Summary
In this position, you will serve as an Attorney Advisor for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Office of Chief Counsel (OCC) and will be responsible for federal sector labor and employment law litigation before the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Apply for this exciting opportunity to become a member of the Office of Chief Counsel team within FEMA.
Duties
What will I do in this position if hired? In this position, you will serve as an Attorney Advisor for FEMA. Typical assignments include: Supporting the Department of Justice in developing and presenting litigation in the federal courts, or state and municipal courts. Independently litigating cases before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Merit Systems Protection Board, or other administrative forums and in labor arbitrations and/or alternative dispute resolution proceedings. Preparing documentary evidence and witness testimony in support of dispositive motions or trial; preparing declarations and affidavits and directing investigations for the purpose of developing additional evidence in pending litigation. Providing trainings on various employment matters. Reviewing and making recommendations on proposed employment actions. Reviewing and making recommendations on legislation, regulations, or changes in existing policies. What else do I need to know? EXCEPTED SERVICE: This is a Schedule Policy/Career position in the excepted service. At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management. 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.
Requirements
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 Moderate Risk as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a 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 (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations. 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. 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 required. Current federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements. You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card. You 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. Please review the Additional Information section for additional key requirements.
Education
Positive Education Requirement: This position has a positive education requirement, as outlined in the "requirements" section. You must submit a copy of your transcripts (unofficial are acceptable) with your online application. Once selected and prior to appointment, applicants must provide official college transcripts. 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. Visit the Department of Education's Recognition of Foreign Qualifications for more information.
How you will be evaluated
We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you meet the basic qualifications, your experience, education and training will be rated using USA Hire Assessment that is based on the following competencies needed to perform this job: Communication Customer Service Representing the Agency Teamwork & Collaboration Technical Proficiency Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Based on the review of your resume for the specialized experience required for this position and the results of the USA Hire Assessment, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview. We recommend that you review USA Hire Applicant Resource Center before you start the application process. We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process. https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13083706 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. After FEMA completes its hiring, the resumes of the remaining candidates referred for selection consideration may be shared with other DHS Components and other federal agencies. During the application process, you may choose to opt-in if you would like your name, application material, and assessment results to be shared. There is no guarantee of further consideration, and you continue to explore other job opportunity announcements.