This position is located in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of General Counsel (OGC). The incumbent is responsible for planning, directing, and supervising the work of a professional staff and furnishes legal, legislative, and litigation services in assigned subject-matter areas to the Secretary, other top officials, and program personnel of the Department, and cooperatively to other Government agencies, including the Department of Justice.
Duties
The position is located in the Office of General Counsel's Benefits Law Group and reports to the Deputy General Counsel for Veterans Programs. The responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Provide legal advice and assistance to senior department officials.
- Supervise, coordinate, and review provision of legal advice and assistance by OGC legal staff on a wide range of complex subjects.
- Lead legal staff in developing and implementing strategies to support VA's legislative program, defend VA policies in litigation, and assist clients in assessing legally available options and associated risks.
- Develop, oversee, and implement work processes to effectively manage a high volume of varied legal work and overlapping deadlines related to litigation, legislation, regulations, and Departmental and Administration priorities.
- Maintain effective liaison with officials in colleague and stakeholder organizations, including Congress, Office of Management and Budget, Department of Justice, Department of Defense, Veterans Service Organizations, and courts.
- Develop, review, and implement plans to ensure effective execution of legal and operational tasks related to OGC's Accreditation, Discipline, and Fees program, to include processing applications, issuing decisions, and investigating complaints.
Salary
Conditions of Employment
- US citizenship is required.
- One year probationary period required for initial SES appointment.
- Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
- Incumbents of this position will be subject to a background investigation commensurate with the risk and sensitivity level of the position.
- Successful completion of drug screening required.
- Public Financial Disclosure Report (SF-278) is required within 30 days of appointment.
- May be subject to reassignment geographically or organizationally.
- VA structures its SES positions into pay bands. This is a Pay Band 2 position. The maximum salary for Pay Band 2 is $214,300. Exceptions to the cap may be made in some circumstances.
- License. MUST be a member in good standing of the bar of a State or Territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia.
Qualifications
To meet the minimum qualifications, applicants must possess the following technical and executive core qualifications. These qualifications would typically be gained through progressively responsible management or executive level assignments such as director of a regional office, medical facility, or program manager. An individual's total experience, education, and volunteer work experience must demonstrate the ability to perform the duties of the position.
MANDATORY EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs)
All applicants must submit a written narrative response to each of the following ECQs and include your name on each page. Your narrative must address each ECQ separately and demonstrate the underlying competencies in the narrative. Examples should be clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities; the scope and complexity of the programs, activities, or services you managed; program accomplishments; policy initiatives undertaken; level of contacts; the sensitivity and criticality of the issues you addressed; and the results of your actions. You should use action-oriented leadership words to describe your experience and accomplishments and quantify your experience wherever possible to demonstrate your accomplishments (e.g., number of employees supervised; size of budget managed; amount of money saved, etc.). Applicants should use the Challenge, Context, Action, and Results (CCAR) model below when responding to each ECQ:
- Challenge: Describe a specific problem or goal.
- Context: Describe the individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to address a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale, etc).
- Action: Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge.
- Result: Give specific examples of measures/outcomes that had some impact on the organization. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills.
TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION (TQ)
In addition, all applicants must submit a written narrative response to the following specific TQ(s). Please label and include your name on each page. Please give examples and explain how often you used your skills, the complexity of the knowledge possessed, the level of people you interacted with, the sensitivity of the issues you handled managing a large public or private sector organization that administers complex, rules-based benefits or services, etc. It is recommended that you draft your TQ(s) in a word document and then upload into the system.
- TQ1: Ability to perform and supervise all legal work related to the operation of veterans' benefits programs administered by VA, to include performing legal research, conducting litigation, crafting persuasive written analyses and arguments, drafting legislation and regulations, assessing risk, and advising non-attorney clients in matters relating to the substantive and procedural requirements in the following subject-matter areas:
- Disability Compensation
- Pension
- Dependency and Indemnity Compensation
- Education Benefits
- Veteran Readiness & Employment
- Insurance
- Fiduciary Matters
- Transition Assistance
- Cemetery Operations & Memorial Benefits
- Accreditation of Representatives
- Attorney Fee Reviews
- Complaints & Discipline Regarding Representatives
Other Information
Veteran Preference does not apply to the Senior Executive Service.
Drug Testing: All applicants tentatively selected for VA Senior Executive Service employment in any position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
Incumbents of this position will be subject to a background investigation commensurate with the risk and sensitivity level of the position.
Required Documents
A complete application for this position includes the following items:
- Resume not to exceed 5 pages;
- Written narrative response to address each Technical Qualification(s) not to exceed 2 pages each;
- Written narrative responses to address each Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) not to exceed 2 pages each for a total of 10 pages;
- Proof of non-competitive eligibility (if applicable ). Proof consists of an SF-50 showing career status in the SES and proof of certification of your Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) administered Qualifications Review Board (QRB).
- Proof of Licensure: An applicant MUST be a member in good standing of the bar of a State or Territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia.
Non-Competitive Consideration
You are considered a non-competitive applicant if you are a current career Senior Executive, graduate of a Senior Executive Service (SES) Candidate Development Program (CDP) or an individual with SES reinstatement eligibility and your ECQs have been certified by the OPM QRB. You may be considered non-competitively for appointment to this position if you meet the mandatory technical qualifications requirements.
Non-competitive applicants do not need to submit ECQ narratives but you must clearly state your status in your resume and submit a written narrative response to the Technical Qualification(s); not more than 2 pages per each TQ with a font size no smaller than 12 points. Proof of non-competitive eligibility is required. The agency has the option of considering you non-competitively or including you in the competitive process.
How to Apply
Your complete application must be received by 11:59 pm EST on the closing date, 09/19/2024 in order for you to be considered. Please read all instructions before you begin.
To begin click the Apply Online button and follow the prompts to register and submit all required documents. To return to your saved application, log in to your USAJOBS account at and click on "Application Status". Click on the position title and select Apply Online to continue.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Learn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
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