General Attorney

You will serve as a General Attorney for US Small Business Administration, COVID-19 EIDL Loan Servicing Center - CESC in Fort Worth, Texas. The position serves as Staff General Attorney and provides legal services to the COVID-19 EIDL Servicing Center (CESC) Loan and Legal Departments in servicing and liquidating loans, managing portfolios, or working on special assignments.

Duties

As a General Attorney at theGS-0905-11/12, some of your typical work assignments may include:

• Giving legal advice to staff on loan-related matters, including collections, bankruptcies, and property issues.
• Reviewing and interpreting laws that affect the Agency's loans, borrowers, and collateral, and keeping accurate records of all legal actions taken.
• Preparing legal documents for court cases and guiding support staff in completing required paperwork.
• Handling records requests, reviewing loans for fraud or eligibility concerns, and advising on contracts and hearings.
• Using legal research tools and agency systems to support day-to-day legal work.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• This is a Temporary position in the Excepted Service with a full-time work schedule.
• This appointment does not confer competitive status, reinstatement rights, or eligibility for non-competitive conversion to a permanent job to the individual(s) selected. You will be given an initial Temporary Appointment lasting 1 year and may be extended in increments as determined by SBA.
• Mandatory Overtime: This position may be called upon to assist with disaster recovery, which may require extensive overtime and travel.

Salary

• $74,678 - $116,362/year

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. citizenship is required
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government travel credit card.
• Favorable background investigation required.
• Current and active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and eligible to practice law.
• This is not a bargaining unit position.

Qualifications

GS-11: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service, obtained in either the private or public sector that includes:
Experience handling legal matters involving bankruptcy, creditor/debtor rights, or real estate law; and
Participation in analyzing legal questions involving collateral, lien priority, corporate authority, or the Bankruptcy Code, including preferential transfers or competing creditor claims; and
Responding to FOIA or Privacy Act disclosure requests; and
Independently conducting legal research using Westlaw or LexisNexis; and
Analyzing questions of corporate structure or reorganization.

GS-12: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service, obtained in either the private or public sector that includes:
Experience handling legal matters involving bankruptcy, creditor/debtor rights, or real estate; and
Authority in answering legal questions involving collateral, lien priority, corporate authority, or the Bankruptcy Code, including preferential transfers or competing creditor claims; and
Responding to requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or the Privacy Act; and
independently conducting legal research using Westlaw or LexisNexis; and
Analyzing and addressing questions of corporate structure or reorganization.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's Qualifications website:

General Attorney Series 0905 (opm.gov)

(There are no qualification standards published by the Office of Personnel Management as outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of the General Schedule Positions. Federal agencies may determine the appropriate qualification requirements for positions in the GS-905 occupational series.)

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work. 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.

Generally, time in Non-Pay status is not creditable towards the specialized experience requirement listed below.

You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. You may qualify based on experience, education or a combination of both.

Education Applicant must be law school graduate with LL.B. or J.D. degrees AND applicant must be an active member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar. Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, click on this link. You MUST submit transcripts with this application. APPLICANTS PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement.) Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Verify School Accreditation. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. *** Foreign Education: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. *** For further information, click on: Foreign Education. If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty. Other Information Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the Assessments Questionnaire, please send a request to the HR Contact listed below before the close of the announcement. USAJOBS Help Center - Reasonable accommodation policy Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job in their current agency (intra-agency, i.e. SBA employees only). Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) is a program that applies to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position score of 85 or better based on your responses to the competencies and associated questions listed within the assessment; 3) the position to which you are applying MUST BE in the Local Commuting Area of the position of record from which you are being displaced; and 4) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. Further information can be found here. You MUST submit a copy of your separation notice or other proof of eligibility. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. For additional information visit www.sss.gov.Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service. Consistent with work requirements and current SBA Policy, and all applicable provisions of the collective bargaining agreement with AFGE, the SBA offers employees opportunities to perform work at an alternative location (e.g. home). More information may be found at http://www.telework.gov. Required Documents

Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date/time 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.
1. Your Resume - Resume length must not exceed 2 pages and must contain the following information:

• Name, address, telephone number, email address.
• Job Title (if Federal Service, provide series and grade; if not in GS plan, provide GS equivalent grade)
• If qualifying based on related unpaid (e.g. volunteer service) experience, you must provide hours worked per week and beginning/ending dates (mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy)
• If other than full-time you must provide hours worked per week.
• PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination.
• Should you submit multiple resumes, only the latest uploaded resume will be reviewed.

2. In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the occupational questionnaire), you are required to submit the following forms, if applicable. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all documents are legible:

• If you are using education as a substitution for experience (the announcement will state whether this is allowed), or if there is an educational requirement for this position, you must submit a copy of your transcripts (unofficial or official) that clearly describes your qualifying education. If selected, official transcripts will be required;
• If you are claiming Veteran status, you must submit a copy of all required documents to support your claim (including a DD-214 showing character of service)--see VetGuide;
• Veterans who are still in the service may be granted tentative preference on the basis of information contained in their applications, but they must produce a DD-214 (showing the character of service) or other proof of service to receive consideration for veterans' preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit FedsHireVets.gov.
• CTAP/ICTAP/RPL Applicants: Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (if applicable), your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330, and your most recent performance appraisal.

How to Apply

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions will affect your rating. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience your rating may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities.

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
4. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email notification.
5. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements
6. Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account.

To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account. There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account at https://www.usajobs.gov/
All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. 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 If selected for this position, you will be eligible for benefits. The above link is provided for your reference to explore the major benefits offered to most Federal employees.