"FEMA-19-JDS-300044-ATTY" Vacancy Details

About

Overview

Hiring Path:

• Open to the public

Who May Apply/Clarification From the Agency:

This announcement will close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) (Tuesday, 6/4/2019)

This Job is open to: U.S. Citizens

Security Clearance Required:

Other

Appointment Type

Permanent

Marketing Statement:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling on those who want to help protect American interests and secure our Nation. DHS Components work collectively to prevent terrorism; secure borders and our transportation systems; protect the President and other dignitaries; enforce and administer immigration laws; safeguard cyberspace; and ensure resilience to disasters. We achieve these vital missions through a diverse workforce spanning hundreds of occupations. Make an impact; join DHS.

Summary:

This position is located within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Office of Chief Counsel, located in Washington, DC.  This position starts at a salary of $137,849 (GS-15). Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Office of Chief Counsel team within FEMA.

View common definitions of terms found in this announcement.

Supervisory Position:

Yes

Relocation Expenses Reimbursed:

No

Travel Required:

Occasional Travel

occasional non-emergency travel required

Duties

When disaster strikes, America looks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit www.fema.gov for additional information.

EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT: Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions. 

In this position, you will serve as a supervisory attorney under the immediate supervision of the Associate Chief Counsel for Mission Support Law. Typical assignments include:

• Supervising a cohesive team of dedicated and talented attorneys who provide legal services related to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Privacy Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, the E-Government Act, the Clinger-Cohen Act, the Federal Information Security Management Act, and authorities governing FEMA information technology systems


• Reviewing withholdings, denials, appeals, and the invocation of exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act, and makes recommendations to release or withhold agency records and information under other applicable authorities


• Serving as primary legal advisor to FEMA to ensure compliance with these authorities


• Supporting the Department of Justice in representing FEMA in the federal courts, participates in settlement negotiations, and makes settlement recommendations in accordance with applicable directives or policies


• Participating in making recommendations for legislation, regulations or changes in existing policies, practices, and agency issuances to cure or eliminate problems

Qualifications and Evaluations

Requirements:

Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below.

Key Requirements:

You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.

You must successfully pass a background investigation.

Selective Service registration is required.

Financial disclosure is required.

Proof of law degree and bar membership is required.

Please review "Other Information" section for additional key requirements.

Education Requirements:

Evaluations:

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualification requirements listed above. We will review the information and materials you provide to evaluate whether you meet the basic qualification and eligibility requirements for this position.

Applicants who meet the qualifications for the position and submit a resume and law school transcript will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration.

This vacancy is being advertised/filled under the authority of Title 5 of the United States Code, the Schedule A authority for attorneys (5 CFR § 213.3102(d)), and FEMA’s Attorney Hiring and Promotion Plan.  Veterans’ Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to positions filled under these authorities. This vacancy will result in an Excepted Service appointment. 

Qualifications:

The qualifications listed below must be met within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

All applicants must possess the following:

1) A J.D. or LL.B. degree from an ABA accredited law school; and

2) An active membership, in good standing, of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

In addition to the requirements above you qualify for this position at the GS-15 level (starting salary $137,849) if you possess the following:

1) at least five (5) years of legal experience. Legal experience means experience in which the candidate’s job duties required the provision of legal advice or representation, and which required the candidate to be an active member in good standing of the bar of any state or territory, or the District of Columbia;

2) at least two (2) years of federal court litigation experience, which may include experience providing litigation support to the Department of Justice in litigation in the federal courts, or supervising other attorneys providing such support; and

3) at least four (4) years of specialized experience providing legal advice and/or representation on complex FOIA, Privacy, information law, and/or information technology law issues (two of the four years of specialized experience must be at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to that of an attorney at the GS-14 level)

4) at least 2 years of supervisory 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 provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

NOTE: Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. For a brief video on How to Create a Federal Resume, click here.

Current or former FEMA Reservists/DAE employees: To accurately credit your experience for these intermittent positions, make sure to list the dates (from MM/YY to MM/YY) of each deployment, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.  Failure to provide this information may result in disqualification.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 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. 

Benefits and Other Info

Benefits URL:

Review our Benefits

Agency Benefits:

DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including: health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays. Other benefits may include: flexible work schedules; telework; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select “Benefits.” Disabled veteran leave will be available to any Federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more.

Other Information:

• To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Public Trust clearance as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined (Mythbuster), review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit the OPM website at https://www.opm.gov/investigations/background-investigations/.


• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.


• DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.


• This announcement may be used to fill one or more vacancies.


• Relocation expenses are not authorized for this position.


• All candidates must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time.


• A one year trial period is required unless already completed.


• If selected for this position, and you have not previously completed these requirements, you are subject to (1) completion of a 2 day onboarding program at your primary duty location; and, (2) completion of a subsequent, multiple day orientation program within 90-120 days of hire, at a location to be determined.  Travel associated with the orientation portion of this requirement may be at FEMA’s expense.


• The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.


• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card.


• This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position.

How to Apply

How to Apply:

To begin your online application, click the Apply Online button and follow the prompts to register or sign into USAJOBS, take the online questionnaire, and submit the required documents. See Required Documents section for more detail.

We strongly encourage you to apply online. If you cannot apply online or do not have access to the internet (e.g., applicant experiencing documented system issues, applicant does not have access to the internet, etc.), you may be able to submit a paper application and the required forms.  To do so, please contact the Human Resources Specialist listed in the Agency Contact Information prior to the close of this announcement.

Required Documents:

1. Your resume.
2. Your responses to the job questionnaire -You will be directed to the online job questionnaire once you begin the application process for this position. 
3. Are you qualifying based on education? Submit a copy of your college transcript (unofficial is acceptable) or a list of coursework with hours completed. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. For example, specific courses accepted for college-level credit by an accredited U.S. college or university, or foreign education evaluated by an organization recognized for accreditation by the Department of Education as education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. college or university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications for more information. [Remove this bullet if it is not applicable]
4. Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)?  Submit: 
   
   • a copy of your agency notice,
   • a copy of your most recent performance rating, and
   • a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, noting your current position, grade level, and duty location.
5. Are you a current or former federal employee? Submit a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action.
6. Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee? Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:
   
   • Position Title
   • Type of Appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee)
   • Agency
   • Beginning and ending dates of appointment
7. A copy of your law school transcript (unofficial is acceptable).
8. Proof of current, active bar membership (i.e. letter of good standing).

Next Steps:

Once you submit your application, we will assess your experience and training, identify the qualified applicants, and refer those applications to the hiring manager for further consideration and interviews. We will notify you by email after each of these steps has been completed. We expect to make a tentative job offer within 30 days after the deadline for applications. If you are selected, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation.

View more information on applying for federal employment.

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders. interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring.  These authorities are subject to change.

Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.