With an emphasis on high ethical standards, excellence in public service and the delivery of superlative advice and counsel, DOI Solicitor's Office performs the legal work for the United States Department of the Interior and manages the Departmental Ethics Office and Departmental FOIA Office. With more than five hundred employees, more than four hundred of which are attorneys, the Office strives to provide sound legal services to fulfill the Department's diverse and wide-ranging mission.

Duties

This position is located in the Division of Water Resources Office and will work closely with the National Park Service (NPS) Water Resources Division water rights program. The position will 1) evaluate vulnerabilities of NPS water rights, 2) develop legal strategies for acquiring and protecting water rights to enhance the resilience of NPS water resources in addressing climate change concerns and development pressures, 3) collaborate with NPS Water Resources Division to apply select legal strategies on behalf of parks, and 4) document preferred methods for quantifying, securing, and protecting ecosystem water rights and methods This is a temporary position for a four-year term. At the full performance level of GS-14 the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Qualification Requirements Applicants must be law school graduates with LL.B. or J.D. degrees AND applicants must be an active member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar. Applicants must also meet one of the following:--possess at least 1-year of professional legal experience following law school graduation; OR--have a second professional law degree; OR--meet any of the criteria indicated below:(a) academic standing in top one-third of law school graduating class;(b) graduation with academic honors;(c) significant participation on the law school's law review;(d) significant participation in the law school's moot court competition;(e) significant participation in a clinical legal aid program;(f) significant summer law office clerk experience; or(g) other equivalent evidence of clearly superior achievement. GS-13/14: In addition to meeting the basic qualification requirements described above, applicants must also have the following additional years of professional legal experience for the grade level indicated: --GS-13 = 2 years --GS-14 = 3 ½ years 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. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. In order to better assess your qualifications for this position, when preparing your cover letter please address your experience and familiarity with the following area of the law: State water right statutes, regulations, and policies (especially for states in the western United States), administrative and judicial procedures for permitting, adjudicating, and administering state water right claims, state water right records and electronic databases, NEPA, and ESA. Additionally, please highlight your experience in providing legal analysis, evaluation, and guidance on water resource-related matters. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website:https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

Education: If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide transcripts as proof of meeting the requirements.

Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

Contacts

• Address
• Name: Veronica Nunez
• Email: [email protected]