The General Counsel is one of three statutory officers at the FEC and reports directly to the Commission. The Office of General Counsel (OGC) consists of five organizational units: (1) the Deputy General Counsel - Administration, (2) the Deputy General Counsel - Law, (3) the Enforcement Division, (4) the Litigation Division and (5) the Policy Division.
Summary
The General Counsel is one of three statutory officers at the FEC and reports directly to the Commission. The Office of General Counsel (OGC) consists of five organizational units: (1) the Deputy General Counsel - Administration, (2) the Deputy General Counsel - Law, (3) the Enforcement Division, (4) the Litigation Division and (5) the Policy Division.
As a General Counsel, EX-0905-V, your work assignments include:
Providing executive management and direction of all administrative and technical aspects of the FEC's legal programs, including strategic planning, administrative law, evaluation of statutory and judicial developments, decisions about precedent actions, and policy formulation that impact the entire range of federal campaign finance activities.
Meeting with Senior Staff to set major agency-wide policy and review program achievements based on recommendations from staff, program managers, program administrators, task forces, and others.
Developing, conceiving, planning, and implementing policies and programs within the Office of General Counsel.
Managing resources, developing long-range plans and priorities, developing strategic operational goals, evaluating program effectiveness, and identifying opportunities for increasing process or program efficiency for the Office of General Counsel.
Serving as legal counsel to the Commission, providing legal opinions, advice and guidance on agency operations and campaign finance law matters, including enforcement of the Federal Election Campaign Act and implementing regulations, rulemakings and the Administrative Procedure Act, advisory opinions, Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, and employment law.
You may be required to serve a 2 year probationary period.
You must be a U.S. citizen or national.
You must be able to pass a background investigation.
Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see Legal and regulatory guidance below).
This position serves at the pleasure of the Commission.
Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
You must meet qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.
This is a Non-Bargaining Unit Position.
Qualifications
In order to qualify, you must meet the Basic Requirements, the Technical Qualifications, and the Executive and Managerial Qualifications described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience and demonstrate how you meet each applicable requirement. A copy of your unofficial transcripts must be provided with your application.
Basic Requirements:
Education: Possess a J.D. or LL.B degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. Please submit transcript copies with degree confer date.
Bar Membership: Be an active member in good standing of a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or territory of the United States. (You must submit a copy of your current Bar card, or letter of good standing).
Technical Qualifications: (Your resume must include evidence of the following experience, including dates.)
You must have 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience working as a practicing attorney in any of the following duty areas: compliance, litigation, investigations, civil or criminal law enforcement, regulations/policy, or other similar areas. At least one year of this experience must be comparable in scope and responsibility to the Senior Level (SL). This must include activities such as: (1) Managing all administrative and/or technical aspects of a legal program, such as managing resources, developing long-range plans, developing strategic operational goals, and evaluating program effectiveness; (2) Directing the full range of legal affairs for an organization including legal policy, enforcement, litigation, advisory services, and complaints examination; and (3) Analyzing complex legal issues having to do with campaign finance law, including regulatory and/or constitutional issues.
Executive and Managerial Qualifications:
Please respond to the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) in a narrative format. You may use the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) Model to describe your accomplishments.
Challenge: Describe a specific problem or goal.
Context: Describe the individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to address a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale).
Action: Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge.
Result: Give specific examples of measures/outcomes that had some impact on the organization. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills.
ECQ 1 - Leading Change: 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: 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: 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: The ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. ECQ 5 - Building Coalitions: 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.
In addition, you must provide a cover letter of at least two pages summarizing your evidence of the following competencies:
Leadership: Ability to influence, motivate, and challenge others, as well as adapt leadership style to a variety of situations. Providing direction in the development of legal initiatives and related policies.
Legal, Government and Jurisprudence: Ability to advise senior leadership on the impact of new or revised statutes, rules, and regulations. Proficiency in orally arguing or briefing. Drafting, reviewing, and developing written commentary or opinions on legislative changes and/or new legislation.
