENT USACE ATTORNEYS) MUST SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS***

• Official law school transcripts. Photo copies are acceptable when applying.
• Official statement of relative class standing or a statement that applicant's law school doesn't provide rankings. Photo copies are acceptable when applying.
• Official certificate showing that the applicant is a member in good standing of the bar dated within three months of date the application is submitted.
• 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 official certificate and statement of fitness 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 Judge Advocate General of the Army.

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.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 12/06/2024 to receive consideration.

• To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12610890).
• Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
• After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
• You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
• It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.
• Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center.

To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

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. Learn more about federal benefits.

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