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This position is located in the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Program Legal Group (PLG). OCR operates under the jurisdiction of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and their implementing regulations. OCR also enforces the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act.
Learn more about this agency01/23/2019 to 01/23/2019
$96,970 - $148,967 per year
GS 13 - 14
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Occasional travel - Some travel by car and air may be required.
No
Permanent
Full-Time
Excepted
14
No
No
OCR-HQ-2019-0004
522271600
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
Current excepted service federal employees.
This announcement is open to all U.S. citizens.
APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 50 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 50th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first.
We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.
PLG attorneys provide policy and legal guidance and information to the Assistant Secretary and the civil rights compliance and enforcement program that supports the missions of the Department and OCR, and OCR's Strategic Plan.
As a General Attorney (Civil Rights), GS-0905-13, you will be responsible for:
• Performs or participates in a variety of activities related to providing legal services and policy guidance for OCR under the various legal authorities.
• Reviews the Department's and other agencies' proposed regulations and proposed legislation that may affect OCR's regulations and enforcement activities to ensure conformance with civil rights requirements. Assignments may involve legal and policy matters of moderate complexity. As appropriate, prepares memoranda or assists other components in preparing comments on proposed regulations or legislation that may affect compliance with civil rights requirements. Assignments may involve legal and policy matters of moderate complexity.
• Assists Enforcement Division staff in interpreting legal standards and regulations and in applying OCR policy in the conduct of complaint investigations compliance reviews, proactive compliance activities, monitoring and other compliance related activities.
• Develops and presents training to team members on issues of moderate complexity, statutory and regulatory standards, changes in case law, new policy decisions, investigatory techniques, negotiation skills and other case development issues.
As a General Attorney (Civil Rights), GS-0905-14, you will be responsible for:
• Serves as a legal and policy advisor to the Assistant Secretary (AS), the Deputy Assistant Secretaries (DAS's), the Enforcement Directors (EDs), the PLG Director and Deputy Director, and serves as an expert resource for other managers within OCR. In conjunction with the Enforcement Divisions, formulates responses to policy-related requests of significant complexity from the Secretary, Congress, and other individuals or organizations. Provides legal and policy advice to other OCR components in preparing such responses.
• Develops or reviews, as requested by the Assistant Secretary or the Enforcement Divisions, policy issuances, legal standards, legal memoranda, guidelines, and proposed regulations pertaining to civil rights compliance, the conduct of investigations and compliance reviews, and the provision of technical assistance, identifies the need for new or revised legal standards and policies. Reviews the Department's and other agencies' regulations and proposed legislation to determine the potential effect on OCR's regulations and enforcement activities and to ensure conformance with civil rights requirements. Develops policy issuances, guidelines, and legal standards for OCR Enforcement Divisions the Department, recipients of Federal financial assistances and the general public. Assignments may involve legal and policy matters of significant complexity.
• Develops and presents training, training materials and manuals and presents training to team members and other OCR staff on significant policy and legal issues, complex statutory and regulatory standards, changes in case law, new policy developments, and other related matters.
You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.
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. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.
Specialized Experience for the GS-13
One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 performing all three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
1. Experience evaluating the legal adequacy of legal policy issues.
2. Experience developing recommendations on program management and compliance.
3. Experience conducting extensive research to solve complex problems.
Specialized Experience for the GS-14
One year of experience equivalent to the GS-13 performing all three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:
1. Experience providing legal and policy advice that reflect extensive knowledge of Title VI, Title IX or Section 504, Age Discrimination Act, Title II of the ADA, and the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act, or other civil rights laws.
2. Experience serving as an authority on civil rights issues.
3. Experience coordinating and communicating on complex legal and policy issues.
Veterans’ Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email Iwork@ed.gov to schedule a session with a career counselor (“Veterans Counseling Session” should be placed in the subject line of the email).
Student Loan Default: If selected for this position, we will verify that you have not defaulted on any loan funded or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are found to be in default, we will contact you to make arrangements for repayment prior to making an official offer of employment.
Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for Federal employment and successfully complete a pre-appointment investigation/background check.
Financial Disclosure: This position does not require financial disclosure.
Telework: This position is telework eligible.
Selections: Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligibles and may fill a vacancy in the excepted service by any method authorized. We may make additional selections from this vacancy announcement, should vacancies occur. We may also share selection certificates amongst program offices across the agency.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
We will review your application and documentation submitted to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will refer the best qualified candidates to the Selecting Official of the job for further review and consideration. You will be evaluated to determine if you meet qualifications required, and on the extent to which your application shows that you possess the knowledge, skills and abilities associated with this position as defined below. Please be sure to give examples in your resume and explain how often you used these skills, the complexity of the knowledge you possessed, the level of people you interacted with, and the complexity and sensitivity of the issues you handled.
You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS):
•A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire.
•Proof of bar membership - i.e., providing a copy of a bar membership card
If you are claiming Veterans’ Preference you must submit:
•A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge, member copy 4 (Separated Members only); OR
•A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR
•The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference; AND/OR
•Proof of Sole Survivorship Preference (e.g., certificate of death or 100% disability as a result of serving in the armed forces).
Veteran's Preference:
Department of the Education attorney positions are in the excepted service, not the competitive civil service. There is no formal system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Education considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor for consideration in the attorney hiring process. If you are eligible for veterans' preference in hiring, you are encouraged to include that information in your application along with the supporting documentation, e.g., SF-15, DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other supporting documentation.
Please Note: If an applicant is deemed "Best Qualified" and is referred for this position a writing sample, transcript, and/or list of references may be required of selected applicants at later stages in the selection process.
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov.
Step 2: Create a resume using the USAJOBS resume builder or upload a resume into your USAJOBS account. Ensure that your resume demonstrates your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiates your responses to the occupational questionnaire.
Step 3: Upload any required documents into your USAJOBS account (must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX)).
Step 4: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire and attach any required documents. Verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the agency's hiring system. You will have the opportunity to upload any additional required documents in the agency's hiring system. Click “Finish” to submit your application.
NOTE: You may update your application or required documents at any time while the announcement is open by logging into your USAJOBS account, clicking on "Application Status," clicking on the position title, clicking "Update Application,” and following the prompts.
In order to receive consideration for this position, you must submit your complete application, including all required documents, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. If the vacancy announcement has an application limit, we recommend that you submit your complete application at the time of initial application. We will not accept any required documentation after the closing date of the vacancy announcement.
As an applicant, you may check your application status through your USAJOBS account at any time. We will also notify you via email of your application status at three key stages in the recruitment process.
1. Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will inform you that your application has been received.
2. After we review your submitted resume and supporting documentation, we will inform you if you are eligible and qualified, if your application was referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation, and if you were amongst the most highly qualified candidates referred to the selecting official.
3. Finally, we will inform you of your final disposition for this announcement (e.g., if/when a selection is made, if/when the announcement is cancelled).
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/522271600. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
This is an Excepted Service position. The job will be filled by alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive civil service. Applicants selected for an excepted service position are subject to a one-year trial period.
Join our Team! The U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), is looking for the best and brightest to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the nation.
