U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

This job announcement has closed

Summary

***This announcement has been amended to extend the closing date.***

This Senior Executive Service (SES) position is located in Region 2, Office of Regional Counsel. If selected, you must work at the location stated in this announcement.

About Region 2: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-2 

Learn more about this agency
Help

Overview

  • Reviewing applications
  • Open & closing dates

    08/16/2022 to 10/03/2022

  • Salary

    $176,301 - $203,700 per year

  • Pay scale & grade

    ES 00

  • Help

    Location

    1 vacancy in the following location:

  • Remote job

    No

  • Telework eligible

    Yes—as determined by the agency policy.

  • Relocation expenses reimbursed

    No

  • Appointment type

    Permanent

  • Work schedule

    Full-time

  • Service

    Senior Executive

  • Promotion potential

    00

  • Job family (Series)

    0905 Attorney

  • Supervisory status

    Yes

  • Security clearance

    Not Required

  • Drug test

    No


  • Announcement number

    RTP-SES-2022-0040

  • Control number

    671374900

Help

Duties

The Regional Counsel (RC) provides senior leadership to the Office of Regional Counsel (ORC). The RC serves as principal legal adviser to the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), the Office of General Counsel (OGC), the Regional Administrator, and Regional program managers and, as such, has responsibility for providing legal advice and assistance and policy recommendations on counseling and enforcement matters involving the whole range of environmental issues handled by the EPA. 

The RC reports to both the Assistant Administrator (AA) for OECA and the General Counsel for technical and programmatic oversight and for work prioritization. The activities of the ORC are of major importance within the Region and due to the potentially precedential effects thereof, may be of nationwide importance. These activities may have an unusual influence on the protection and enhancement of the Nation’s environment.

The following duties and responsibilities are to be carried out either by the RC personally or through appropriate staff attorneys:

  • Reviewing and resolving the legal questions which arise under all regulations, lawsuits, enforcement actions, executive orders, and other administrative actions involving major federal statutes affecting the Agency programs.
  • Providing general legal advice and policy recommendations regarding Regional programs, operations, and activities.
  • Providing legal advice and policy recommendations on civil judicial and administrative enforcement matters arising under EPA enforcement programs.
  • Providing legal advice and policy recommendations to managers of Agency financial assistance programs.
  • Drafting and reviewing final Agency determinations, proposed and final regulations, notices, and such other documents to be published in the Federal Register.
  • Supervising and coordinating the Region's participation in defensive and enforcement litigation.
  • Representing the Region in its dealings with outside parties.
  • Overseeing the Region’s compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, regulations, policies, and Executive Orders.
  • Representing the Region as counsel in personnel actions brought against the Agency.
  • Serving as the hearing officer in hearing and deciding matters brought before the Agency.
  • Communicating and coordinating with the legal representatives of state agencies administering EPA programs within the Region.
  • Serving as a liaison between the Region and OECA and OGC.
  • As tasked by the General Counsel or the AA for OECA, serving as a national legal expert in one or more major subject matter areas.
  • Directing and managing the activities, staff, and resources assigned to the Office.
  • Serving as the Region’s Deputy Ethics Official.

Help

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen.
  • You must submit resume and required documents (see How to Apply section).
  • If you are selected, a pre-employment background check is required.
  • You may be required to travel 1 to 5 days per month.
  • An LL.B. or J.D. is required.

If you are selected, you must complete a 1-year SES probationary period, if not previously completed.

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to E.O. 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

The Ethics in Government Act, P.L. 95-521, requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a financial disclosure statement, OGE-278, prior to assuming the SES position, annually, and upon termination of employment.

This position is designated as High Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation. All conditions of the pre-employment security process must be met before an official letter of employment can be issued with a report for duty date.

#LI-Onsite

Qualifications

The work of this position is classified in the General Attorney, 0905 series. Applicants must have a LL.B or J.D. degree from an accredited law school; must be admitted to practice before the highest court of a State, U. S. territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and must maintain active status as a member of the bar of one of these jurisdictions. The incumbent must have significant experience in providing legal advice and counsel at EPA; other federal, state, or local agencies; or in private practice.

All applicants must have one year of specialized experience at a level close to the work of this job that demonstrates the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform in this role. Typically this experience can be found in work within this field or a field that is closely related.

As a basic requirement for entry into the Senior Executive Service, applicants must also provide evidence of progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior level management capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Executive Core Qualifications and Technical Qualifications listed below.

A. Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) - Mandatory for competitive applicants - Failure to address these factors will result in your application being disqualified, unless you are a noncompetitive eligible applicant. 

ECQ 1 - LEADING CHANGE. Involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment. 
ECQ 2 - LEADING PEOPLE. Involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts. 
ECQ 3 - RESULTS DRIVEN. Involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks. 
ECQ 4 - BUSINESS ACUMEN. Involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.
ECQ 5 - BUILDING COALITIONS. 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.

Your responses should be clear and concise and show a level of accomplishment and a degree of responsibility. Leadership competencies for each ECQ can be found at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf 

B. Technical Qualifications (TQs) - Mandatory for all applicants - Failure to address these factors will result in your application being disqualified.

TQ 1 - Demonstrated experience leading complex counseling, enforcement, and litigation matters involving federal environmental protection laws, regulations, and/or programs.

TQ 2 Demonstrated experience directing the work of attorneys in performing complex, multi-faceted legal casework.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

If you are selected, travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid by EPA. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting to work in this position will be your responsibility.

