Senior Attorney Advisor (Presiding Official)

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), headed by the Administrator of PHMSA, is within the Department of Transportation, responsible for transportation-related programs, including hazardous materials safety and pipeline safety. This is a senior attorney-advisor, on the staff of the Chief Counsel, serving as a presiding official on pipeline safety enforcement cases, under the direct supervision of the Deputy Chief Counsel.

Duties

As a Senior Attorney Advisor (Presiding Official), you will:

• Be responsible for maintaining case files and drafting high-quality administrative decisions that can withstand judicial review.
• Prepare draft final orders, decisions on a petition for reconsideration of any final order, drafts, and update Guidelines, perform legal analyses and research, conduct necessary conferences and consultations, prepare memoranda and opinions, and maintain continuing liaison with appropriate Office of Pipeline Safety staff.
• Be responsible for managing the case load of the office and achieve required timelines.
• Represent PHMSA in conferences with representatives of other Executive departments and agencies, industry, and the public regarding legal matters of interest.
• Handles difficult legal or factual questions where the impact of the case or legal problem has significant impact on protecting the public, property, and the environment from the risks associated with pipeline transportation.

The ideal candidate must have strong enforcement and litigation experience and understand the legal and procedural aspects of the administrative prosecution of enforcement cases, and the ability to analyze, interpret, and apply laws, regulations, orders, court decisions, and other legal documents. 

Salary

• $163,964 - $191,900/year

Conditions of Employment

• This is an Excepted Service position.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
• You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• TRIAL PERIOD: This is an Excepted Service position. This job will be filled by an alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive service. Applicants selected for an excepted service position may be subject to a two-year trial period.
• ETHICS/CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: All employees are subject to the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 2635, including restrictions on owning financial interests that may conflict with performance of their duties. Some employees, like those involved in contracting or regulating non-Federal entities, are subject to Executive Branch Financial Disclosure requirements set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 263.
• GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
• TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: This position may be eligible for occasional and/or regularly scheduled telework. The number of telework days approved will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency’s telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position.
• FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of appointment and annually thereafter.

Qualifications

To qualify, your experience should include experience and education equal or equivalent to the following:

GRADE 15 - A law degree, bar membership in good standing and at least 4 years of professional attorney experience.

• Experience in Pipeline safety law, administrative law, rulemaking, legislation, enforcement, litigation, and environmental law.

• Experience researching and analyzing legal issues and professional application of legal principles, precedents, and rulings.

• Experience presiding over hearings and writing legal decisions or opinions.

• Experience conducting briefings for and providing legal advice and assistance to executives and senior staff in carrying out the activities of their respective programs, at least 4 years (48 months) of professional attorney experience.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

• Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, considering the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

• Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.

• Legal, Government, and Jurisprudence - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, legal practices and documents, Government regulations, Executive orders, agency rules, Government organization and functions, and the democratic political process.

• Problem Solving - Identifies and analyzes problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations.

For all types of consideration, 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.  You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link:  https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: In order to qualify for this position, candidates must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have a professional law degree, and must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia. Other Information

How to Apply:

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, law school transcripts, proof of bar membership, and a writing sample via email to: 

PHMSA.Attorney.Jobs@dot.gov no later than 11:59 pm (EST) on the closing date of the announcement.

Please indicate that you are applying to the Presiding Official job vacancy.    Incomplete applications will not be considered.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Required Documents

ALL Applicants must provide a resume that fully supports the required specialized experience and respond to the vacancy questions by the closing date of the vacancy. Formatted resumes can be uploaded when you arrive at the DOT application system. For assistance with the resume builder, please visit:  https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/account/documents/resume/build/

The following is a list of documents that are only required based on the type of position. Please review each of the following sections to determine which documents you need to provide with your application.

RESUME: Your resume MUST contain specific information used to make a qualification determination that includes employment beginning and ending dates for each position, whether employment is Full-time or Part-time or average number of hours worked per week,  and position.  If the position is/was in the Federal government, you will need to provide the position series and grade level.  The resume should show relevant experience and education as well as support the required specialized experience. Formatted resumes may be uploaded later in the application process.

COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE.

PROOF OF BAR MEMBERSHIP.

TRANSCRIPTS - Transcripts are REQUIRED as there is a stated education requirement for the series. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - click here. 

FOREIGN EDUCATION must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

WRITING SAMPLE: If selected for an interview, a writing sample may be requested.

VETERANS: Your last DD214 (member 4 copy), Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, that shows the type of discharge and all dates of active duty is required to verify your eligibility.  It need not be official.

• If you are applying to a vacancy opened to all US Citizens under category rating and wish to be considered as a preference eligible, you need to submit a copy of your DD214 (member-4 copy).
• If you are claiming preference eligibility as a disabled veteran, you must submit proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally a valid letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability.  An SF-15 is desired, but not required.
• If you are applying to a vacancy opened Status and you are requesting consideration under Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) (https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/shav/#veoa), you need to provide a copy of your last DD214 (member-4 copy), which verifies your military service dates, reason for separation, OR certification of separation that shows a discharge date within 120 days of the closing of this announcement, and eligibility for consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.

Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system.  You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.

How to Apply

How to Apply:

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, law school transcripts, proof of bar membership, and a writing sample via email to: 

PHMSA.Attorney.Jobs@dot.gov 

no later than 11:59 pm (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. Please indicate that you are applying to the Presiding Official job vacancy. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at:  Transjobs@dot.gov

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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