The NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducts audits, investigations, and other reviews of NASA programs and activities to prevent and detect crime, fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. The Counsel to the Inspector General acts as the primary official responsible for providing legal services and policy advice to the Inspector General (IG) and staff in connection with audits, investigations, projects, legislation and regulations, ethics, and internal OIG operations and litigation.
Summary
The NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducts audits, investigations, and other reviews of NASA programs and activities to prevent and detect crime, fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. The Counsel to the Inspector General acts as the primary official responsible for providing legal services and policy advice to the Inspector General (IG) and staff in connection with audits, investigations, projects, legislation and regulations, ethics, and internal OIG operations and litigation.
Serves as staff attorney-advisor responsible for audits and investigations and other oversight and enforcement activities related to crime, fraud, waste, abuse, and economy and efficiency in NASA's programs and operations.
Provides legal services to the Inspector General (IG) and staff in connection with audits, investigations, special projects, legislation and regulations, ethics, whistleblower retaliation, and internal OIG operations and litigation.
Serves as principal OIG attorney-advisor in the Central region of the United States (comprising NASA's Johnson Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Stennis Space Center, and Kennedy Space Center).
Works with senior OIG management and mid- and senior level Agency officials, as well as with officials at the Department of Justice and US Attorneys' offices and with other OIG counsel within the Federal community.
Provides legal services to field office and headquarter level audit, investigative, human resources, budget, administrative and other clients.
Position subject to pre-employment background investigation.
Position subject to a pre-employment drug test
Qualifications
Placement at the GS-14 level requires at least one year of legal experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service; and placement at the GS-15 level requires at least one year of legal experience equivalent to the GS-14 level in the Federal service. Placement at the GS-15 level will require experience involving the more complex legal issues, often with no or little precedent, and involve a less degree of supervision than at the GS-14 level. Placement at the GS-14 or GS-15 level will be determined based upon (a) overall demonstrated breadth and depth of experience and competence in the specified skill areas, (b) grade level and salary history, and (c) demonstrated ability to handle matters of increased complexity and importance in multiple key skill areas.
Experience is required in a majority of the following legal areas, and preferably all: Federal personnel law and ethics (Title 5), criminal law, government acquisitions, grants, cooperative agreements and other transactions, appropriations law, and Federal information law (including FOIA / Privacy Act), and Federal tort law.
The successful candidate will need knowledge of fraud remedies (criminal, civil, and administrative); knowledge of government ethics; knowledge of Title 18 crimes and criminal procedure; knowledge of Federal government contract cost and government accounting issues; skill in information disclosure law, and experience in Federal whistleblower protection law (both civil service and contractor employee) and experience in providing legal support to audit personnel and knowledge of generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS).
Experience reviewing, analyzing, summarizing, discussing and drafting proposed and existing legislation and regulations.
Demonstrated skill in administrative or court litigation is a requirement, particularly before the MSPB, the EEOC, grievances, mediation and OSC matters.
Superior analytic, written and oral communication skills are mandatory, particularly for the purpose of legal advice, analysis, compliance and training using modern and traditional teaching techniques, social media, and video-conferencing directed at a non-lawyer audience, such as investigators, auditors, management analysts and various support personnel.
Experience as a practicing attorney in a Federal OIG is considered a positive factor.
Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job.
Education
All candidates must have a Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) degree or a Bachelors of Law (LL.B.) degree from an ABA accredited law school and be admitted in good standing to the Bar in one of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, or one of the U.S. territories.
Additional information
You must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
There is no formal rating system for applying veterans preference in the attorney hiring process. However, NASA considers veterans preference as a positive factor when filling attorney positions. If you are eligible for veterans preference, you are encouraged to include this information in your USAJOBS profile and your resume.
Any applicant tentatively selected for this position may be required to undergo a pre-employment background investigation.
As a condition of employment, male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must certify that they have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law.
Your USAJOBS account asks you to assign a name to each of your resumes. When you apply to a NASA position, we will show you the text of the resume you have submitted, but we do not maintain the name you have assigned to that resume. If you wish to keep track of that information, we recommend you make note of it at the time you apply.
Fair Employment Opportunities for Applicants (https://searchpub.nssc.nasa.gov/servlet/sm.web.Fetch/Fair_Employment_Opportunities_for_Applicants.doc ?rhid=1000&did=1983660&type=released) NASA Credit for National Service (https://searchpub.nssc.nasa.gov/servlet/sm.web.Fetch/NASA_Credit_for_National_Service.doc?rhid=1000 &did=1983666&type=released)
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Applicants who provide the required information specified in the vacancy announcement will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration.
