LOCATION: The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of the Commissioner (OC), Office of Chief Counsel (OCC), Silver Spring, Maryland. Additional selections may be made from this vacancy within the same geographical area.

Duties

Review policies, procedures, regulations, and directives regarding programmatic and administrative matters of the agency. Engage in research of pertinent laws, legal opinions, and precedents for cases and other legal matters. Investigate facts, research issues, and prepares legal actions such as indictments, criminal complaints, search warrants, judgment, applications, notices, affidavits, summonses, subpoenas, and other legal documents. Work with a senior attorney in trial preparation, preparing exhibits, witness files, graphics, and litigation expenses. Assist discovery by analyzing requests for the production of documents and interrogatories. Composes memoranda requiring thorough knowledge of legal procedures and applicable forms. Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. citizen or national to be considered for appointment.
• Selective Service Registration: All applicants born male, on (or after) 12/31/1959, must be registered with the Selective Service System OR have an approved exemption. Visit www.SSS.gov for more info.
• FDA participates in e-Verify: All new hires must complete the I-9 form; this information will be processed through e-Verify to determine your employment eligibility. If a discrepancy arises, you must take affirmative steps to resolve the matter.
• Background Investigation Requirement: All employees must pass a security investigation. Failing to pass the background check may be grounds for removal or legal action. If hired, you may be subject to additional investigations at a later time.
• You must meet ALL requirements by the closing date of this announcement to be considered. Only education, experience, and qualifications attained by this date will be considered. You must continue to meet all requirements through the hiring process.
• Certification of Accuracy: All information concerning eligibility and qualification is subject to investigation and verification. False representation may be grounds for non-consideration, non-selection, or appropriate legal action.
• Direct Deposit: You will be required to have all federal salary payments electronically deposited into a bank account with a financial institution of your choice.
• Must have and maintain an overall 3.0 or higher GPA.
• Must sign FDA Pathways Program Participant Agreement.
• Bargaining Unit Position: No
• Pre-employment physical required: No
• Immunization and Drug testing required: No
• Financial disclosure statement may be required: No
• Must submit current school transcript and proof of current enrollment
• Recruitment incentives may be authorized: No
• Annual leave for non-federal service authorized: No.
• Mobility Agreement required: No
• License required: No
• Student loan repayment incentive authorized: No.
• Must be at least 16 years of age or older.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for the Pathways Internship Program, applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria and the qualification requirements corresponding to the grade level at which they wish to be considered by the closing date of the announcement: PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be accepted for enrollment or currently enrolled as a degree seeking student in an accredited vocational or technical institution, 2- or 4- year college/university or graduate/professional school; taking a minimum half-time load of courses; possessing and maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 on a scale of 4.0; and pursuing any of the following academic degrees: Vocational/Technical Certificate (two-year program) Associate's Degree Baccalaureate Degree Graduate Degree (Master's program) Professional Degree (Doctoral program) NOTE: Students MUST continue education Spring 2024 and Fall 2024 semester in order to be eligible for this summer intern appointment. Official transcripts are required upon selection and prior to appointment. Failure to submit the documentation will result in disqualification from further consideration. In addition to the eligibility requirements for the Pathways Internship Program, you must also meet the followings qualification requirements by 10/06/2023 in order to qualify for the Student Trainee (Legal), 0999, at GS - 7. GS-07: A. Meet the Superior Academic Achievement provision (S.A.A.) criteria. S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, based on completed courses. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed below. These honor societies are listed by the Association of College Honor Societies; -OR- B. Completion of one full academic year of graduate level education (18 semester/27 quarter units) at an accredited college or university related to legal studies. Note: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school you attended has determined to represent one year of study. If this information cannot be obtained from your school, we will consider 18 semester/27 quarter hours to be equal to one year of full-time study. Requirements must be met by the closing date of this job announcement and your transcript(s) submitted must reflect this. More information on the Pathways Programs for students interns can be found at: http://www.opm.gov/HiringReform/Pathways.

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Applicants using part, or all of their education completed outside of the U.S. to meet the qualification requirements, must have their foreign education evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that the foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the U.S. We will only accept the completed foreign credential evaluation.

To be acceptable, the foreign credential evaluation must include/describe at a minimum, the following information: (1) The type of education received by the applicant; (2) The level of education in relation to the U.S. education system, and state that its comparability recommendations follow the general guidelines of the International Evaluation Standards Council; (3) The content of the applicant's educational program earned abroad, and the standard obtained; (4) The status of the awarding foreign school's recognition and legitimacy in its home country's education system; and (5) Any other information of interest such as what the evaluation service did to obtain this information, the qualifications of the evaluator, and any indications as to other problems such as forgery. Note: Some positions require the completion of specific courses or a specified number of credit hours. Therefore, the foreign credential evaluation should provide information similar to that of an official transcript, to include a list of the courses taken, quarter and/or semester hours awarded, the cumulative grade point average (GPA), honors received, if any, date degree awarded.

Applicants can request an evaluation from a member organization of one of the two national associations of credential evaluation services listed below:

1. National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES)
2. Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE)

Credential evaluations are not free, and applicants are responsible for the cost of the selected service. For more information about this requirement, please visit the U.S. Department of Education website for Foreign Education Evaluation

SUBMITTING YOUR TRANSCRIPTS: Positions which are scientific or technical in nature often have very specific educational requirements. A transcript is required to verify educational achievement. Pay careful attention to the Qualifications and Education sections to identify vacancies where a transcript is required. Even if you hold a similar position or are a current employee, you are not exempt from transcript requirements.

Electronic Transcript Caution: If you have obtained your transcripts electronically, the file might contain security measures that could prevent our application system from reading the file. Therefore, you should consider asking the institution to provide the file in a non-secured electronic format. Alternatively, you could scan or take a photo of the printed copy of the transcript. If your uploaded transcript cannot be read by our system, you may receive consideration and credit for the information we can access.

See the Application Manager Documentation for tips on submitting your paper-based documents.

Contacts

• Address FDA Office of the Commissioner 10903 New Hampshire Ave Silver Spring, MD 20993 US
• Name: FDA Applicant Help Desk
• Phone: 866-807-3742
• Email: [email protected]