The position serves as a Deputy Counsel to the Inspector General in USDA OIG's Office of Counsel (OC). This position provides an exciting opportunity for a seasoned attorney to function in a generalist environment with a focus on management of USDA OIG's Congressional Affairs, Media Affairs, and governing the processing of requests for disclosure of Office of Inspector General information and records. This position will require supervision of OC staff and involvement in OC management.
Summary
The position serves as a Deputy Counsel to the Inspector General in USDA OIG's Office of Counsel (OC). This position provides an exciting opportunity for a seasoned attorney to function in a generalist environment with a focus on management of USDA OIG's Congressional Affairs, Media Affairs, and governing the processing of requests for disclosure of Office of Inspector General information and records. This position will require supervision of OC staff and involvement in OC management.
Renders expert advice and leadership of OIG’s Congressional Relations program to ensure proper stakeholder engagement, including building relationships with Congress, coordinating stakeholder meetings and responses, and leading testimony preparation.
Acts with full authority of the Counsel in his/her absence, as designated, and functions as principal adviser to the Counsel on all program support issues.
Directs the development and implementation of Office of Inspector General policies and procedures governing the processing of requests
for disclosure of Office of Inspector General information and records.
Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt
Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check
Successful completion of one-year trial period, unless previously served
Subject to one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable. New USDA supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period
Direct Deposit – Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution
Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/
Public Financial Disclosure Required (OGE 450)
Relocation expenses are NOT authorized
Qualifications
You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement.
BASIC REQUIREMENT: All applicants must possess the following:
Position requires the possession of the first professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) - AND -
Applicants must currently be a member in good standing (as defined by the pertinent bar) of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Proof of such membership and good standing must be submitted with your application materials.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the basic requirement, applicants must also meet the minimum qualification requirement.
Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 level or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience includes analyzing novel or complex legal issues regarding Congressional affairs, Media affairs, and governing the processing of requests for disclosure of Office of Inspector General information and records; and providing concise and persuasive legal analysis or recommendations and planning, organizing, or leading staff in supporting legal review and recommendations.
TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT FOR CURRENT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-14 grade level to be considered for the GS-15 grade level. Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and education, as defined below. The selecting official may request to waive the one year requirement. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Education
To meet minimum eligibility requirements for this position, applicants must possess at least a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree or Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school.
You are required to submit a copy of your law degree transcripts prior to the close of this vacancy announcement.
If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to General Schedule Qualification Policies for more information. You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient, however if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty.
Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - US Department of Education. Another listing of services that can perform this evaluation is available at the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. 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. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.
NOTE: Only education and experience acquired before the filing deadline will be considered. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Additional information
An active Bar membership is required.
This position is eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy.
This position may be eligible for a remote work arrangement with supervisor's approval.
Excepted Service Position: This job is being filled by an alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive civil service.
Veterans Information: There is no formal rating system for applying veteran's preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service;
Although the point-preference system is not used, applicants eligible to claim a 10-point preference must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed. (SF-15, which lists the types of 10-point preference and the required supporting documents, is available from the Office of Personnel Management Website at www.opm.gov).
USDA OIG Statement:At the Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, we are dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) and aim to build a workforce that mirrors the diversity of our nation. We invite applications from individuals of all backgrounds who are dedicated to public service and share our commitment to fostering a more inclusive environment. Explore our Office of Equal Opportunity, Diversity, and Inclusion page to delve deeper into our commitment to DEIA at OIG.
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.
The specialist will perform an initial review of applications to determine basic eligibility and qualifications for the position. Selection(s) will be based on the judgment of the selecting official as to which applicant is best qualified to perform the duties of the position. Once this announcement closes, candidates will be evaluated based on the application package submitted. An oral interview may be conducted with some, none, or all candidates, depending upon the relative qualifications of the applicants.
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.
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Resume that includes:1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) other qualifications.
Transcripts: You must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
Proof of bar membership: You must submit proof that you are licensed and a member in good standing with the bar.
If you are a current or Former Federal employee, you must submit:
Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing you are in the excepted service, highest grade held (or promotion potential) on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND
Most 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. A performance plan is not an acceptable substitute.
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.
Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.
To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
NOTE: If a document is resubmitted, it replaces the previous submission, which means the previous document is no longer available to the Human Resources Office. If you are adding to, rather than replacing a previous submission, you must upload both the old document and the new document. You must verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Applicants may combine all like required documents (e.g. SF-50s or veteran docs) into one or more files and scan for uploading into the application. Each file must not exceed 3MB. Grouping like documents into files will simplify the application process. Documents must be in one of the following formats: GIF, JPEG, JPG, PDF, PNG, RTF, or Word (DOC or DOCX). Uploaded documents may not require a password, digital signature, or other encryption to open.
Office of the Inspector General
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250
US
Next steps
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS to check your application status. We expect to make a final job offer approximately 40 days after the deadline for applications.
Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
Under the Fair Chance Act, agencies are not allowed to request information about an applicant's criminal history until a conditional offer of employment has been made, except as allowed for access to classified information; assignment to national security duties or positions; acceptance or retention in the armed forces; or recruitment of a Federal law enforcement officer. An applicant may submit a complaint or any other information related to an organization's alleged noncompliance with the Fair Chance Act. The complaint must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged noncompliance. To make a Fair Chance Act inquiry or complaint, send an email with the appropriate information to jerren.sutton@oig.udsa.gov, subject line: Fair Chance Act.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Resume that includes:1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) other qualifications.
Transcripts: You must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
Proof of bar membership: You must submit proof that you are licensed and a member in good standing with the bar.
If you are a current or Former Federal employee, you must submit:
Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing you are in the excepted service, highest grade held (or promotion potential) on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND
Most 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. A performance plan is not an acceptable substitute.
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.
Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.
To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
NOTE: If a document is resubmitted, it replaces the previous submission, which means the previous document is no longer available to the Human Resources Office. If you are adding to, rather than replacing a previous submission, you must upload both the old document and the new document. You must verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Applicants may combine all like required documents (e.g. SF-50s or veteran docs) into one or more files and scan for uploading into the application. Each file must not exceed 3MB. Grouping like documents into files will simplify the application process. Documents must be in one of the following formats: GIF, JPEG, JPG, PDF, PNG, RTF, or Word (DOC or DOCX). Uploaded documents may not require a password, digital signature, or other encryption to open.
Office of the Inspector General
1400 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20250
US
Next steps
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS to check your application status. We expect to make a final job offer approximately 40 days after the deadline for applications.
Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
Under the Fair Chance Act, agencies are not allowed to request information about an applicant's criminal history until a conditional offer of employment has been made, except as allowed for access to classified information; assignment to national security duties or positions; acceptance or retention in the armed forces; or recruitment of a Federal law enforcement officer. An applicant may submit a complaint or any other information related to an organization's alleged noncompliance with the Fair Chance Act. The complaint must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged noncompliance. To make a Fair Chance Act inquiry or complaint, send an email with the appropriate information to jerren.sutton@oig.udsa.gov, subject line: Fair Chance Act.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
