Assistant General Counsel - USDA OGC (Washington, D.C.)

Job Title:Assistant General Counsel

Department:Department Of Agriculture

Agency:Office of the General Counsel

Job Announcement Number:AG-14-2014-0007

SALARY RANGE:	$119,554.00 to $179,700.00 / Per Year
OPEN PERIOD:	Tuesday, November 19, 2013 to Monday, December 23, 2013
SERIES & GRADE:	ES-0905-00
POSITION INFORMATION:	Full Time - Permanent
PROMOTION POTENTIAL: 0
DUTY LOCATIONS:	1 vacancy - Washington DC, DC View Map
WHO MAY APPLY:	All groups of qualified individuals

JOB SUMMARY:

The closing date has been extended until December 23, 2013. 

The Senior Executive Service (SES) is comprised of the men and women charged with leading the continuing transformation of government. These leaders possess well-honed executive skills and share a broad perspective of government and a public service commitment which is grounded in the Constitution.

This position is in the SES, General. Positions in the SES are not graded. SES employees are also eligible for bonuses and awards based on performance. Veteran's preference is not applicable to the SES. Selectee is subject to a one-year probationary period, unless currently serving under an SES appointment. Visit http://www.opm.gov/ses/for additional information and benefits for SES employees.

If you would like to work for a premier agency that is focused on enhancing the quality of life for the American people by supporting production of agriculture: ensuring a safe, affordable, nutritious, and accessible food supply; caring for agricultural, forest, and range lands; supporting sound development of rural communities; providing economic opportunities for farm and rural residents; expanding global markets for agricultural and forest products and services; and working to reduce hunger in America and throughout the world, USDA is the place for you. To learn more about our agency, our exciting mission, vision, and guiding principles, please visit http://www.usda.gov

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to qualify for this position
• You must be able to obtain/ maintain a background investigation
• This position may be subject to random drug testing

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DUTIES:

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The incumbent serves as Assistant General Counsel responsible for assisting in managing and supervising the Marketing, Regulatory and Food Safety Programs Division, providing legal support to the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). Legal support provided to AMS is critical to the proper administration of programs that facilitate the efficient and fair marketing of U.S. agricultural products, including food, fiber, and specialty crops. AMS programs include: Dairy; Fruit and Vegetable; Livestock, Poultry and Seed; Cotton and Tobacco; the National Organic Program; Science and Technology, and transportation and marketing. APHIS is a multi-faceted Agency with a broad mission area that includes protecting and promoting U.S. agricultural health, regulating genetically engineered organisms, administering the Animal Welfare Act and carrying out wildlife damage management activities. Legal support to these efforts impacts the overall mission of USDA to protect and promote food, agriculture, natural resources and related matters. Finally, the incumbent provides legal support to GIPSA, a USDA agency that facilitates the marketing of livestock, poultry, meat, cereals, oilseeds and related agricultural products, and promotes fair and competitive trading practices for the overall benefit of consumers and American agriculture. The incumbent supervises the provision of a full range of legal services to all of these agencies and programs, including the drafting and review of legislation, regulations, and other documents, the provision of both formal and informal legal advice, assisting the Department of Justice with the prosecution and defense of Federal cases, and conducting administrative litigation for the Department of Agriculture. Finally, the incumbent is responsible for completing special assignments from the Associate General Counsel involving matters of considerable complexity, sensitivity, difficulty, and significance to the Department's marketing, regulatory, and food safety programs.

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QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

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As a basic requirement for entry into the SES, applicants must provide evidence of progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior executive level managerial capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under Mandatory Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications.

Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-15 grade level in the Federal service, or its equivalent with state or local government, the private sector, or non- governmental organizations. Your resume needs to emphasize your level of responsibilities, the scope and complexity of programs managed, and your program accomplishments, including the results of your actions.  

Failure to meet the basic qualification requirement and all Mandatory Technical and Executive Core Qualification factors automatically disqualifies an applicant.

You must have a professional law degree (LL.B or J.D.) and be an active member of the bar of any state, the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

You must be able to obtain/ maintain a background investigation

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HOW TO APPLY:

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Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin.

You must complete the application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Assistance is available during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday - Friday). Applying online is highly encouraged. If applying online poses a hardship, please contact our office well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship hard-copy application packages with supporting documents must be received no later than noon on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.

