Clarification from the agency

This job opportunity announcement is open to all U.S. citizens.

As Chief Counsel, you will serve as the agency's primary legal advisor. In this role, you will plan, direct, and coordinate the Office of the Chief Counsel's delivery of legal services, advice, and representation.

Specifically, you will:

• Direct and oversee all agency legal functions. This includes providing advice and representation to the Secret Service concerning its law enforcement mission and business processes.
• Render advice on complex legal issues concerning constitutional law, arrests, search and seizure, ethics, fiscal law, privacy, torts, civil rights, personnel and employment law, information disclosure, and civil and criminal discovery.
• Oversee the review and analysis of legislation, regulations, case decisions, and policies that may affect the agency.
• Provide oversight and review of the agency's litigation support activities, including the preparation of litigation reports, motions, and making recommendations on the settlement and compromise of claims in connection with legal proceedings involving the Secret Service or its employees.
• Oversee the day-to-day management of the office, as well as training, assigning and reviewing work, evaluating performance, and providing legal and policy guidance to office attorneys. This includes overseeing hiring activities and managing the office's budget and resources.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. citizenship is required.
• Obtaining and maintaining a Top-Secret clearance is required.
• Submitting to a drug test prior to your appointment and random drug testing while you occupy the position.

If selected for this position, you will be required to:

Maintain a Top-Secret (TS)/Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) clearance. For more information visit OPM Mythbuster Page.

Successfully complete a one-year probationary period in the Senior Executive Service (SES), unless you are exempt based on previous successful completion of such probation.

File an Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report in accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 within 30 days after appointment.

Background Investigation: You must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation in order to obtain a TS/SCI clearance as a condition of placement in this position.

Mobility Requirement: Organizational and geographical mobility is essential in developing and managing SES leaders and generally is a key to advancement. Therefore, applicants are expected to be mobile and once appointed, SES members will be required to sign a mobility agreement and may be reassigned at the direction of the appointing authority.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

Drug Testing: You must submit to a drug test prior to your appointment and random drug testing while you occupy the position.

Selective Service: If you are a male born after December 31, 1959, and selected for this position, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so under Selective Service law.

Qualifications

(1) As a basic requirement for entry into the SES, applicants must provide evidence of progressively responsible executive leadership and supervisory experience that is indicative of senior executive level management capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Executive Core Qualifications and Mandatory Technical Qualifications listed below. The ideal candidate will have experience supervising employees through subordinate supervisors and have experience hiring, developing, and evaluating employees. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-15 grade level in the federal service or its equivalent in the private sector.

As such, your resume should demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully fulfill responsibilities inherent in most SES positions such as:

• Directing the work of an organizational unit;
• Ensuring the success of one or more specific major programs or projects;
• Monitoring progress toward strategic organizational goals, evaluating organizational performance and taking action to improve performance; and
• Supervising the work of employees; and exercising important policy-making, policy-determining, or other executive functions.

If your resume does not include these basic qualifications, you will not be determined qualified for this position.

(2) EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQ): The fundamental competencies within the following five ECQs are also a part of the selection criteria for SES positions. We recommend that your resume emphasize your level of responsibilities, the scope, complexity, and budget of programs managed, and your program accomplishments, including the results of your actions. For this vacancy announcement, no separate supplemental ECQ documentation is required. Your resume must incorporate each of the following ECQs:

ECQ 1 - LEADING CHANGE: This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.

ECQ 2 - LEADING PEOPLE: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.

ECQ 3 - RESULTS DRIVEN: This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.

ECQ 4 - BUSINESS ACUMEN: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.

ECQ 5 - BUILDING COALITIONS: This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.

Applicants can obtain additional information regarding the Executive Core Qualifications on the Internet at http://www.opm.gov/ses/recruitment/ecq.asp

We recommend that your resume addressing the ECQs include examples that are clear, concise, and emphasize the level of responsibilities, the scope and complexity of the program, activities, or services managed; program accomplishments; policy initiative undertaken; level of contacts; the sensitivity and criticality of the issues addressed; and the results of actions taken.

(3) MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (MTQ):

MTQ1: Comprehensive knowledge and extensive executive level experience interpreting laws and providing legal advice concerning federal laws, to include the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution; personnel and employment law, including laws regarding employee misconduct and discipline; equal employment opportunity and civil rights laws; fiscal law; ethics; procurement; the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act; congressional and oversight entity response and compliance; and legislative and policy drafting and review.

MTQ2: Executive level experience in managing and overseeing a substantial legal office within a federal agency, law firm, or other organization. Candidates should have skill in directing, planning, and supervising work within legal practice areas and managing an office's budget and resources, evaluating the professional development and performance of attorneys, paralegals, and other legal staff, and the development and implementation of office and agency objectives, authorities and programs.

MTQ3: Executive level experience providing advice when overseeing legal matters of substantial impact, sensitivity, and complexity, communicating clearly and concisely, and working within a matrixed organization.

Important: Refer to the Required Documents section of this vacancy announcement for page length and other formatting specifications. Documents that do not adhere to the specified requirements may be disqualified. We recommend uploading your documents in PDF format to preserve formatting and ensure conformance with specifications. Failure to submit any of the required documents as stated will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package.

The application process used to recruit for this position is the RESUME-ONLY method, therefore, evidence of each ECQ and MTQ must be CLEARLY REFLECTED in your 5-page resume. Please do not submit separate statements addressing the ECQs and MTQs.

Desired Qualification:

At least ten years of general legal and management experience is preferred.

The following categories of applicants may omit the ECQs from their resume but MUST address the MTQs within their resume. Categories include:

• Applicants who are currently serving under a SES career appointment (must provide a copy of Standard Form 50-Notification of Personnel Action that documents career appointment to the SES).
• Applicants who are eligible for reinstatement to the SES (must provide a copy of Standard Form 50-Notification of Personnel Action that documents career appointment to the SES).
• Applicants who are graduates of Office of Personnel Management (OPM) approved SES Candidate Development Programs (must provide proof of OPM Qualifications Review Board certification).

The Office of Personnel Management must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated on the quality and extent of your total accomplishments, experience, and education. Your application will be evaluated by a rating and ranking panel, and highly qualified candidates may undergo an interview and reference checks. The Secret Service Executive Resources Board will review results and make recommendations on final selection to the appointing authority. Unless you have already been certified by a Qualifications Review Board (QRB) in the past, your ECQs must be certified by a QRB after selection and before appointment can occur.

Verification of performance, suitability, and security information from reference checks will be taken into consideration when making an offer of employment.

Interview Process: Multiple interviews may be required for this position. Failure to complete the interview(s) may result in removal from further consideration.

To preview questions https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12683846