Clarification from the agency

Current U.S Department of Education employees within the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) serving under permanent appointments; and • Current U.S Department of Education employees within the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) serving under temporary appointments with reinstatement eligibility.

APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 50 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 50th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first.  

We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

As a Supervisory Attorney Advisor (General), GS-0905-15, you will be responsible for:

• Providing formal and informal advice to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, the General Counsel, and other officials concerning the review, prioritization and promulgation of the Department's regulations and guidance materials.
• Advising the Department on laws governing regulations such as the Administrative Procedure Act and the General Education Provisions Act, as well as various executive orders, e.g., 12866.
• Responsibility for the day-to-day oversight of the Department’s regulatory process and working collaboratively with representatives throughout the Department to establish operation guidelines for the Department’s regulatory program.
• Coordinating clearance of regulations for publication and ensuring that regulations and other documents meet applicable Federal Register requirements. 
• Having the full range of supervisory responsibility for the day-to-day activities of the attorney and supporting staff and delineating areas of responsibility as well as assigning work.
• Participating with the Assistant General Counsel and the Deputy General Counsel in the overall planning and establishment of objectives and goals for the Division.

Conditions of employment

• Relocation will not be paid.
• You may be subject to serve a one-year probationary period.
• Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
• Must be a US Citizen
• You may be subject to serve a one-year supervisory probationary period.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

If you are a current federal employee, you must meet all time-in-grade and time-after competitive appointment qualifications within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement. To verify that you meet these requirements, we will review your responses to the core eligibility questions on the occupational questionnaire, as well as your submitted resume and required documents. To make an accurate determination, you will need to include on your resume your federal position title, pay plan, occupational series, grade level, agency, dates for which you held the grade level (stated as MM/YYYY to MM/YYYY, OR MM/YYYY to PRESENT), and total hours worked per week. 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).

Conditions of Employment

REMOTE ELIGIBILITY:

• If selected for this position you are eligible to work remotely. Participation must be requested and approved by the supervisor and there must be a signed remote work agreement. You must have access to high-speed internet and cell phone service meeting current Agency policy from the approved work location.

OR

TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY:

• You may be eligible for occasional telework in which you are required to report to the office on a regular basis. Participation must be requested and approved by the supervisor and there must be a signed telework agreement. The number of telework days approved is determined by the agency policy, emergency situations, the approval of your immediate supervisor. You must have access to high-speed internet and cell phone service meeting current Agency policy from the approved work location.  

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements for GS-15:

1. You must be a graduate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association,

AND

2. Proof of admission to the Bar of the highest court of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and current membership in such Bar as would permit the practice of law. You must be a member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar,

AND

3. Has five years professional legal experience, at least one of the five years MUST be at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, 

OR

Has four years professional legal experience, at least one of the four years MUST be at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, PLUS a second professional law degree (LL.M.) which requires one full year of graduate study 

OR

Has four years professional legal experience, at least one of the four years MUST be at the level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the grade immediately below the one being filled, PLUS record shows superior law schoolwork or activities as demonstrated by one of the following:

1. Academic standing in the upper third of the law school graduating class.
2. Work or achievement of significance on his/her law school’s official law review.
3. Special high-level honors for academic excellence in law school, such as election to the Order of the Coif.
4. Winning of a moot court competition or membership on the moot court team that represents the law school in competition with other law schools.
5. Full-time or continuous participation, for one year or two semesters of law school, in a legal aid program (as opposed to one-time, intermittent, or casual participation).
6. Significant summer law office clerk experience after beginning law school.
7. Other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement.

Specialized Experience for the GS-15

One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-14 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:

1. Experience providing advice on the development and issuance of regulations consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act and the Federal Register Act.
2. Experience providing legal advice and assistance on grantmaking as well as education laws such as the General Education Provisions Act and negotiated rulemaking provisions of the Higher Education Act.
3. Experience managing regulatory staff and directing the resources of a legal division and updating office operating procedures for a legal environment.

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your application and documentation submitted to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications and competencies listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the Monster Competency Based Assessment(s) required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

Supervisory: Oral Communications, Interpersonal Skills, Problem Solving, Decision Making, Customer Service, Leadership, Planning and Evaluating, Influencing/Negotiating, Strategic Thinking and Human Capital Management

We will refer the best qualified candidates to the Selecting Official of the job for further review and consideration. You will be evaluated to determine if you meet qualifications required, and on the extent to which your application shows that you possess the knowledge, skills and abilities associated with this position as defined below. Please be sure to give examples in your resume and explain how often you used these skills, the complexity of the knowledge you possessed, the level of people you interacted with, and the complexity and sensitivity of the issues you handled.