The Director position is in the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation (OASB) located in Washington, DC and is open to all U.S. Citizens, with the exception of current SEC employees.
DutiesTypical duties include:
- Assisting small businesses and small business investors in resolving problems with the SEC or self-regulatory organizations.
- Conducting outreach to small businesses and small business investors to solicit views on relevant capital formation issues.
- Maintaining educational resources to meet ongoing requests from small businesses and small business investors to support navigating the regulatory framework for capital formation.
- Providing substantive analysis of appropriate statistical information relating to the state of small business capital-raising.
- Analyzing the potential impact of proposed rules changes and regulations on small businesses and small business investors.
- Identifying problems that small businesses have with securing access to capital, including any unique challenges to minority-owned small businesses, women-owned small businesses, and small businesses affected by hurricanes or other natural disasters.
- Identifying areas in which small businesses and small business investors would benefit from changes in the regulations of the Commission or the rules of self-regulatory organizations.
- Proposing to the Commission changes in SEC regulations or orders and to Congress legislative, administrative, or personnel changes that may be appropriate to mitigate problems identified and to promote the interests of small businesses and small business investors.
- Advising the Investor Advocate on issues related to small businesses and small business investors and consulting with the Investor Advocate on proposed recommendations.
- Adhering to nondiscriminatory employment practices.
- Interacting with a variety of organizations and individuals, including Commissioners, SEC staff and management, Congress, and the general public.
- $205,772 - $318,642/year
- This position is open to US Citizens, with the exception of current SEC employees.
- You must possess a J.D. or LL.B Degree.
- You must be an active member of the bar in good standing
- Application procedures are specific to this vacancy announcement. Please read all the instructions carefully. Failure to follow the instructions may result in you not being considered for this position.
- Supplementary vacancies may be filled in addition to the number stated in this announcement and may be filled from any division or office within the agency.
- This position has promotion potential to the SO-3.
- Consistent with 5 U.S.C. § 7511, you will be required to serve a two-year trial period (one year for preference eligible veterans) if the position to which you have applied is not the same or similar to your current position of record.
- SECURITY CLEARANCE: Entrance on duty is contingent upon completion of a pre-employment security investigation. Favorable results on a Background Investigation may be a condition of employment or selection to another position.
- DRUG TESTING: This position may be subjected to drug testing requirements.
- PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION (PCS): Moving/Relocation expenses are not authorized.
- DIRECT DEPOSIT: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
- This position is not in the collective bargaining unit.
- TRIAL PERIOD: This appointment may require completion of a two year supervisory/managerial trial period.
All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sector. 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. Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Applicants are responsible for confirming all required materials are submitted by the deadline. Please check the 'How You Will Be Evaluated' and 'Required Documents' sections carefully, as missing documents will render the application incomplete and ineligible for review.
BASIC REQUIREMENT: All applicants must possess the following
- J.D. or LL.B. degree --AND--
- Active membership of the bar in good standing in any state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the commonwealth of Puerto Rico. (Note: proof of bar membership will be required before entry on duty.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the basic requirement, applicants must also meet the minimum qualification requirement.
SK-03: Applicant must have four year(s) of post J.D. work experience, three year(s) of which includes the following:- Advocating for the interests of small businesses and small business investors, and encouraging small business capital formation; AND
- Assisting small businesses with compliance and reporting obligations under the federal securities laws; AND
- Assisting investors in small businesses to assess the risks and rewards of such investments; AND
- Analyzing policies regarding small business capital formation; AND
- Preparing, reviewing, or analyzing financial statements of small businesses; AND
- Assisting small businesses raise capital through registered or exempt offerings under the Securities Act of 1933.
You must provide a complete Application Package, which includes:
- Required: Your responses to the Questionnaire.
- Required: Resume - To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show that you possess the specialized experience related to this position within your two-page resume - NOT TO EXCEED 2 PAGES. Resumes over the 2-page limit, will not be reviewed beyond page 2. It is recommended that you include the title, series, and grade (e.g. Human Resources Specialist, SK-0201-14) for all relevant Federal experience. Your resume should highlight the competencies required for the position and include examples of experience, education, and accomplishments applicable to the qualification(s) and include specific employment dates (month and year and start and ends dates) and differentiate between full-time and part-time work. To help ensure the resume review fully credits your relevant experience, we recommend clearly referencing the competency and specialized experience demonstrated in each position or example you include in your resume. If your resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of these qualifications, you may not receive consideration for the position. Candidates external to the SEC will be allowed to submit a comprehensive resume for pay setting purposes after a tentative offer is made. If the applicant fails to provide the comprehensive resume by the specified deadline, the resume submitted at the time of application will be used to determine pay. No additional documentation will be accepted after the deadline. Note: your resume must NOT contain pictures. For external candidates: Information on how your resume will be used for pay setting purposes can be found here. If you are a current SEC employee selected for this position, the standard percentage increases will be applied (i.e., 6% for non-supervisory and 10% for supervisory positions) if your selection results in a promotion. If your selection results in lateral movement (i.e. no change in grade) you will maintain your current salary. If your selection results in a change in grade from an SK-15 to an SK-16 you will maintain your current salary. For helpful guidance for writing a two-page resume, click here.
- Required, if applicable: Veteran's documentation (DD-214, member 4 copy or other documentation containing dates of service and character of discharge.)
- Required: Accomplishment Record - For each competency, applicants must provide a 300 word or less written narrative describing one example of competency-related experience. Each example should document the position title and dates when the experience was obtained, detailed information about the problem or situation, the specific actions taken by the applicant, and the results or outcomes achieved by those actions. The applicant will also provide the name and contact information of an individual who can verify the provided information. This document must be uploaded to the application under Accomplishment Record. An accomplishment record submitted outside the USA Staffing system will not be accepted. Failure to provide the Accomplishment Record will result in a rating of IFFM: You were not considered because you did not submit all required documents and/or they were not in English as specified in the announcement.
- Required: Unofficial Transcripts/Registration/License - If education is a qualification for this position, you must submit a copy of your unofficial transcripts with your application. If the position requires an active professional license or registration, you must submit a copy with your application. Official documents, and a Certificate of Good Standing, if applicable, will be required if selected.
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement 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.
- 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.
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/.