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SENIOR OFFICER- DIRECTOR

Securities and Exchange Commission
Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation

Summary

The Director position is in the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation (OASB) located in Washington, DC and is open to all U.S. Citizens, with the exception of current SEC employees.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
02/10/2026 to 02/25/2026
Salary
$205,772 to - $318,642 per year
Pay scale & grade
SO 3
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
3
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
26-EX-12884169-KLC
Control number
857265400

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all US Citizens, with the exception of current SEC employees.

Duties

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Typical duties include:

  • Assisting small businesses and small business investors in resolving problems with the SEC or self-regulatory organizations.
  • Conducting outreach to small businesses and small business investors to solicit views on relevant capital formation issues.
  • Maintaining educational resources to meet ongoing requests from small businesses and small business investors to support navigating the regulatory framework for capital formation.
  • Providing substantive analysis of appropriate statistical information relating to the state of small business capital-raising.
  • Analyzing the potential impact of proposed rules changes and regulations on small businesses and small business investors.
  • Identifying problems that small businesses have with securing access to capital, including any unique challenges to minority-owned small businesses, women-owned small businesses, and small businesses affected by hurricanes or other natural disasters.
  • Identifying areas in which small businesses and small business investors would benefit from changes in the regulations of the Commission or the rules of self-regulatory organizations.
  • Proposing to the Commission changes in SEC regulations or orders and to Congress legislative, administrative, or personnel changes that may be appropriate to mitigate problems identified and to promote the interests of small businesses and small business investors.
  • Advising the Investor Advocate on issues related to small businesses and small business investors and consulting with the Investor Advocate on proposed recommendations.
  • Adhering to nondiscriminatory employment practices.
  • Interacting with a variety of organizations and individuals, including Commissioners, SEC staff and management, Congress, and the general public.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • This position is open to US Citizens, with the exception of current SEC employees.
  • You must possess a J.D. or LL.B Degree.
  • You must be an active member of the bar in good standing
  • Application procedures are specific to this vacancy announcement. Please read all the instructions carefully. Failure to follow the instructions may result in you not being considered for this position.
  • Supplementary vacancies may be filled in addition to the number stated in this announcement and may be filled from any division or office within the agency.
  • This position has promotion potential to the SO-3.
  • Consistent with 5 U.S.C. § 7511, you will be required to serve a two-year trial period (one year for preference eligible veterans) if the position to which you have applied is not the same or similar to your current position of record.
  • SECURITY CLEARANCE: Entrance on duty is contingent upon completion of a pre-employment security investigation. Favorable results on a Background Investigation may be a condition of employment or selection to another position.
  • DRUG TESTING: This position may be subjected to drug testing requirements.
  • PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION (PCS): Moving/Relocation expenses are not authorized.
  • DIRECT DEPOSIT: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
  • This position is not in the collective bargaining unit.
  • TRIAL PERIOD: This appointment may require completion of a two year supervisory/managerial trial period.

Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sector. 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. Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Applicants are responsible for confirming all required materials are submitted by the deadline. Please check the 'How You Will Be Evaluated' and 'Required Documents' sections carefully, as missing documents will render the application incomplete and ineligible for review.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: All applicants must possess the following

  • J.D. or LL.B. degree --AND--
  • Active membership of the bar in good standing in any state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the commonwealth of Puerto Rico. (Note: proof of bar membership will be required before entry on duty.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the basic requirement, applicants must also meet the minimum qualification requirement.

SK-03: Applicant must have four year(s) of post J.D. work experience, three year(s) of which includes the following:
  1. Advocating for the interests of small businesses and small business investors, and encouraging small business capital formation; AND
  2. Assisting small businesses with compliance and reporting obligations under the federal securities laws; AND
  3. Assisting investors in small businesses to assess the risks and rewards of such investments; AND
  4. Analyzing policies regarding small business capital formation; AND
  5. Preparing, reviewing, or analyzing financial statements of small businesses; AND
  6. Assisting small businesses raise capital through registered or exempt offerings under the Securities Act of 1933.

