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ATTORNEY ADVISER

Securities and Exchange Commission
EDGAR Business Office - Office of Chief Counsel

Summary

The Office of Chief Counsel in the EDGAR Business Office (EBO OCC) addresses a wide range of legal and policy issues pertaining to the Commission's EDGAR system. EBO OCC attorneys act as legal and policy experts for EDGAR, writing proposed rules concerning EDGAR, collaborating on division and office rulemaking to be implemented on EDGAR, and advising and assisting in EDGAR policy, filing issues, communications, technical and other matters.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/03/2026 to 03/17/2026
Salary
$173,127 to - $289,400 per year
Pay scale & grade
SK 16
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
16
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes
Announcement number
26-IN-12891519-BS
Control number
859586400

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is open to current U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission employees

Duties

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  • Providing legal advice on matters that impact the operation and development of the EDGAR system.
  • Supporting and collaborating with divisions and offices on rulemaking efforts that create new or changed filing requirements to allow effective and timely implementation in EDGAR.
  • Preparing action memoranda and assisting with release documentation and other materials for Commission adoption of EDGAR Filer Manual changes or changes to EDGAR-related forms.
  • Researching and drafting rules for proposal by the EBO; collaborates with division and office staff, and members of the Chairman's and Commissioners' offices to achieve the rulemaking objectives of the EBO.
  • Supporting communication with external EDGAR stakeholders by drafting, reviewing and providing legal and other guidance on the content of communications, inter alia, on SEC.gov, by EDGAR Filer Support or directly to the filing community.
  • Assisting EBO's Filer Support team by resolving problematic legal and other issues that may arise; and
  • Assisting with other EBO legal initiatives, including but not limited to monitoring of EDGAR trademarks, FOIA requests and other matters.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • CITIZENSHIP: You must be a US Citizen.
  • You must possess a J.D. or LL.B Degree and you must be an active member of the bar in good standing.
  • This position is open to current permanent SEC employees.
  • 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 SK-16.
  • 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 in the collective bargaining unit NTEU Chapter 293.

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-16: Applicant must have at least one year of specialized experience at the GS/SK-14 grade level: 1) Conducting expert legal research for SEC programs or projects; AND 2) Drafting legal memoranda, briefs, rulemakings, or other high-level policy documents; AND 3) Providing legal recommendations to and advising management concerning matters of import to the SEC; AND 4) Representing an office professionally and persuasively with other divisions/offices at the SEC and/or with members of the public.

Education

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

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SURPLUS OR DISPLACED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) is available to individuals who have special priority selection rights under this plan. Individuals must be minimally qualified for this position to receive consideration for special priority selection. CTAP eligibles will be considered minimally qualified if they meet the minimum requirements for this position.

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. Accomplishment Record narratives should clearly demonstrate your proficiency in the following competencies:

Critical Thinking - Considers a variety of factors, general and subject matter-specific, when making decisions and determining next steps in a case.

Teamwork and Collaboration - Interacts with internal and external customers in a manner that advances SEC goals and objectives.

Legal Analysis - Utilizes expert legal knowledge to apply relevant law to the facts of each case.

Legal and Regulatory Analysis - Conducts analysis and prepares documents and reports in compliance with Federal law that governs the rulemaking process.

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, as any text beyond this limit will not be considered during the evaluation. You will upload one pdf or Word document with your narrative responses to each of the four 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 records and resume, then 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.

To preview the Occupational Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12891519

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