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Deputy Assistant Chief Counsel

Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is PHMSA’s Supervisory Attorney-Advisor for Regulatory Affairs Law/Office of Chief Counsel, with comprehensive responsibility for the direct supervision of staff as the Deputy Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs. Under the direction and supervision of the Assistant Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs and the Deputy Chief Counsel, the incumbent supervises the work of staff attorneys and other personnel in the Regulatory Affairs Law Division/Office of Chief Counsel.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
08/01/2023 to 06/11/2024
This job will close when we have received 200 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$155,700 to - $183,500 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 15
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Some travel is required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Full Time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
15
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
PHMSA.PHC-2023-0006
Control number
740357200

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

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/ This is not a Bargaining unit position.

Duties

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As a Deputy Assistant Chief Counsel, you will:

  • Manage the activities and work product of the staff attorneys and other personnel within the Regulatory Affairs Law Division.
  • Research, or supervise the research of, each of statutes, legal opinions, policies, regulations, guidance, case law, and historical PHMSA and Department practice, on matters for which the Regulatory Affairs Law Division is responsible, including those involving complex or high- profile issues of law or policy.
  • Serve as a supervisory attorney for the Regulatory Affairs Law Division and an authoritative resource within PHMSA on matters for which the Division is responsible, including those involving regulations, guidance, and pertinent procedure.
  • Serve as a liaison, or supervision of the liaison, with stakeholders within PHMSA, the Department, OMB, and other pertinent stakeholders, on matters for which the Regulatory Affairs Law Division is responsible. The position represents PHMSA in meetings and conferences with representatives of other Federal Government executive departments and agencies, State regulatory officials, industry, and the public on matters for which the Division is responsible.
  • Prepare, or supervise the preparation of, briefs, memoranda, and pleadings or filings in administrative proceedings and court cases involving PHMSA regulations and guidance.
  • Review and comment on the accuracy and significance for PHMSA regulatory oversight activities of draft legal materials including legislation, hearing testimony, Departmental regulations and guidance, and regulations and guidance of other Federal agencies.
  • Perform other duties as assigned by supervisors.

The Ideal Candidate: This position is perfect for an experienced supervisor in a busy legal office in the federal or state government or in the private sector (e.g., as a partner, counsel, or senior associate at a law firm). The incumbent is responsible for managing the activities and work product of the staff attorneys and other personnel within the Regulatory Affairs Law Division, and in so doing exercises strong program and project management skills (to include the creation and management of action plans, milestone tracking, and identification of need for supplemental resources) in ensuring the timely development and delivery of legally sound, high- quality work product. The incumbent, as a supervisory attorney, performs those duties in a manner demonstrating independence, initiative, creativity, precision, accountability, knowledge of Federal administrative law, understanding of the content and technical bases for PHMSA safety regulations, as well as superior judgment and strategic thinking.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • 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.
  • SUPERVISORY PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year supervisory probationary period (unless already completed).
  • WRITING SAMPLE: If selected for an interview, a writing sample may be requested and there may be an editing exercise.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.

Qualifications

To qualify, your experience should include experience and education equal or equivalent to the following:

To qualify for this GS-15 position, you must meet the following experience requirements. Applicants must have current, relevant experience which is related to the work of this position, such as:

• Experience conducting briefings for and providing legal advice and assistance to executives and senior managers in carrying out their respective responsibilities.
• Experience managing attorneys or leading teams or projects in a legal office within Federal or state government, or the private sector (e.g., a law firm).
• Experience in Federal administrative law or other high-stakes legal practice areas (e.g., corporate and securities law, mergers and acquisitions, utilities, or antitrust law) requiring skills--independence, initiative, creativity, precision, accountability, judgment, and strategic thinking-- analogous to those involved in development and review of regulations, guidance, and other legal materials, and coordinating legal issues and professional application of legal principles, precedents and rulings.

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:

Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, considering the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.

Legal, Government, and Jurisprudence - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, legal practices and documents, Government regulations, Executive orders, agency rules, Government organization and functions, and the democratic political process.

Problem Solving - Identifies and analyzes problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations.

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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link:  https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

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.  

MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENT FOR ATTORNEYS:

· Applicants must have a law degree (J.D. or equivalent) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.

CURRENT MEMBER OF THE BAR REQUIREMENT:
· Applicants must be an active member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of any state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Additional information

PLEASE NOTE: 

TELEWORK: Managers may exercise discretion to allow a limited amount of regular or task-based telework for this position.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Referrals will be issued every two weeks, upon selection of a candidate the vacancy will close and notifications will be sent.

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.


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