There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference in the attorney hiring process. However, NASA considers veterans' preference as a positive factor when filling attorney positions. If you are eligible for veterans' preference, you are encouraged to include this information in your USAJOBS profile and your resume.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
NASA's application process has been specifically developed to ensure that we only ask you for the information we absolutely need to evaluate your qualifications and eligibility. In order to apply for this position, you only need to submit your resume and answer the screening questions and supplemental information. No additional documentation is accepted at the time of application. (For example you need not submit narrative 'KSA' statements; they are not required and will not be evaluated.) In this way we allow you to focus on preparing a resume that best describes your background and abilities. For assistance in preparing your resume, consult the Applicant Guide. Nothing further is required until requested by the Human Resources Office. At that point, we may ask you to submit documentation to support statements made in your resume. For example, we may ask you to provide academic transcripts or proof of Federal employment status. If you are claiming veterans' preference, we may ask you to submit proof of veterans preference (DD-214, and, if claiming 10-point preference, SF-15 plus proof required by that form). If you fail to provide the required documents within the stated time period, we may withdraw a job offer and/or remove you from further consideration.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
This vacancy is being filled through NASA STARS, an automated Staffing and Recruitment System. NASA partners with USAJOBS in providing a seamless application process. Before you begin the application process, please read the vacancy announcement carefully and have all required information available. You may begin the process of submitting your resume by clicking on the 'Apply Online' link. In order to be considered, you must submit a resume completed on the USAJOBS site. When completing your USAJOBS resume, please remember that NASA limits resumes to approximately 32,000 characters including spaces. NASA does not accept resumes uploaded to USAJOBS from a second source or documents attached through USAJOBS' document attachment feature. Once you submit your resume to NASA, you will be asked to complete a short series of additional questions. You must finish the entire process in order to have a complete application package and receive consideration. Your answers will not be saved unless you finish the entire application. You may edit a previously-submitted application, if the announcement is still open.
Due to COVID-19, we are unable to take hard copy applications at this time. If you are having issues applying, please reach out to msfc-staffing@mail.nasa.gov and let them know the announcement number and issue BEFORE the announcement closes. The NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) staffing unit will review the request and, if accepted, The NASA Resume Operations Center (ROC) will work with you to have your resume and supplemental information scanned into the system.
If you are a first time applicant, we recommend that you review NASA's Applicant Guide to ensure that you are providing a complete resume. Failure to submit the supplemental data and a resume that contains all of the required information may result in loss of consideration for positions in which you are interested. All applications must be received no later than midnight Eastern Time on the closing date of the announcement.
NASA's Resume Operations Center
4200 Rideout Road, Mailstop HS50
Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812
US
Next steps
Candidates for NASA positions are evaluated using our automated staffing and recruitment system, NASA STARS, which compares your skills and experience as described in your resume with the requirements of the position. If you are found to be a highly qualified candidate, you will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration. (In some cases, individuals with priority for special consideration must be considered and selected before other candidates.) Whether or not you are contacted for an interview depends upon the location of the position and the judgment of the selecting official. At NASA, we pride ourselves on efficient and timely recruitment actions, and you can normally expect to learn the outcome of the selection process in a fairly short period of time. In addition, to ensure that you can measure progress for yourself, NASA provides you with regularly updated information on the status of the vacancy announcement.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
NASA's application process has been specifically developed to ensure that we only ask you for the information we absolutely need to evaluate your qualifications and eligibility. In order to apply for this position, you only need to submit your resume and answer the screening questions and supplemental information. No additional documentation is accepted at the time of application. (For example you need not submit narrative 'KSA' statements; they are not required and will not be evaluated.) In this way we allow you to focus on preparing a resume that best describes your background and abilities. For assistance in preparing your resume, consult the Applicant Guide. Nothing further is required until requested by the Human Resources Office. At that point, we may ask you to submit documentation to support statements made in your resume. For example, we may ask you to provide academic transcripts or proof of Federal employment status. If you are claiming veterans' preference, we may ask you to submit proof of veterans preference (DD-214, and, if claiming 10-point preference, SF-15 plus proof required by that form). If you fail to provide the required documents within the stated time period, we may withdraw a job offer and/or remove you from further consideration.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
This vacancy is being filled through NASA STARS, an automated Staffing and Recruitment System. NASA partners with USAJOBS in providing a seamless application process. Before you begin the application process, please read the vacancy announcement carefully and have all required information available. You may begin the process of submitting your resume by clicking on the 'Apply Online' link. In order to be considered, you must submit a resume completed on the USAJOBS site. When completing your USAJOBS resume, please remember that NASA limits resumes to approximately 32,000 characters including spaces. NASA does not accept resumes uploaded to USAJOBS from a second source or documents attached through USAJOBS' document attachment feature. Once you submit your resume to NASA, you will be asked to complete a short series of additional questions. You must finish the entire process in order to have a complete application package and receive consideration. Your answers will not be saved unless you finish the entire application. You may edit a previously-submitted application, if the announcement is still open.
Due to COVID-19, we are unable to take hard copy applications at this time. If you are having issues applying, please reach out to msfc-staffing@mail.nasa.gov and let them know the announcement number and issue BEFORE the announcement closes. The NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) staffing unit will review the request and, if accepted, The NASA Resume Operations Center (ROC) will work with you to have your resume and supplemental information scanned into the system.
If you are a first time applicant, we recommend that you review NASA's Applicant Guide to ensure that you are providing a complete resume. Failure to submit the supplemental data and a resume that contains all of the required information may result in loss of consideration for positions in which you are interested. All applications must be received no later than midnight Eastern Time on the closing date of the announcement.
NASA's Resume Operations Center
4200 Rideout Road, Mailstop HS50
Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812
US
Next steps
Candidates for NASA positions are evaluated using our automated staffing and recruitment system, NASA STARS, which compares your skills and experience as described in your resume with the requirements of the position. If you are found to be a highly qualified candidate, you will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration. (In some cases, individuals with priority for special consideration must be considered and selected before other candidates.) Whether or not you are contacted for an interview depends upon the location of the position and the judgment of the selecting official. At NASA, we pride ourselves on efficient and timely recruitment actions, and you can normally expect to learn the outcome of the selection process in a fairly short period of time. In addition, to ensure that you can measure progress for yourself, NASA provides you with regularly updated information on the status of the vacancy announcement.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
