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Attorney Advisor

Department of Homeland Security
Federal Emergency Management Agency
This job announcement has closed

Summary

In this position, you will serve as a Attorney Advisor for the Office of Chief Counsel in the Ethics Branch and will be responsible for providing ethics advice on complex and sensitive matters. This position starts at a salary of $132,368 (GS-14).  Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Office of Chief Counsel team within FEMA.

View common definitions of terms found in this announcement.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
03/24/2023 to 03/29/2023
This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$132,368 to - $172,075 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel may be required up to 25% of the time.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
FEMA-23-VS-634273-ATTY
Control number
715263700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This Job is open to: U.S. Citizens (if JOA open to external applicants) OR Internal Employees (Current DHS employees only) OR Agency Employees Only (Current FEMA employees only), if internal JOA

Duties

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling on those who want to help protect American interests and secure our Nation. DHS Components work collectively to prevent terrorism; secure borders and our transportation systems; protect the President and other dignitaries; enforce and administer immigration laws; safeguard cyberspace; and ensure resilience to disasters. We achieve these vital missions through a diverse workforce spanning hundreds of occupations. Make an impact; join DHS.

When disaster strikes, America looks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high-performance workforce. Please visit www.fema.gov for additional information.

 EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions. In this position, you will serve as a Attorney Advisor for the Office of Chief Counsel and will be responsible for providing ethics advice on complex and sensitive matters. Typical assignments include the following: 

  • Providing training on the Standards of Ethical Conduct and other applicable laws and regulations relating to ethics.

  • Ensuring that advice and products are consistent with the intent of the law.

  • Assisting with FEMA's financial disclosure.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
  • You must successfully pass a background investigation.
  • Selective Service registration is required.
  • Financial disclosure is required.
  • Proof of law degree and bar membership is required.
  • Please review "Other Information" section for additional key requirements.

To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Public Trust as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations.

Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below.

Qualifications

The qualifications listed below must be met within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

All applicants must possess the following:

1) A J.D. or LL.B. degree from an ABA accredited law school; and

2) An active membership, in good standing, of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

You qualify for this position if you possess the following:

At least three year(s) of full-time professional legal experience gained after being admitted to the bar. This minimum legal experience must include at least two year(s) of specialized experience that is directly related to the position being filled and that is at the level of difficulty and responsibility to that of an attorney at the GS-13 level.

Specialized experience for this position includes:

  • Providing oral and written advice on complex and sensitive legal and policy matters for individual questions and as related to ethics.

  
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 provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

NOTE: Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. For a brief video on How to Create a Federal Resume, click here.

Current or former FEMA Reservists/DAE employees: To accurately credit your experience for these intermittent positions, make sure to list the dates (from MM/YY to MM/YY) of each deployment, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.  Failure to provide this information may result in disqualification.

 The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees.  If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. 

Education

NOTEIf you are qualifying based on education and/or are selected for a position which requires a college degree to meet minimum qualification requirements, you will be required to submit your official college transcript(s) at time of selection.

Additional information

  • If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.
  • DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
  • This announcement may be used to fill one or more vacancies.
  • Relocation expenses are not authorized for this position.
  • All candidates must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time.
  • A one year trial period is required unless already completed.
  • If selected for this position, and you have not previously completed these requirements, you are subject to (1) completion of a 2 day onboarding program at your primary duty location; and, (2) completion of a subsequent, multiple day orientation program within 90-120 days of hire, at a location to be determined.  Travel associated with the orientation portion of this requirement may be at FEMA’s expense.
  • The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.
  • You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card.
  • Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.
  • This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualification requirements listed above. We will review the information and materials you provide to evaluate whether you meet the basic qualification and eligibility requirements for this position.

Applicants who meet the qualifications for the position and submit a resume and law school transcript will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration.

This vacancy is being advertised/filled under the authority of Title 5 of the United States Code, the Schedule A authority for attorneys (5 CFR § 213.3102(d)), and FEMA’s Attorney Hiring and Promotion Plan.  Veterans’ Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to positions filled under these authorities. This vacancy will result in an Excepted Service appointment. 

We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process.

Interview Requirement.  Interviews may be required for this position.  Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration. 


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

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