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Ethics Specialist

Department of the Interior
Office of the Solicitor
Departmental Ethics Office in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Branch
This job announcement has closed

Summary

With an emphasis on high ethical standards, excellence in public service and the delivery of superlative advice and counsel, our Office performs the legal work for the United States Department of the Interior, and manages the Departmental Ethics Office and Departmental FOIA Office.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
06/14/2024 to 06/28/2024
Salary
$68,405 to - $107,590 per year

*First time hires to the federal government typically start at the beginning salary in the range for their respective grade level.

Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
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 - You may be expected to travel for site visits, meetings, training, and conferences.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
SOL-DEO-24-FS-065(DEU)
Control number
795848300

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Duties

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This position is located within the Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor (SOL), Departmental Ethics Office (DEO) in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Branch, duty stationed in Washington, DC.

At the full performance level (GS-11) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Provides technical assistance and support to supervisor and ethics officials on assigned team in administering the program.

2. Assists with reviews of outside employment and activity requests, requests for travel payments from non-Federal sources (1353 gift travel), and other ethics forms/documents.

3. Reviews confidential financial disclosure reports. Communicates with financial disclosure filers regarding financial disclosure reports to help ensure filer's understand reporting requirements and accurately report financial data.

4. Assists with maintaining accurate tracking data on employees required to complete financial disclosure reports and complete ethics training.

5. Provides incidental administrative support including preparing letters and maintaining filing systems.

6. Assists with implementing ethics policies, procedures, forms, Manual chapters, and guidance materials.

The Office of the Solicitor has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Salary Information:
GS-09: $68,405 - $88,926 per annum
GS-11: $82,764 - $107,590 per annum


First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the lower salary range of the grade level.

This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.

This vacancy is also announced as SOL-DEO-24-FS-066(MP) for those applicants who wish to apply and be considered under Merit Promotion procedures.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Key Requirements:

  1. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
  2. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
  3. Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period.
  4. You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit.
  5. You must submit ALL required documents and a completed questionnaire.
  6. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service system, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position you must meet the Specialized Experience, OR Education for the grade to which you are applying.

GS-09
Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-09, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:

1. Assisting in reviewing ethics forms (i.e., financial disclosures, gifts, post-employment, or other ethics documents).
2. Creating and maintaining spreadsheets of travel expenses received from non-federal entities, outside activity requests, contributions, agreements and/or financial disclosure report filers.
3. Preparing ethics correspondence in accordance with administrative policies.
(MUST MEET AT LEAST TWO OUT OF THE THREE)

OR

Education:
Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., related to the position.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A qualifying combination of post baccalaureate education and specialized experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

GS-11
Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-11, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:
1. Assisting in the preparation of written and verbal advice to managers and employees on issues such as, outside employment, gift acceptance, fundraising, lobbying, political activities, or nepotism.
2. Assisting in the preparation of resource materials for filers regarding financial disclosure reports.
3. Reviewing confidential financial disclosure documents and preparing the reports for approval.
4. Assisting in the preparation and development of ethics training related materials.
(MUST MEET AT LEAST THREE OUT OF THE FOUR)

OR

Education:
Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., related to the position.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience:
A qualifying combination of post baccalaureate education and specialized experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

Applicants selected for interviews may be asked to participate in a writing exercise or submit a writing sample as part of the interview process.

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.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp

Merit Promotion candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

Education: If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide transcripts as proof of meeting the requirements.

Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

Additional information

Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Identification of promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. Promotion will depend upon administrative approval and the continuing need for and performance of higher-level duties.

Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position.

The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.

NOTICE: This employer participates in E-Verify and will utilize your Form I-9 information to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S.

A preliminary background check must be completed before a new employee can begin work with the U.S. Department of the Interior. The preliminary background check consists of a search of Office of Personnel Management and Department of Defense background investigation files and an FBI National Criminal History Fingerprint Check; it may take up to 3 weeks to complete. If selected for this position, you will be extended a tentative offer of employment pending a satisfactory background check. Current Federal employees or individuals with an existing completed background investigation may not be required to undergo another background check; these will be handled on a case-by-case basis in coordination with the Bureau security office.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

Agency Benefits:

Working for the DOI, Office of the Solicitor offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; health, life, dental, vision, and long term care insurance, flexible spending accounts, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.

SOL has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework in accordance with the DOI Telework policy and with supervisor approval. The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis.

For additional information on telework you may access the Department of Interior's Telework Handbook at https://www.doi.gov/telework/policies.

How you will be evaluated

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


Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire will be made. Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. You are being evaluated under the Category Rating method, which means, if you are determined to be qualified you will be placed in one of three pre-defined categories. These categories are "Platinum", "Gold", and "Silver". However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. Candidates placed in the "Platinum" category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview. Veterans' preference rules for category rating will be applied.

Your answers to the on-line assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:

Project Management: Applies principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, monitoring, evaluating, and managing projects and resources, including technical performance.
Regulations and Guidance: Knowledge of principles, laws, regulations, policies, practices, and guidelines.
Written communication: Expresses facts and ideas in writing in a succinct and organized manner.

If you are a status applicant (current career or career-conditional Federal employee or former permanent Federal employee with reinstatement eligibility in the competitive service), or are eligible under a special appointing authority and you are selected under this vacancy, you may be subject to serving a new one-year probationary period.

To preview the assessment questionnaire click: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12445449

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