Clarification from the agency

Current FCC Employees Only

The incumbent serves as the Chief of Staff to the Bureau Chief and functions as a Supervisory Attorney Advisor providing authoritative, legal, policy, and management direction across all WCB divisions and program areas. The Chief of Staff plans, coordinates, and oversees complex legal and regulatory initiatives concerning wireline competition, universal service, broadband deployment, numbering administration, and other statutory and Commission-mandated responsibilities. The incumbent exercises broad discretion and independent judgment in advising the Bureau Chief on emerging legal issues, strategic priorities, workflow management, inter-bureau coordination, and Commission-level decision-making. The position includes supervisory authority over professional staff and requires expert knowledge of administrative law, communications law, and Commission processes, as well as the ability to effectively manage multidisciplinary teams in a high-visibility, fast-paced environment.

Conditions of employment

• FCC Employees Only.
• US Citizenship.
• Suitable for employment as determined by a background investigation.
• SF-50 Documenting One Year of Time in Grade Required.
• Bar Membership documentation required upon selection.
• Transcripts required upon selection.
• Financial Disclosure may be required.
• Current FCC employees must provide SF-50 verifying grade & status.
• Resume must not exceed two pages and must meet resume format criteria.

To be considered for this position, applicants must:

Currently be employed in the Federal Communications Commission in positions serving under career, career conditional, or excepted service (Schedule A appointments under authority 213.3102(d)-Attorneys) appointments.

SF-50 Required: ALL FCC EMPLOYEES MUST provide a legible Personnel Action, SF-50, that verifies your status and highest permanently held grade.  If an SF-50 is not submitted, the application will be rated as ineligible. To request a copy of your SF-50 please send an email to PersonnelRecordsRequest@fcc.gov

Qualifications

Interested candidates should be passionate about the ideals of our American republic, committed to upholding the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution, and committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government. Hiring decisions will not be based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

Applicants must meet eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Current Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Professional law experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled.

In order to be deemed as "BEST QUALIFIED" candidates must meet both the educational requirements and the specialized experience requirements outlined below.

A. Education

You must meet the minimum basic educational requirements for Attorney positions.

Education requirements include: a professional law degree JD, LL.B., and/or LL.M.

If transcripts are not submitted at the time of application, a copy of the transcript must be submitted at the time of selection.

AND

B. Specialized Experience

For the GS-15 position: Applicant must possess at least four years of professional law experience and at least one year of that experience must be specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service performing the following: 

1. Supervising, leading or managing Attorney Advisor staff.
2. Serving as the principal legal and policy advisor to the Bureau Chief on complex statutory, regulatory, and administrative matters involving the Communications Act, broadband deployment mandates, universal service programs, numbering administration, and competition policy.
3. Leading or overseeing management and administrative programs, including personnel management, equipment and other administrative support services, budget estimates and justifications, records and information resource management, management of Bureau counts and management analysis studies.
4. Managing budget formulation, presentation, implementation and execution for the Bureau.
5. Advising the Bureau Chief on emerging legal issues, strategic priorities, workflow management, inter-bureau coordination, and Commission-level decision-making.
6. Formulating recommendations, identifying legal risks, anticipating litigation vulnerabilities, and advising on legal sufficiency and defensibility of proposed Bureau actions and provides any/all related advice and guidance to the Bureau Chief.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: 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.

ll candidates will be considered without regard to political or religious affiliation, marital status, race, color, sex, national origin, non disqualifying physical or mental handicap, age, or any other non merit factor. THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. All applicants will be rated on the extent and quality of experience and education relevant to the duties of the position. Applicants who do not respond to the application questions and/or do not submit a supporting resume will be rated ineligible.

In compliance with the OPM Merit Hiring Plan requirements, please be advised that candidates will not be evaluated, selected or hired based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin. 

Optional Four Essay Questions

At the time of application, applicants have the option of answering the following four short, free-response essay questions.

1. How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience.
2. In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes.
3. How would you help advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.
4. How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples, and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position.

Applicants will be required to certify that they are using their own words, and did not use a consultant or AI (such as a large language model [LLM]). The responses to each question cannot exceed 200 words per question.

Please note your resume must thoroughly support your responses to the vacancy questions. There are several parts to the application process that affect the overall evaluation of your application including:

1. supplemental documentation (e.g., DD-214, SF-50, SF-15, transcripts); and

2. your resume.

Applicants will be rated ineligible, if they do not respond to job specific questions provide supplemental documents and submit resume. For more information, please click on Rating Process

SME REVIEW

Subject matter experts will review your application to determine if you meet the following required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's):

• Leadership
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Oral Communication
• Problem Solving
• Strategic Thinking

If you are deemed to be qualified by the Subject Matter Experts, your application will be referred to the hiring manager for hiring consideration. Alternatively, if your application is not deemed as qualified by the Subject Matter Experts, your application will not be referred to the hiring manager for hiring consideration.