 You can apply for this position via on-line submission. Your online application must include the following documents:

1. Resume  

2. Responses to the Mandatory Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications.  

3. Supporting Documentation (See required documents for more information)

Candidates who do not submit complete application packages as indicated will not be considered.

Please be sure to remove all PII (e.g. SSN & DOB) from all documents.

Spell out Acronyms the first time used.

Applicants who cannot apply on-line, please mail or fax applications to the Agency Contact listed in the vacancy announcement.

Critical Submission Requirements and Reminders

1. Application and supporting documentation will not be accepted via e-mail. 

2. Please be sure to click both (FINISHED) buttons when completing your on-line application. 

3. Our online application system is 100% compatible with Internet Explorer (IE) version 5.0 and above.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

A complete application package will require the submission of:

1. Resume, which must include all of the information listed below.

Vacancy announcement number

Full name, mailing and email addresses, day and evening telephone numbers

Country of citizenship

Information about your paid and nonpaid work experience related to this position including; job title, duties and accomplishments , employer's name and address, supervisor name and phone number, duration of employment, and salary and hrs per week

Educational information, including the name, city and state of colleges or universities attended, major as well as the type of degree received

Information about honors, awards, and special accomplishments

2. Responses to the Executive Core Qualifications

Submit a Supplemental Applicant Statement which addresses EACH of the ECQs separately. Please include your name and the vacancy announcement number on each page of the supplemental applicant statement. The purpose of this statement is to provide you, as an applicant, the opportunity to elaborate on your experience, training, and specifically, significant achievements which relates to the ECQs being used to identify the best qualified candidates for this vacancy. DO NOT simply repeat entries from other parts of your application package.

Please provide complete responses to the executive core qualifications. When addressing the five ECQs the total length of your statement must not exceed 10 pages (no more than 2 pages per ECQ) using 1 inch margins and a 12 point font.

An ECQ statement may include one or two examples of relevant experience. The number of examples is not as important as assuring that your experience matches the ECQ criteria, but please try to limit examples to a maximum of two to ensure a clear and concise narrative that flows.

Please provide your examples using the C-C-A-R Model(Challenge/Context/Action/Results), as described below:

a. Challenge: Describe a specific problem or goal.

b. Context: Describe the individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked to tackle a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale.)

c. Action: Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge

d. Results: Give specific examples of the results of your actions. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills. Examples of the CCAR model the preferred method of writing your ECQs can be found at: http://www.opm.gov/ses/references/GuidetoSESQuals_2012.pdf

3. Responses to the Mandatory Technical Qualifications

Submit a Supplemental Narrative Statement which addresses EACH of the Mandatory Technical Qualifications individually. Your narrative responses must not exceed two (2) pages using 1 inch margins and a 12 point font per Technical Qualification.

4. Supporting Documentation

If you are a Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program graduate, submit proof of the Office of Personnel Management's certification and a narrative statement addressing only the mandatory technical qualifications.

If you are a current or former SES member, submit documentation of SES status and a narrative statement addressing only the mandatory technical qualifications. For documentation, you must submit a copy of your Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing your position, title, series, grade, and tenure.

Please be sure to include the announcement number on your application. Also, please omit your social security number from all pages of your application.

5. Submit proof of valid and active membership in good standing of any state, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

6. DO NOT submit any additional information, extraneous materials will not be considered.

AGENCY CONTACT INFO:

Rhonda Pratt
Phone: (301) 504-4424
Fax: (202) 720-0027
Email: Rhonda.Pratt@dm.usda.gov

Agency Information:
USDA/DM/ERO
5601 Sunnyside Ave, GWCC Rm 2-2149J
Beltsville, MD,
20705
USA
Fax: (202) 720-0027

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT:

Applicants who meet the mandatory requirements in items A (Executive Core Qualifications), and B (Mandatory Technical Qualifications) above will be considered qualified for this position. Rating and ranking to determine the 'best qualified' will be conducted by a panel of experts and will be based upon consideration of the degree to which applicants meet the mandatory requirements as described in the announcement. Interviews and qualifications inquiries may be required.

The Executive Core Qualifications of the selectee are subject to prior approval by the Office of Personnel Management Qualifications Review Board (QRB). Unless you have already been certified by an OPM QRB in the past, your ECQs must be certified by an OPM QRB before appointment can occur. When reviewing Executive Core Qualifications Statements, the QRB is looking for experience as well as specific challenges, actions, and results.