This position is a staff attorney in FTA's Office of Chief Counsel, Litigation and Regional Operations Division, and functions, specifically, as the Regional Counsel in Region 6. You will provide a wide range of legal services involving all functional areas assigned to the Office of Chief Counsel, including research and counseling on all legal requirements pertaining to the regional office's administration of FTA's grant and loan programs, and the agency's related authorities.
Summary
This position is a staff attorney in FTA's Office of Chief Counsel, Litigation and Regional Operations Division, and functions, specifically, as the Regional Counsel in Region 6. You will provide a wide range of legal services involving all functional areas assigned to the Office of Chief Counsel, including research and counseling on all legal requirements pertaining to the regional office's administration of FTA's grant and loan programs, and the agency's related authorities.
Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen.
This position is in the Excepted Service. For information on the Excepted Service, please visit: Excepted Service Appointing Authorities@ https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/excepted-service/
Serve as counsel to the agency and as a member of the Chief Counsel's staff.
Serves as a legal resource, responds to questions posed by FTA Regional staff and others within and outside the Federal Government and prepares necessary documentation to support the agency's position on matters for which incumbent has primary responsibility. Advises on questions of law or administrative policy involved in the operation of FTA and in its contacts with industry, private and professional associations, State and local governments, and the general public. Provide litigation support in cases involving the Agency, as needed, which may include: compiling the administrative record; performing legal research; reviewing/editing litigation papers; and working with attorneys from FTA, DOT, the Justice Department, and other Federal agencies on case strategy and legal positions.
Evaluate pending grant applications for legal sufficiency, ascertaining whether the Regional Administrator has an adequate basis upon which to make the findings and determinations that are a prerequisite to grant approval. Following the execution of grant agreements by FTA's grant recipients, the candidate assists in ensuring proper execution of the projects.
Review all Freedom of Information and Privacy Act requests submitted to FTA Region 6, invoke exemptions to disclosure, when appropriate, and counsels the Regional Administrator and regional staff in framing appropriate responses to the requests.
Draft legal opinions and perform legal services concerning the negotiation, drafting, execution, and administration of Federal grants, and cooperative agreements regarding various agency programs. Timely review of draft environmental documents under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to ensure supporting documentation is adequate for an administrative record. Ensure that agency decisions are supported by adequate administrative records and supporting legal rationale, including compliance with environmental and historic preservation requirements.
The ideal candidate is one with experience in general law, including the following areas: government contracts, administrative, grants agreements, real property, Federal ethics, environmental and/or civil rights law.
You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
This is an Excepted Service position.
Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service.
TRIAL PERIOD: This is an Excepted Service position. This job will be filled by an alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive service. Applicants selected for an excepted service position may be subject to a two-year trial period.
ETHICS/CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: All employees are subject to the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 2635, including restrictions on owning financial interests that may conflict with performance of their duties. Some employees, like those involved in contracting or regulating non-Federal entities, are subject to Executive Branch Financial Disclosure requirements set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 263.
Qualifications
To qualify, your experience should include experience and education equal or equivalent to the following:
GRADE 13 -
A second law degree (LL.M) AND at least two (2) years of professional legal work experience. OR
At least three (3) years professional legal work experience of a progressively responsible nature.
GRADE 14 -
A law degree, bar membership in good standing and at least FIVE years of professional attorney experience.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:
General Law Civil Rights Law Environmental Law Government contracts
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. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Education
MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:
In order to qualify for this position, candidates must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have a professional law degree, and must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia.
Additional information
PLEASE NOTE:
This is not a Bargaining unit position.
TELEWORK: Managers may exercise discretion to allow a limited amount of regular or task-based telework for this position.
FTA supports various work life flexibilities to include, maxi-flex schedules and telework up to 80% as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized up to 80% telework as approved by management.
COVID VACCINATION: If selected, you will be required to provide information regarding your COVID-19 vaccination status for the purposes of implementing workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
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.
DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level
For this announcement, all applicants will be reviewed to determine if they meet the basic qualifications for this position, specifically the educational and specialized experience requirements.
Applicants will not be rated or ranked.
All applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications will be referred to the selecting official.
The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package. If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers.
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.
