This position is located in the Federal Student Aid, Borrower Defense Branch, in Washington, DC, and in other locations. The branch is responsible for conducting investigations and projects that significantly affect students, higher education institutions, and the public interest.
Duties
APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date. We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application. As a Supervisory Attorney Advisor, GS-0905-15, you will be responsible for: • Supervising teams of employees. Providing professional leadership and guidance to subordinate supervisors and staff in planning, developing, and carrying out program objectives. • Overseeing legal research and analysis, including novel factual issues, and overseeing the resolution of borrower defense claims. Rendering legal advice resulting in the formulation and implementation of decisions by the Branch Chief of Borrower Defense. • Supervising the preparation of memoranda, protocols, and reports that clearly and succinctly outline the relevant facts and legal issues, explain the application of legal principles and precedents to the relevant facts, and justify the recommendations or conclusions. • Providing guidance to the Branch Chief of Borrower Defense on borrower defense matters. Assisting in the development of status reporting and data metrics reporting of the services, deliverables, and performance of the Borrower Defense Branch. •Assisting the Branch Chief of Borrower Defense at meetings and in coordination with enforcement divisions of other federal and state agencies, on matters relating to borrower defense issues and initiatives. Communicating with third parties, including Institutions of Higher Education and advocacy groups, concerning borrower defense claims.
Salary
Qualifications
Minimum Qualification Requirements You may meet the minimum qualifications for the GS-15, if you possess specialized experience and education. 1. You must be a graduate of a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, AND 2. Proof of admission to the Bar of the highest court of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and current membership in such Bar as would permit the practice of law. You must be a member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar. AND 3. Has five years of professional legal experience, at least one of the five years MUST be at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled. OR Has four years of professional legal experience, at least one of the four years MUST be at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, PLUS a second professional law degree (LL.M.), which requires one full year of graduate study OR Has four years of professional legal experience, at least one of the four years MUST be at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, PLUS a record showing superior law schoolwork or activities as demonstrated by one of the following: Academic standing in the upper third of the law school graduating class. Work or achievement of significance on his/her law school's official law review. Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, such as election to the Order of the Coif. Winning a moot court competition or membership on the moot court team that represents the law school in competition with other law schools. Full-time or continuous participation, for one year or two semesters of law school, in a legal aid program (as opposed to one-time, intermittent, or casual participation). Significant summer law office clerk experience after beginning law school. Other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement. AND Specialized Experience for the GS-15 One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-14 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments: 1. Experience leading teams of attorneys and support staff on complex legal matters, such as school investigations and adjudication of borrower defense to repayment applications. 2. Experience communicating legal analysis related to borrower defense regulations or substantial misrepresentations orally through briefings, hearings, and presentations. 3. Experience with personnel management, including planning, organizing, and leading teams. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement). 1. Ability to supervise a diverse staff of attorneys and support personnel. 2. Skilled in legal analysis. 3. Skilled in legal writing and editing. 4. Skilled in strategy formulation, critical thinking and multi-tasking under pressure. 5. Skilled in written and oral communication.
Education
Education cannot be substituted for experience for this position and grade level. Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must submit a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, please click Foreign Education.
Required Documents
You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS): •A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire. Please limit your resume to 2 pages with the font size no smaller than 10 points. If your resume is more than 2 pages, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed and considered for the qualifications determination.. Cover letter if applicable. You are not required to submit bar card or transcripts to apply to the vacancy announcement, but you will be required to submit them upon request from hiring panel or the HR Specialist. Writing sample and/or list of references may be required of selected applicants at later stages in the selection process.
How to Apply
Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov. Step 2: Create a resume using the USAJOBS resume builder or upload a resume into your USAJOBS account. Ensure that your resume demonstrates your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiates your responses to the occupational questionnaire. Step 3: Upload any required documents into your USAJOBS account (must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX)). Step 4: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire and attach any required documents. Verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the agency's hiring system. You will have the opportunity to upload any additional required documents in the agency's hiring system. Click “Finish” to submit your application. NOTE: You may update your application or required documents at any time while the announcement is open by logging into your USAJOBS account, clicking on "Application Status," clicking on the position title, clicking "Update Application,” and following the prompts. In order to receive consideration for this position, you must submit your complete application, including all required documents, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. If the vacancy announcement has an application limit, we recommend that you submit your complete application at the time of initial application. We will not accept any required documentation after the closing date of the vacancy announcement. If you have any questions regarding submitting your application, please contact the HR Specialist listed under the Agency Contact Information.
Benefits
As an ED employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a work life balance, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you include alternative work schedules. You may be eligible to receive a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to receive a relocation incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to participate in the Student Loan Repayment Program as a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive student loan repayments, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon.
