Attorney Advisor

Summary

This position is located in the Office of General Counsel, Department of the CEO.

Duties

• Serves as an Attorney Advisor, responsible for providing legal support and advice to Corporation for National and Community Service (AmeriCorps) national service programs, offices, and functions, on a range of legal matters in a collaborative, fast-paced and complex environment.
• Provides expert legal counsel and advice to AmeriCorps staff on enterprise-wide questions of law and policy, frequently on complex and time-sensitive matters.
• With minimum supervision, serves as legal counsel for AmeriCorps major programmatic and/or functional segments (offices), providing advice and counsel on questions of law and administrative policy.
• Plans and carries out legal research, and prepares written memoranda, advisory opinions, correspondence, and litigation reports, and represents the agency in administrative litigation.
• Counsels and advises on AmeriCorps policies concerning program and operational activities, decisions and/or actions to ensure that they are legally sufficient and do not exceed AmeriCorps discretionary parameters.
• Works on mission-critical projects, including complex legal matters and agency top priorities, under limited supervision.
• Monitors the implementation of the legal policies and procedures.
• Analyzes and researches the implications of laws, regulations, and policies, that may affect the organization.

Education

Education for this position is a requirement and applicants must possess a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree or equivalent degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school. NOTE: You must submit an unofficial copy of your law school transcript. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. educational standards. Failure to provide this material or evidence will result in your receiving no further consideration.

Documentation required to validate qualifications received by the closing date of this announcement. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement.) Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified. Please reference General Schedule Qualification Standards (opm.gov) 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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above. The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria: Oral Communication Reasoning Self – Management Writing Important Note: Your resume must support your answers to the job specific questions. High self-assessment on the Occupational Questionnaire that is not supported by the information in your resume or supporting documents can/will result in elimination from further consideration. If you do not answer all of the job specific questions you will not be considered.

Incomplete applications (resume and required supporting documents) will be considered ineligible. Qualified applicants will be placed in one of the following three categories: 1 – Qualified Category – Meets the minimum qualification requirements as described in the Qualifications section of this announcement. 2 – Well Qualified Category – Meets the minimum qualification requirements and demonstrates proficiency based on the answers to the job specific questions. 3 – Best Qualified Category – Meets the minimum qualification requirements and demonstrates high level proficiency based on the answers to the job specific questions. NOTE: Status candidates will be considered under the provisions of the agency’s Human Resources system which allows for: 1) Non-competitive referral of lateral candidates; and 2) The separation of status and non-status applicants for referral purposes. Status candidates will be referred on one selection list only, i.e., either merit promotion or non-competitive.

Non-status candidates who are eligible for Noncompetitive referral, e.g. Peace Corps, VRA, etc., will be referred under Noncompetitive procedures only. For Noncompetitive categories, See “Special Employment Consideration” below under “Other Information.”

Required Documents

Resume showing relevant experience (cover letter optional); Unofficial transcript (if qualifying based on education): Veterans’ Preference Documentation (DD-214, VA Letter, and SF-15 if claiming 10-point preference; DD-214 if claiming 5-point preference), if applicable; For Merit Promotion Eligibility: SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (must indicate tenure and position occupied), if applicable; Documentation supporting eligibility for Non-Competitive appointment, e.g., Schedule A (severely disabled), eligible veterans (VRA or 30-percent or more disabled), VISTA, Peace Corps, etc., if applicable