An official website of the United States government
The incumbent will serve as an Intellectual Property Attorney-Adviser (IP Attaché) in Johannesburg, South Africa for the International Trade Administration/Global Markets (ITA/GM) and United States Patent and Trademark Office. This position reports to the Foreign Commercial Service (FCS) Senior Commercial Officer and USPTO IP Attaché Program Director, who directs the incumbent, reviews the incumbent's performance and ensures consistency with agency and administration priorities.
02/19/2020 to 03/04/2020
$131,589 - $170,800 per year
FP 01
1 vacancy in the following location:
No
50% or less - Frequency of travel will vary.
Yes—Relocation to Johannesburg, South Africa and return to U.S. Continuing Service Agreement required.
Temporary - Full-time - Temporary. Initial appointment of 2 years; may be extended but not exceed 5 years.
Full-time - Excepted Service
Excepted
01 - None
Yes
Yes
ITA-FSHR-2020-0004
560145300
This announcement is open to all US Citizens.
The Attorney-Adviser provides authoritative advice and guidance to post senior and executive staff, U.S. Embassy executives, other government agencies, international organizations, U.S. businesses, and foreign governments regarding complex legal issues, opinions specifically related to intellectual property rights, U.S. law, and the intellectual property infrastructure in the host country.
As the Attorney-Adviser, the incumbent serves as adviser to U.S. Embassy staff, other DOC agencies, Foreign Service Commercial staff at posts, other U.S. government agencies, and U.S. companies; interpreting U.S. and host country laws, calling their attention to host country actions that may affect U.S. intellectual property policy and business concerns.
Typical duties performed include but are not limited to:
Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Please see "Other Information" for requirements and Conditions of Employment. Any required investigations and clearances must be completed before the selectee can be placed in the position.
To qualify for the FP-905-01 (GS-15 equivalency), you must have a minimum of six years of professional legal/law experience and 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of a GS-14 in the Federal Service.
Your resume will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to clearly demonstrate the required professional law experience, specialized experience and knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs).
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs):
Professional Legal/Law Experience for all attorneys: Professional legal/law experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of the position to be filled. This experience is characterized by breadth and depth of experience in rendering professional legal advice and services with respect to questions, regulations, practices, or other matters falling within the purview of a Federal government agency, private sector, law firm, or other organization; preparing interpretative and administrative orders, rules, or regulations to give effect to the provisions of governing statutes or other requirements of law; drafting, negotiating, or examining contracts or other legal documents; drafting, preparing formal comments, or making substantive recommendations regarding proposed legislation; editing and preparing for publication statutes enacted by Congress and opinions or decisions of a court, commission, or board; drafting and reviewing decisions for consideration and adoption by an organization or official; conducting investigations to obtain facts; determining questions of law; studying, analyzing and evaluating legal precedents, to present findings. Legal work is described as extremely complex and difficult and requires a high order of original and creative legal endeavor in balancing conflicting interests; has broad or wide-scope impact on an economy, industry, private or public interests; and may involve directly or indirectly very large sums of money. Work may also involve acting as principal attorney in charge of the preparation and presentation of cases; recommending policies and developing procedures and regulations to implement new or amended legislation; and acting as legal, general or senior counsel to a major firm or organization.
Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized Experience is defined as:
Applicants must meet the following criteria before the closing date of this announcement.
POSITIVE EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS: (All grade levels)
You must have a graduate degree, with an LL.M. or J. D. from a full course of study in a School of Law accredited by the American Bar Association, or a State Accredited Law School, and be a current member in good standing of the bar of a State, Territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
Must meet qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
We will review your resume, optional cover letter, and supporting documentation to determine if you meet the minimum qualification requirements for the position as described in this vacancy announcement. If you meet the qualification requirements stated in the vacancy announcement, we will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses to the vacancy questions. Your resume and supporting documentation must support your responses to the vacancy questions, or your score may be lowered. High self-assessment in the vacancy questions that is not supported by information in your resume and/or supporting documents may eliminate you from further consideration and/or best qualified status. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the selecting official/hiring manager. Your answers to the questions in the online application process serve as the basis for your initial rating and will determine who is best qualified for this position; only the best qualified candidates will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration.
In addition to a resume and the assessment questions, you must submit copies of the following documents:
Resume - showing relevant experience.
Your resume MUST include the following information. Failure to do so may disqualify you from consideration for the position for which you are applying.
Education: An applicant must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have the first professional law degree (LL.M. or J.D.). Law school transcripts must be submitted at the time of application.
Bar Membership: An applicant must be a current member in good standing of the bar of a State, Territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. A copy of your bar membership must be submitted at the time of the application.
IMPORTANT: If you do not submit required documentation described in this job opportunity announcement, your application will be deemed incomplete and you will be ineligible for further consideration for this vacancy. You may submit required and/or supplemental documents through any of the following methods:
If you have any issues uploading supporting documents or if you wish to fax in your documents, please contact mgshelp@monster.com or call 866-656-6831. Documentation Receipt Confirmation: If you fax in your documentation, you will receive an email notification from mgssupport@monster.com. If you do not receive this confirmation email within 24 to 48 hours, please call the help desk at (866) 656-6831. These documents must be received by the closing date of this announcement. NOTE: If you have problems completing your on-line application, including problems faxing your supporting documents or you want to confirm receipt of all of your documents, please contact the HELP DESK by phone at 1-866-656-6831. The help desk is available Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET
All documents must be received by the closing date of this announcement.
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. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Applicants applying under this announcement are required to complete and submit an on-line application through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) application system, USAJOBS at website http://www.usajobs.gov/. The information you provide and your resume will become part of your application and will automatically be transferred to the Department of Commerce's application system when you apply on-line. Information you provide is general information that must be completed by all applicants.
There are several parts of the application process that will affect your overall evaluation:
Your complete application, including required documents, must be received on-line by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. If you encounter technical difficulties during the application process please call 1-866-656-6831 Monday through Friday, 7:00AM to 7:00PM ET (excluding Federal holidays)
You will receive notice that your application has been received. You can check the status of your application by accessing the USAJOBS website at http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/. - Click on the MY USAJOBS, which brings you to the login screen. - Login to your account. - You can check your status by either clicking on Track your online job Applications or on the APPLICATIONS tab.
Other than the system status, we will not provide any additional information about why an applicant did not make the referral list.
Note: USAJOBS accounts are deactivated after 18 months of inactivity. If your account has been deactivated, you should create an entirely new resume. It is to your advantage to update your resume at least twice a year to maintain your marketability and to avoid deactivation.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/560145300. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.