Assistant General Counsel for Administrative Law

This position is located in the Office of General Counsel (OGC), Office of the Deputy General Counsel for Administration, Administrative Law Team. The Administrative Law Team provides legal support to the Commission on all general administrative matters, including matters involving personnel law, the Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), federal procurement law, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), appropriations law, fiscal law, and public disclosure issues.

Duties

As the Assistant General Counsel for Administrative Law in this position, you will:

• Plan and assign work to be accomplished by subordinates, sets and adjusts short-term priorities, and prepares schedules for completion of work; assigns work to subordinates based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of employees; evaluates work performance of subordinates.
• Serve as Assistant General Counsel and provides legal advice, research, and analysis while directing and supervising a staff of attorneys and paralegals who are engaged in providing legal support to the Commission on general administrative law matters.
• Serve as the Agency's Freedom of Information Act Public Liaison, working closely with the FOIA staff in responding to requests and in ensuring that agency operations comply with the requirement set out in that statute.
• Advise management, orally and in writing, on the legal implications of personnel actions, including providing legal sufficiency reviews of adverse action proposals and decisions and other personnel policy related matters, in a workforce governed by a collective bargaining agreement.

Salary

• $163,964 - $191,900/year

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen or national.
• You must be able to pass a background investigation.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see Legal and regulatory guidance below).
• You may be required to serve a 2 year probationary period.
• Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
• You must meet qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.
• You will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450 on an annual basis.

Qualifications In order to qualify, you must meet the Basic Requirements and the Experience Requirements described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience. A copy of your unofficial or official transcripts must be provided with your application.

Basic Requirements (applicable to both grade levels):

A. Education: Possess a J.D. or LL.B degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.

AND

B. Bar Membership: Be an active member in good standing of a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or territory of the United States.

AND

C. Experience: You musthave at least 4 years of progressively responsible professional experience working as a practicing attorney, including at least one year comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-14 level which involved a mastery of complex administrative law. This experience must include activities such as: (1) providing professional legal advice in the following areas: equal employment opportunity; labor-management relations; employee relations and federal personnel law; procurement; fiscal and appropriations law; disclosure; (2) preparing reports to Congress and other agencies, and advising management clients on a variety of administrative law matters; (3) planning and assigning work to be accomplished by subordinates, setting and adjusting short-term priorities, and preparing schedules for completion of work; (4) providing guidance and direction to other attorneys and/or administrative staff, and (5) making oral presentations of legal arguments or results of legal research/analysis.

In addition, you must provide a cover letter of at least two pages summarizing your evidence of the following competencies:

1. Legal Writing: Ability to write clearly, concisely and persuasively, particularly when complex legal issues are involved, and to edit and review the written work of other attorneys.
2. Communication: Both written and oral - including the ability to have productive relationships with colleagues and others within and outside an organization.
3. Administrative Law: Providing a myriad of legal services and advice on cases involving technical matters related to administrative law, conducting extensive legal reviews of policies, and preparing detailed reports to congress and other agencies.
4. Leadership: Influences, motivates, and challenges others; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations.

We recommend your cover letter include examples that are clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities, the scope and complexity of the functions, activities, or services you delivered; level of contacts; the sensitivity and criticality of the issues you addressed, and the results of your actions.

Part-time or unpaid experience: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

Volunteer work experience: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Education Are you using education to qualify? You must provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated, unofficial transcripts are acceptable. Your transcripts must include all of your courses, grades, and semester or quarter hours. If you received a degree, the transcript must show the date the degree was awarded or conferred. A self-created transcript or a list of courses you have prepared is not acceptable. Other Information

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

FEC offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including: health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays. Other benefits may include: flexible work schedules, telework and transportation subsidies.

If you receive a tentative offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Federal Election Commission considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required by that form.

All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.

Additional selections may be made from this announcement.

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package including the documents listed below. We strongly encourage applicants to doublecheck that all required items are properly submitted to ensure consideration.

1. Your Resume listing hours worked per week, dates of employment (month/year) and duties performed for each position held.
2. Cover Letter addressing the competencies in the Qualifications section above.
3. Unofficial law school transcripts to verify you meet the educational requirements of this position. All applicants are required to submit unofficial law school transcripts prior to the closing of this announcement. If selected for this position you will be required to submit official law school transcripts upon entry into duty. Only transcripts from accredited law school websites will be accepted.
4. Bar License to verify you are licensed and in good standing to practice law as an Attorney under the laws of a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or territory of the United States. You must submit a copy of your current Bar card, or letter of good standing.
5. Veterans documents (if applicable): DD-214 including character of service, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days, and if applicable, SF-15 Form, VA letter, or other documentation required by that form.

How to Apply

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

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 11/22/2024 to receive consideration.

To begin, click Apply Online. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account or you may need to create a new account.

You will be taken to an online application. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application. You will receive an email notification when your application has been received for the announcement.

To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

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.