Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens

As Counsel to the Inspector General (IG), you will:

- Provide executive leadership, direction, and management, and conduct the full range of legal and advisory services with respect to policy, regulations, practices, or other matters falling broadly within the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) mission to detect and prevent fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, and inefficiency in the Environmental Protection Agency.

- Provide the legal services required by the Inspector General, senior managers, supervisors, and staff in the OIG to fulfill the statutory duties and responsibilities of the IG under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended 5 U.S.C. app.

- Provide executive direction on a variety of substantive and procedural matters relating to the OIG's audit, program evaluation, investigation, and public liaison activities. 

- Represent the OIG in administrative litigation before the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the U.S. Department of Labor, and provide representation in other forums as well. 

- Manage the OIG ethics program by providing ethics training, advice, and financial disclosure reviews, coordinate OIG responses to the Freedom of Information Act and other document requests, and oversee OIG hotline program.

- Exercise executive direction over all communications with Congress, the news media and general public, quality control of OIG publications and reports, website and social media platforms.

Conditions of employment

• You will be required to obtain and maintain a Top Secret clearance.
• You must be a U.S. citizen.
• Pre-employment drug testing is required and random testing thereafter.

Current or former career Senior Executive Service (SES) employees, with reinstatement eligibility, or candidates who have successfully completed a SES Career Development Program approved by OPM are not required to address the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs), however you must still address the Technical Qualifications. All other applicants must submit narrative statements covering each of the Executive Core Qualifications and Technical Qualifications in order to receive consideration for the position. Failure to address these specific qualifications in a separate narrative statement will eliminate you from consideration.

When responding to the Technical Qualifications and the Executive Core Qualifications, you must clearly show that you possess the experience, knowledge, skills and ability to perform the duties of this position by submitting narrative responses in which you detail your experience in each of the Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications. Your examples should be clear and emphasize your level of responsibilities, scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments with results of your actions, policy initiatives and level of contacts. You should limit your narrative to TWO pages per Executive Core Qualifications, and not more than 10 pages total. Technical Mandatory and/or Desirable factors should be limited to no more than ONE page for each factor.

For help in writing responses to ECQ's, applicants are strongly encouraged to review OPM's Guide to SES Qualifications at the following website: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf. The section, "Writing Executive Qualification Statements", begins on Page 8 of the Guide.

The Ethics in Government Act, PL 95-521 requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a financial disclosure statement, SF-278, prior to assuming the SES position, annually, and upon termination of employment.Senior Executive Service Requirements:

Qualifications

Specialized Experience Requirement:

To be qualified for this position, you must clearly show at least one year of prior experience in a managerial capacity with responsibility for providing supervisory direction to attorneys with functional responsibility for providing support for legal sufficiency determinations and third-party litigation support on administrative, civil, and criminal proceedings. This experience must evidence sophisticated analytical skills, superior written and oral communication skills, strong legal judgment, and experience in interacting with government and non-government officials. You must clearly show in your resume how you meet this specialized experience requirement. 

MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS - Please provide a narrative not to exceed one page per TQ.

TQ 1.  Demonstrated ability to conduct sound legal and policy analysis, and to present the results in a clear, precise, and persuasive manner on complex legal issues related to audits, criminal, civil, and administrative violations of federal statutes, regulations, policies, or procedures.

TQ 2.  Demonstrated ability to represent an organization in administrative litigation before the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor, and other Federal forums on employment issues; General Accountability Office (GAO); and/or U.S. District Courts on Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act, subpoena enforcement, or other administrative issues.

TQ 3. Senior-level experience managing an organization’s internal and external communications (i.e., publications, reports, etc.) and engaging with multiple audiences such as Congress, news media and the general public including through the use of social media platforms.

Desirable Qualifications

Strong commitment to ethics and integrity.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS - Please provide a narrative not to exceed two pages per ECQ.

1.  LEADING CHANGE: This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this Executive Core Qualification Is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement It In a continuously changing environment.

Leadership Competencies:

• Creativity and Innovation
• External Awareness
• Flexibility
• Resilience.
• Strategic Thinking
• Vision

2.  LEADING PEOPLE: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this Executive Core Qualification is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution or conflicts.

Leadership Competencies:

• Conflict Management
• Leveraging Diversity
• Developing Others
• Team Building

3.  RESULTS DRIVEN: This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this Executive Core Qualification is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.

Leadership Competencies:

• Accountability
• Customer Service
• Decisiveness
• Entrepreneurship
• Problem Solving
• Technical Credibility

4.  BUSINESS ACUMEN: This core qualification Involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.

Leadership Competencies:

• Financial Management
• Human Capital Management
• Technology Management

5.  BUILDING COALITIONS:  This core qualifications involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and Local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.

Leadership Competencies:

• Partnering
• Political Savvy
• Influencing/Negotiating

Fundamental Competencies · These competencies are the foundation for success In each of the Executive Core Qualifications.

a.  Interpersonal Skills
Treats others with courtesy, sensitivity, and respect. Considers and responds appropriately to the needs and feelings of different people in different situations.

b.  Oral Communication
Makes clear and convincing oral presentations. Listens effectively; clarifies information as needed.

c.  Integrity/Honesty
Behaves in an honest, fair, and ethical manner. Shows consistency in words and actions. Models high standards of ethics.

d.  Written Communications
Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.

e.  Continual Learning
Assesses and recognizes own strengths and weaknesses;pursues self-development.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

The EPA OIG uses the traditional ECQ based evaluation method. If you meet the basic requirements, your application will be forwarded to an SES Rating Panel for rating and ranking based on your narrative responses to the TQs and ECQs. The Executive Resources Board recommends the best qualified candidates to the selecting official for consideration. You will be notified of the outcome of your application.