EPA participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. For additional information:  EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.

Veterans’ preference is not applicable to the Senior Executive Service.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values at EPA. Our excellence can only be fully realized by staff who share our commitment to these values. Successful candidates are committed to advancing equity and inclusion in the Agency’s workplace and mission. We encourage applications from candidates with a variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance. At EPA, diversity is a vital element in bringing a balance of perspectives to bear on every challenge we face. We are committed to creating a diverse workforce because we know that the individual strengths and abilities of our employees make us a stronger organization. The more inclusive our employee base is, the greater the variety of ideas that are generated, and the more representative we are of the nation we serve. To learn more about how EPA values and supports our diverse workforce, visit Equal Opportunity Employment at EPA. You can also hear a diverse group of attorneys talk about their careers at EPA on the Legal Careers at EPA Webinar.

Read more

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

We will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you meet basic qualification requirements, your application will be evaluated based on your narrative statements addressing the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Technical Qualifications (TQs). It will then be forwarded to a three member Rating Panel consisting of SES members for further review. The Rating Panel will decide which Best Qualified applicants will be issued to the Selecting Official by the Human Resources Office.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Help

Required Documents

Documents to be submitted online:

NOTE: You should ensure your social security number, date of birth, and any other personal information are redacted.

-- Resume clearly stating your experience related to this position as described in the Duties section and Qualifications section.  In describing your experience, you need to be clear and specific.  We may not make assumptions regarding your experience.  

-- A narrative statement covering each of following:

  • Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) - Required for competitive applicants - Address each of the five factors individually within a limit of ten pages total. Exceeding this limit will result in disqualification of your application. 
  • Technical Qualifications (TQs) - Required for all applicants - Address each listed factor individually within a limit of two pages per factor. Exceeding this limit will result in disqualification of your application. 

Your examples should use the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) model to emphasize your level of responsibilities, scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments with results of your actions, policy initiatives and level of contacts. Additional information on the proper preparation of ECQ statements and the CCAR model is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf

-- Senior Executive Service (SES) noncompetitive applicants: If you are currently serving under a career SES appointment, are eligible for reinstatement into the SES, or have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program approved by OPM, proof of SES noncompetitive eligibility must be submitted: 

  • SF-50 showing your status as a:
    • current Career SES appointee,
    • former Career SES appointee with career SES reinstatement eligibility, or
    • current or reinstatement eligible Career SES-equivalent executive who is/was employed in a Federal government agency that has an interchange agreement with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) allowing for movement between the agency’s SES-equivalent personnel system and the SES; OR
  • A certificate of completion from an OPM-approved SES Candidate Development Program (CDP). This applies only if your ECQs have been approved by an OPM Qualifications Review Board through the SES CDP.
  • You are not required to submit a narrative statement addressing the ECQs, but are encouraged to do so.

To learn more about submitting documentation, visit Uploading Documents to USAJOBS.

Help

How to Apply

You are strongly encouraged to read the entire announcement before you submit your application for this position.

You must provide specific examples of your education, experience, training and awards in the manner and order instructed below which are applicable to each Executive Core Qualification (ECQ) and Technical Qualification (TQ). Response to the five ECQs and TQs is mandatory. Failure to address the ECQs and TQs will result in your application being disqualified. 

To begin the application process, click the Apply button to the top right on this screen, follow the prompts to log-in/register, submit all required documents, and complete the assessment questionnaire. To be considered, you must submit a complete application package by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the day the announcement closes.

All required supporting documents will be collected electronically via the USAJOBS document portfolio feature.

If you cannot apply online, you must contact the Human Resources Office listed below for assistance no later than three business days prior to the closing date of this announcement.  You must provide complete application materials by the day the announcement closes.

For detailed instructions to assist you in ensuring your application package is received, go to EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

EPA provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities.  Decisions for granting reasonable accommodation are made on a case-by-case basis.

  • If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process (submitting the application or completing the application process), contact the Human Resources Office listed below no later than three business days prior to the closing date of this announcement, and the Human Resources Office will work directly with you.
  • If you are referred to the hiring official for consideration and need an accommodation during the selection process, you should notify the person who contacted you from the hiring official’s office.
  • If you are selected and need an accommodation during the hiring process, notify the HR Specialist who made the job offer to you.

The National Reasonable Accommodation Coordinators will provide assistance to you, the Human Resources Office, and/or the hiring official as needed.  For more information, see Reasonable Accommodation.

Read more

Agency contact information

Kyle Barja
Phone
919-541-2477
Fax
919-541-2186
Email
barja.kyle@epa.gov
Address
Environmental Protection Agency
US Environmental Protection Agency
Human Resources Management Division
109 T.W. Alexander Drive, MD-C639-02
Research Triangle Pk, North Carolina 20771
United States
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

You can track the progress of your application package via your USAJobs account. You will receive an acknowledgement from USAJOBS that your submission was successful, once we have received your on-line application, resume, responses to the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Technical Qualifications (TQs), and any supporting documentation. You will be notified of the status of your application after we conduct a qualification review of your complete application package.

If you meet basic qualification requirements, your application will be evaluated based on your narrative statements addressing the ECQs and TQs. It will then be forwarded to a three member Rating Panel consisting of SES members for further review. The Rating Panel will decide which Best Qualified applicants will be issued to the Selecting Official by the Human Resources Office. Interviews are arranged through the Selecting Official. 

Read more

This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/671374900. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.