ALL Applicants must provide a resume that fully supports the required specialized experience and respond to the vacancy questions by the closing date of the vacancy. Formatted resumes can be uploaded when you arrive at the DOT application system. For assistance with the resume builder, please visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/account/documents/resume/build/
The following is a list of documents that are only required based on the type of position. Please review each of the following sections to determine which documents you need to provide with your application.
RESUME - Needs to be created within USA Jobs Resume Builder. It must show relevant experience, education and fully support the required specialized experience.
COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE.
PROOF OF BAR MEMBERSHIP.
TRANSCRIPTS - Transcripts are REQUIRED as there is a stated education requirement for the series. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements.
WRITING SAMPLE: If selected for an interview, a writing sample may be requested.
VETERANS: Your last DD214 (member 4 copy), Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, that shows the type of discharge and all dates of active duty is required to verify your eligibility. It need not be official.
If you are applying to a vacancy opened to all US Citizens under category rating and wish to be considered as a preference eligible, you need to submit a copy of your DD214 (member-4 copy).
If you are claiming preference eligibility as a disabled veteran, you must submit proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally a valid letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability. An SF-15 is desired, but not required.
If you are applying to a vacancy opened Status and you are requesting consideration under Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) (https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/shav/#veoa), you need to provide a copy of your last DD214 (member-4 copy), which verifies your military service dates, reason for separation, OR certification of separation that shows a discharge date within 120 days of the closing of this announcement, and eligibility for consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.
Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.
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.
You must submit a complete application package (including resume, vacancy questions and supporting documents) no later than 11:59 pm (EST) on the closing date of the announcement.
To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
Follow the directions to register, submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
DOT, FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION
Submit Application and Documents Online
1200 New Jersey Ave SE / HAHR - 50
Washington, District of Columbia 20590
United States
Next steps
You may check your application status by logging into USAJobs.com (Select "My USAJobs" and click "Applications". Within two weeks of the closing date, a Human Resources Specialist will evaluate your application. Qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager. Appropriate veteran's preference will be applied. If you are selected for an interview, the hiring agency will contact you directly. Once the position is filled, we will notify all applicants of their final status.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
ALL Applicants must provide a resume that fully supports the required specialized experience and respond to the vacancy questions by the closing date of the vacancy. Formatted resumes can be uploaded when you arrive at the DOT application system. For assistance with the resume builder, please visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/account/documents/resume/build/
The following is a list of documents that are only required based on the type of position. Please review each of the following sections to determine which documents you need to provide with your application.
RESUME - Needs to be created within USA Jobs Resume Builder. It must show relevant experience, education and fully support the required specialized experience.
COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE.
PROOF OF BAR MEMBERSHIP.
TRANSCRIPTS - Transcripts are REQUIRED as there is a stated education requirement for the series. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements.
WRITING SAMPLE: If selected for an interview, a writing sample may be requested.
VETERANS: Your last DD214 (member 4 copy), Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, that shows the type of discharge and all dates of active duty is required to verify your eligibility. It need not be official.
If you are applying to a vacancy opened to all US Citizens under category rating and wish to be considered as a preference eligible, you need to submit a copy of your DD214 (member-4 copy).
If you are claiming preference eligibility as a disabled veteran, you must submit proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally a valid letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability. An SF-15 is desired, but not required.
If you are applying to a vacancy opened Status and you are requesting consideration under Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) (https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/shav/#veoa), you need to provide a copy of your last DD214 (member-4 copy), which verifies your military service dates, reason for separation, OR certification of separation that shows a discharge date within 120 days of the closing of this announcement, and eligibility for consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.
Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.
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.
You must submit a complete application package (including resume, vacancy questions and supporting documents) no later than 11:59 pm (EST) on the closing date of the announcement.
To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
Follow the directions to register, submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
DOT, FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION
Submit Application and Documents Online
1200 New Jersey Ave SE / HAHR - 50
Washington, District of Columbia 20590
United States
Next steps
You may check your application status by logging into USAJobs.com (Select "My USAJobs" and click "Applications". Within two weeks of the closing date, a Human Resources Specialist will evaluate your application. Qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager. Appropriate veteran's preference will be applied. If you are selected for an interview, the hiring agency will contact you directly. Once the position is filled, we will notify all applicants of their final status.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