Oral Communication: Expresses ideas and facts to individuals or groups effectively; makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others; facilitates an open exchange of ideas.
Written Communication: Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
We recommend your cover letter include examples that are clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities, the scope and complexity of the functions, activities, or services you delivered; level of contacts; the sensitivity and criticality of the issues you addressed, and the results of your actions.
Part-time or unpaid experience: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.
Volunteer or unpaid experience: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Education
You must submit a copy of your unofficial or official transcripts conferring a J.D., or LL.B., or higher degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.
A self-created transcript or a list of courses you have prepared is not acceptable.
Additional information
FEC offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including: health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays. Other benefits may include: flexible work schedules (with credit-hour program), telework, and transportation subsidies.
If you receive a tentative 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.
Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Federal Election Commission considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required by that form.
Additional selections may be made from this announcement.
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.
Once the announcement closes, we will conduct a review of your application package to verify your eligibility and qualifications. If you are found qualified, your application will move forward to additional phases of the review process which will determine the best qualified candidates.
Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.
You will be evaluated based on the Qualification Requirements stated above.
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.
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package including the documents listed below. We strongly encourage applicants to doublecheck that all required items are properly submitted to ensure consideration.
Your Resume listing hours worked per week, dates of employment (month/year) and duties performed for each position held.
Cover Letter addressing the competencies in the Qualifications section above.
Unofficial law school transcripts to verify you meet the educational requirements of this position. All applicants are required to submit unofficial law school transcripts prior to the closing of this announcement. If selected for this position, you will be required to submit official law school transcripts upon entry into duty. Only transcripts from accredited law school websites will be accepted.
Bar License to verify you are licensed and in good standing to practice law as an Attorney under the laws of a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or territory of the United States. You must submit a copy of your current Bar card, or letter of good standing.
Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) in a narrative format.
Veterans' documents (only if claiming veterans' preference): DD-214 including character of service, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days, and if applicable, SF-15 Form, VA letter, or other documentation required by that form.
Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
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.
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 07/28/2023 to receive consideration.
To begin, click Apply Online Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account or you may need to create a new account.
You will be taken to an online application. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application. You will receive an email notification when your application has been received for the announcement.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
Federal Election Commission
1050 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20463
US
Next steps
Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications. Additional phases of the review process will determine the best qualified candidates, and whether or not your application is referred to the selecting official.
You will be contacted directly if further evaluation or an interview is required.
You will receive notifications by email about the status of your application throughout this process.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package including the documents listed below. We strongly encourage applicants to doublecheck that all required items are properly submitted to ensure consideration.
Your Resume listing hours worked per week, dates of employment (month/year) and duties performed for each position held.
Cover Letter addressing the competencies in the Qualifications section above.
Unofficial law school transcripts to verify you meet the educational requirements of this position. All applicants are required to submit unofficial law school transcripts prior to the closing of this announcement. If selected for this position, you will be required to submit official law school transcripts upon entry into duty. Only transcripts from accredited law school websites will be accepted.
Bar License to verify you are licensed and in good standing to practice law as an Attorney under the laws of a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or territory of the United States. You must submit a copy of your current Bar card, or letter of good standing.
Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) in a narrative format.
Veterans' documents (only if claiming veterans' preference): DD-214 including character of service, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days, and if applicable, SF-15 Form, VA letter, or other documentation required by that form.
Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
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.
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 07/28/2023 to receive consideration.
To begin, click Apply Online Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account or you may need to create a new account.
You will be taken to an online application. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application. You will receive an email notification when your application has been received for the announcement.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
Federal Election Commission
1050 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20463
US
Next steps
Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications. Additional phases of the review process will determine the best qualified candidates, and whether or not your application is referred to the selecting official.
You will be contacted directly if further evaluation or an interview is required.
You will receive notifications by email about the status of your application throughout this process.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
