Attorney-Advisor (Clerk of Court)

This position is located in U.S. Department of Education, Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), in Washington, DC. The incumbent serves as the Clerk of Court for the Office of Hearings and Appeals and Office of Administrative Law Judges; principal leagal advisor to the Director of OHA/Chief Administrative Judge, the Chief Administrative Law Judge (Chief ALJ); and other ALJs; as a hearing officer of designated cases; and as the day-to-day supervisor of all non-judge OHA staff.

Duties

APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 200 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 200th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first. We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

This is an Excepted Service position. The job will be filled by alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive civil service. Applicants selected for an excepted service position are subject to a one-year trial period. Join our Team! The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is looking for the best and brightest to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the nation.

As a Attorney-Advisor (Clerk of Court), GS-0905-15, you will be responsible for:

• Performing a variety of complex management tasks to assist in the running of an efficient and effective judicial office, improving office systems and processes, taking a leadership role in budget and acquisition matters, and primarily responsible for communicating to attorneys, other courts, and the public.
• Serving as a Principal Legal Advisor to the OHA Director, ALJs, and other OHA hearing officers on matters of administrative law, policy and procedure, judicial administration, and judicial ethics.
• Hearing officer for cases not requiring an ALJ or administrative judge, including acting as the Waiver Official in employee wage offset cases and as a Department-wide Debarment Official as delegated by the OHA Director.
• Serving as a first line supervisor for attorney-advisors and legal administrator. Advises, mentors, and instructs law school interns.

Salary

• $169,279 - $197,200/year

Conditions of Employment

Condition of Employment:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a probationary period or trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: - your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period OR trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

If you are a current federal employee, you must meet all time-in-grade and time-after competitive appointment qualifications within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement. To verify that you meet these requirements, we will review your responses to the core eligibility questions on the occupational questionnaire, as well as your submitted resume and required documents. To make an accurate determination, you will need to include on your resume your federal position title, pay plan, occupational series, grade level, agency, dates for which you held the grade level (stated as MM/YYYY to MM/YYYY, OR MM/YYYY to PRESENT), and total hours worked per week. 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).

Key Requirements:
Relocation will not be paid.
Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
Must be a US Citizen.
This position requires drug testing.

Qualifications

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. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.

Education
Graduation from an accredited university with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) or Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.).

Qualifying Experience:

• 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, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar,

AND

• Have five years 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 of GS-14, OR
• Have four years 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 of GS-14, PLUS a second professional law degree (LL.M.) which requires one full year of graduate study, OR
• Have four years 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 of GS-14, PLUS an academic record that shows superior law schoolwork or activities as demonstrated by one of the following:
  • Academic standing in the upper third of your law school graduating class;
  • Work or achievement of significance on your 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 of 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; OR
  • Other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement.

AND Specialized Experience:

• Have at least one year of specialized professional legal experience at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade of GS-14 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
  • Experience researching complex legal issues where there is often no clear applicable precedent and presenting legal advice, legal options, and their ramifications to judges, senior attorneys, or other senior executives.
  • Experience supervising (formally or informally) or mentoring attorneys, legal interns, paralegals, or legal administrators.
  • Experience managing an active docket of judicial or administrative law cases, either as a court staff attorney or advocate appearing before trial, appellate, or administrative courts.

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).

• Skill in communicating with the public, and budget and acquisition processes, assess case management and court automation (including AI) systems.
• Skill in drafting a legal opinion where factual situations are often complicated and clear precedents are not readily available or apparent.
• Ability to critically think and apply applicable agency policies, regulations, and statutes to arrive at a final decision on an issue.
• Skill in leadership of program management and administration.

Education This position has a positive education requirement. 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. Other Information Veterans' Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email careers@ed.gov to schedule a session with a career counselor ("Veterans Counseling Session" should be placed in the subject line of the email). Student Loan Default: If selected for this position, we will verify that you have not defaulted on any loan funded or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are found to be in default, we will contact you to make arrangements for repayment prior to making an official offer of employment. Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and successfully complete a pre-appointment investigation/background check. Essential/Non-Essential: This position is considered non-essential for purposes of reporting to work during federal government closures. Financial Disclosure: This position does not require financial disclosure. Bargaining Unit: This position is not included in the bargaining unit. Selections: Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligibles and may fill a vacancy in the competitive service by any method authorized. We may make additional selections from this vacancy announcement within 90 days from the date the selection certificates are issued, should vacancies occur. We may also share selection certificates amongst program offices across the agency. Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire If you are unable to apply online and would like to request information about the Alternate Application process, please use the contact information at the bottom of this announcement. Required Documents

• A Resume (Not to exceed 2 pages): You are required to submit 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. For current or previous federal employees, include the pay plan, series and grade. Please limit your resume to a 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.
• Bar Certificate of Good Standing: You are required to submit a certificate of good standing issued within 90 days of submission by the highest court of at least one state, territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico indicating current membership in such Bar as would permit the current practice of law.
• Cover Letter (Not to exceed 1 page): You are required to submit a cover letter that addresses your skills and goals that are relevant to this application.
• Writing Sample (Not to exceed 15 pages): You are required to submit a brief or comparable analytic legal exposition that is your work product.
• Transcripts: You are not required to submit transcripts to apply to the vacancy announcement, unless you are relying on your academic record to show superior law schoolwork or activities to meet the minimum qualification requirements. Otherwise, any applicant may be required to submit transcripts at later stages in the selection process.
• List of references: You are not required to submit a list of references to apply to the vacancy announcement. You may be required to submit them at later stages in the selection process.
• If you are claiming Veterans' Preference you must submit:
  • A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge, member copy 4 (Separated Members only); OR
  • A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR
  • The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference; AND/OR
  • Proof of Sole Survivorship Preference (e.g., certificate of death or 100% disability as a result of serving in the armed forces).

Veterans' Preference: Department of the Education attorney positions are in the excepted service, not the competitive civil service. There is no formal system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Education considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor consideration in the attorney hiring process. If you are eligible for veterans' preference in hiring, you are encouraged to include that information in your application along with the supporting documentation, e.g., SF-15, DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other supporting documentation.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. 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. 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 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
4. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
5. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
6. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
7. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
8. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.

For more general information, system requirements, reasonable accommodation information, and to request assistance regarding the USA Hire Assessments, review the following resources: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_Assessments

To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.

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.