Education

ARE YOU USING YOUR EDUCATION TO QUALIFY? You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. If you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, you must submit a copy of your unofficial transcripts or equivalent by the closing date of the announcement. Internal Applicants: OHR will verify education qualifications for internal applicants using documents in the Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF). If required transcripts or certificates are not present in your eOPF, you will be required to provide them to OHR. If selected, a start date will not be established until official transcripts are received.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

SEC COMPENSATION PROGRAM: The overall salary range listed above is provided for informational purposes as it represents the full range that is applicable to current employees in this occupation/grade; however, a selectee's initial pay is always set below the maximum rate of the range. Please click here for additional information.

Disability Employment: For information on disability appointments, please visit http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employment/

Reasonable Accommodation: If you are an applicant who needs a reasonable accommodation to participate in the SEC application process due to a medical disability, please contact reasonableaccommodation@sec.gov. For religious-based accommodations, please contact religiousaccommodation@sec.gov . Please be sure to submit your request at least 5 business days in advance of the date you need the requested accommodation.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Information for SEC Job Applicants: Federal EEO laws protect all applicants from discrimination on the following bases: race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. Applicants who believe they have been discriminated against on any EEO basis can seek recourse through the SEC's administrative complaints process. To be timely, an individual must enter the EEO process within 45 days from when they know (or should have known) of the alleged discrimination. Click here for additional information.

The Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint, or any other information, to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged non-compliance by contacting the Legal and Policy Office in the Office of Human Resources at ElliottT@sec.gov.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your resume and application package will be reviewed to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements outlined in this announcement.
If you are found minimally qualified, a rating panel will review your resume and Accomplishment Record narratives. Narratives should clearly demonstrate your proficiency in the following competencies:

  1. Leading the Organization: Build and support the vision, create strategies to achieve the vision, support and lead innovative and creative initiatives to meet organizational goals.
  2. Leading and Developing People: Recruit, lead, develop and manage the workforce, manage differences and potential conflicts between employees, build teams that meet and exceed an organization's mission, strategic plan, and goals.
  3. Results Orientation: Meet organizational goals by managing a program, identifying and solving important problems, making sound and timely decisions, and managing and sharing information.
  4. Building Coalitions: Build coalitions by partnering with others to build strategic relationships and influencing and negotiating to achieve favorable outcomes.
  5. General Legal Guidance: Apply the provisions of the federal securities laws and forms, rules, and regulations that relate to small business capital formation, including the securities registration and reporting requirements and exemptions from registration.
  6. Market Analysis: Advise on small business capital formation markets and processes by which small businesses raise capital.
  7. Influencing/Negotiating: Effect change and gain buy-in to achieve organizational outcomes and advocate for the interests of small businesses and/or investors.
Your resume must provide evidence that supports the claims made in your Accomplishment Record narratives; both documents must effectively showcase your qualifications. Each competency narrative should detail one specific, relevant example from your training or experience. Please limit each response to a maximum of 300 words. Any text beyond this limit will not be considered during the evaluation. Upload one pdf or Word document with your narrative responses to each of the seven competencies. Your responses must be in the below format:

Competency Title
Position title and dates from your resume that this experience was obtained
  • Describe the situation (i.e., the challenged faced, the problem solved)
  • Describe the specific actions you took
  • State the outcome, results, or long-term impact of your accomplishment
  • Name and email address of someone who can verify this information
Basis for Rating: The rating panel will evaluate applicants' accomplishment record and resume to place them into one of the following categories: Highly Qualified, Well Qualified and Qualified.
  • Highly Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and has extensive skills and experience in most of the job related competencies above.
  • Well Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and has a moderate amount of skills and experience in most of the job related competencies above.
  • Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but may have a limited amount of experience in several of the job related competencies.
Top ranked applicants will be referred to the hiring office for further review and consideration. The hiring office may directly contact recommended candidates for interview(s). When the selection is made, applicants will be sent a referral status notification and a final disposition notification.

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