This position is in the Division of Maritime Programs, Office of Chief Counsel, Maritime Administration (MARAD). The Division of Maritime Programs reviews and provides legal advice and clearance pertaining to the Maritime Administration’s programs which reinforce and strengthen the U.S. merchant marine and associated industries and infrastructure.
Summary
This position is in the Division of Maritime Programs, Office of Chief Counsel, Maritime Administration (MARAD). The Division of Maritime Programs reviews and provides legal advice and clearance pertaining to the Maritime Administration’s programs which reinforce and strengthen the U.S. merchant marine and associated industries and infrastructure.
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@ http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/excepted-service/
This is not a Bargaining unit position.
Serves as an attorney for MARAD’s programs supporting the U.S. maritime industry, which include financial incentives, commercial trade, infrastructure development, and others.
Provides advisory legal services in written and oral form, including memoranda, on all facets of MARAD programs and policy.
Conducts legal research, including the review of relevant regulations, legislative histories, case law, administrative records, canons of statutory construction, and the laws of the United States.
Reviews corporate organizational documents, chartering arrangements, vessel financing arrangements, insurance policies, vessel management agreements, and other contractual arrangements, to determine compliance with agency requirements.
Assists in responding to Congressional requests for technical assistance and aids in statutory drafting, legislative proposal development, and crafting Congressional testimony.
Works with program offices in the development, review, and updating of regulations.
Collects relevant documentation in response to Freedom of Information Act requests and assists in agency responses.
Represents the Office of Chief Counsel in meetings within MARAD and the Department of Transportation (DOT), with other Government agencies and Congressional committees and staff, and with transportation industry stakeholders.
The ideal candidate for this position will demonstrate the following attributes: the ability to provide sound and concise legal advice on all facets of Maritime Administration operations including, for example, legislation, regulations, open government laws and maritime support and financial programs; excellent research, writing and oral presentation skills; and, the ability to handle and prioritize multiple competing tasks while maintaining collegial working relationships and the highest standards of ethics and public service.
Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the 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.
GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection and a service agreement may be required.
Qualifications
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.
To qualify for the Grade 12, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11 it must include:
A professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) and be a current member in good standing of the bar of a State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia; AND 1 year of relevant professional legal experience as a licensed attorney providing legal advice and counsel to the Federal or a state government, or in private practice, including researching, analyzing, and advising on legal policies, procedures, practices, and applicable laws, and Federal guidance.
To qualify for the Grade 13, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-12, it must include:
A professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) and be a current member in good standing of the bar of a State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia; AND 2 years of relevant professional legal experienceas a licensed attorney providing legal advice and counsel to the Federal or a state government, or in private practice, including researching, analyzing, and advising on legal policies, procedures, practices, and applicable laws, and Federal guidance.
To qualify for the Grade 14, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-13, it must include:
A professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) and be current member in good standing of the bar of a State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia; AND 3 years of relevant professional legal experienceas a licensed attorney providing legal advice and counsel to the Federal or a state government, or in private practice, including researching, analyzing, and advising on legal policies, procedures, practices, and applicable laws, and Federal guidance.
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:
Mastery of various statutes and subjects which can have an effect on the mission of the Agency, such as administrative law, maritime law, contract law, tax law, customs laws and international law sufficient to relate these matters to MARAD and discern any potential conflicts or difficulties between the two or more areas of law presented by actual matters assigned to the employee
Skill in oral and written expression sufficient to pursue the particular legal issue against opposition which vigorously contests the agency position and is highly sophisticated and talented usually involving top attorneys in both the private and public sector.
Ability to research the law, synthesize legal principles and draft legal memoranda presenting facts, analysis and conclusions.
For all types of consideration, 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
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
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 created within USA Jobs Resume Builder.
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. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - click here. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course-by-course listing along with your application.
PROOF OF BAR MEMBERSHIP.
PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS/INCENTIVE AWARDS: If applicable, performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and will be forwarded to the selecting official as support in consideration of your application in the evaluation process. To receive credit, you must submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation dated within the last 18 months (i.e. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.).
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.
FEDERAL APPLICANTS: You must submit SF-50(s) that verify your highest competitive grade, full performance level, and eligibility as a federal applicant. DO NOT submit an award SF-50 as these often do not verify grade or eligibility. For consideration for a promotion, Box 4 of the SF-50 must show a date that is at least 52 weeks prior to the job announcement closing. We recommend submitting your last promotion SF-50 or within-grade increase SF-50. Pay adjustment raise SF-50s for the current year will not support the 52 weeks’ time-in-grade requirements. https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/service/SF-50/
NON COMPETITIVE APPLICANTS: If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility, you must provide the appropriate SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS, such as PCS orders (military spouse) describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability (schedule A), etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments.
DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 85) and provide all of the following documents:
your most recent performance appraisal,
the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and
your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.
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.
You may review your saved application(s) at https://my.usajobs.gov.
If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at: Transjobs@dot.gov
DOT, MARITIME ADMINISTRATION
Submit Application and Documents Online
1200 New Jersey Ave SE / HAHR - 50
Washington, District of Columbia 20590
United States
Next steps
Within two weeks of the closing date, a Human Resources Specialist will evaluate your application. You may check your application status by logging into USAJobs.com. (Select "My USAJOBS" and click "Applications").
Ratings will be determined based on the documents and information received by the closing date.
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 created within USA Jobs Resume Builder.
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. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - click here. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course-by-course listing along with your application.
PROOF OF BAR MEMBERSHIP.
PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS/INCENTIVE AWARDS: If applicable, performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and will be forwarded to the selecting official as support in consideration of your application in the evaluation process. To receive credit, you must submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation dated within the last 18 months (i.e. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.).
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.
FEDERAL APPLICANTS: You must submit SF-50(s) that verify your highest competitive grade, full performance level, and eligibility as a federal applicant. DO NOT submit an award SF-50 as these often do not verify grade or eligibility. For consideration for a promotion, Box 4 of the SF-50 must show a date that is at least 52 weeks prior to the job announcement closing. We recommend submitting your last promotion SF-50 or within-grade increase SF-50. Pay adjustment raise SF-50s for the current year will not support the 52 weeks’ time-in-grade requirements. https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/service/SF-50/
NON COMPETITIVE APPLICANTS: If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility, you must provide the appropriate SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS, such as PCS orders (military spouse) describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability (schedule A), etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments.
DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 85) and provide all of the following documents:
your most recent performance appraisal,
the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and
your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.
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.
You may review your saved application(s) at https://my.usajobs.gov.
If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at: Transjobs@dot.gov
DOT, MARITIME ADMINISTRATION
Submit Application and Documents Online
1200 New Jersey Ave SE / HAHR - 50
Washington, District of Columbia 20590
United States
Next steps
Within two weeks of the closing date, a Human Resources Specialist will evaluate your application. You may check your application status by logging into USAJobs.com. (Select "My USAJOBS" and click "Applications").
Ratings will be determined based on the documents and information received by the closing date.
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.
