This position is designed as a SES, Career-Reserved. USDA structures its SES positions into position levels. This is a position level two with a salary range of $198,538 to $210,220 per year. Exceptions to the salary cap may be considered in certain circumstances. SES employees are also eligible to receive bonuses and performance-based awards. Visit http://www.opm.gov/ses/ for additional information and benefits for SES employees.

Duties

Supervises and manages the Division's legal work for APHIS, FSIS, and AMS programs including legal counsel and litigation support in connection with the enforcement of its laws and regulations, and various regulatory programs. Responsible for the management and supervision of the Marketing, Regulatory and Food Safety Programs Division which provides a full range of legal services to various USDA agencies. Legal services include the drafting and reviewing legislation, regulations, and other documents, prosecuting and defending Federal court and administrative litigation, and providing formal and informal legal advice. These regulatory programs in APHIS include the agricultural quarantine inspection program, pest and disease control and eradication programs, import and export programs, biotechnology, the Animal Welfare Act and Horse Protection Act etc. Regulatory programs in FSIS include administering the Department's food safety regulatory programs under the meat, poultry, and egg products inspection laws. Provides legal support to AMS programs including Federal marketing agreement and order programs, the Agriculture Marketing Act, programs administered under the Packers and Stockyards Ace and the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. The incumbent is also responsible for special assignments from the General Counsel involving matters of considerable complexity, sensitivity, difficulty, and significance to the Department's programs. The incumbent provides legal advice and overall legal support to the Under Secretaries, agency administrators, and other senior officials who are responsible for the programs and activities of the Department described above. Provides legal advice and guidance, upon the direction of the General Counsel, with respect to all legal issues, procedures, and practices arising from the development of the Department's policies, operations in the above-described areas. In connection with programs and activities of these agencies, the incumbent manages the development and application of legal policies, and supervises a staff of attorneys who draft, review, and approve regulations. Develops new legal procedures, instruments, and documents, prepares proposed legislation for recommendation to Congress, and uniform State legislation for recommendation to State governments. Supervises and gives administrative and technical advice to subordinate managers, and attorneys performing all legal services, including those involving administrative, civil, and criminal litigation, relating to the activities stated above. Shares with the General Counsel the responsibility for the formulation of overall policies of the Office of the General Counsel with respect to legal activities, organization, budget, and personnel.

Requirements

• Veterans Preference is not applicable in the Senior Executive Service.
• Initial appointments are required to serve a 1-year probationary period.
• Narrative Statements for the ECQs must not exceed 10 pages.
• Background Investigation required.
• Must maintain an active bar license of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Qualifications

YOU MUST UPLOAD YOUR RESPONSES TO THE EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs) AND TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (TQs). As a basic requirement for entry into the SES, applicants must provide evidence of progressively responsible executive leadership and supervisory experience that is indicative of senior executive level management capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under Executive Core Qualifications and Technical Qualifications listed below. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-14/15 grade level in the federal service or its equivalent in the private sector. As such, your resume should demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully fulfill responsibilities inherent in most SES positions such as: - Directing the work of an organizational unit; - Ensuring the success of one or more specific major programs or projects; - Monitoring progress toward strategic organizational goals, evaluating organizational performance and taking action to improve performance; and - Supervising the work of employees; and exercising important policy-making, policy determining, or other executive functions. Failure to meet the basic qualification requirement and address all Mandatory Technical and Executive Core Qualification factors will result in your application being disqualified. EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs): The ECQs were designed to assess executive experience and potential not technical expertise. They measure whether an individual has the broad executive skills needed to succeed in a variety of SES positions. All applicants must submit a written narrative to address the ECQs. Your narrative must address each ECQ separately and should contain at least two examples per ECQ describing your experiences and accomplishments/results. The narrative should be clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities, scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments, policy Initiatives undertaken and the results of your actions. Applicants should not enter "Refer to Resume" to explain your answer. The narrative must not exceed 10 pages. NOTE: Current career SES members, former career SES members with reinstatement eligibility, and SES Candidate Development Program graduates who have been certified by OPM do NOT need to address the ECQs. 1. Leading Change: This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment. (Competencies: creativity and innovation, external awareness, flexibility, resilience, strategic thinking, vision) 2. Leading People: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organizations vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts. (Competencies: conflict management, leveraging diversity, developing others, team building) 3. Results Driven: This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks. (Competencies: accountability, customer service, decisiveness, entrepreneurship, problem solving, technical credibility) 4. Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. (Competencies: financial management, human capital management, technology management) 5. Building Coalitions: This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals. (Competencies: partnering, political savvy, influencing/negotiating) Fundamental Competencies: These competencies are the foundation for success in each of the Executive Core Qualifications: Interpersonal Skills, Oral Communication, Continual Learning, Written Communication, Integrity/Honesty, Public Service Motivation. The Fundamental Competencies are crosscutting; and should be addressed over the course of each ECQ narratives. It is not necessary for you to address the Fundamental Competencies directly as long as the narrative, in its totality, shows mastery of these competencies on the whole. Applicants are encouraged to follow the Challenge, Context, Action and Result (C-C-A-R) model outlined in the guide. 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). 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. Additional information about the SES and Executive Core Qualifications can be found on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) SES Website. You are strongly encouraged to review OPMs Guide to SES Qualifications for specific examples and guidance on writing effective ECQ narrative statements. MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (TQs): All applicants must submit a written narrative response to the following TQs. You must address each TQ separately. Each TQ narrative must not exceed two (2) pages. Please give examples and explain the complexity of the knowledge possessed and the sensitivity of the issued you handled. Demonstrated ability to analyze complex legal problems and make sound decisions. Substantial knowledge of and demonstrated experience with USDA and/or Federal regulatory programs, including demonstrated experience with administrative law and procedure and the development and implementation of regulations. Substantial knowledge of and demonstrated experience in handling and supervising litigation in the Federal courts and before administrative bodies.

Education

A professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) from an accredited law school, Law School transcript required AND active membership of the bar in good standing in any state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Contacts

• Address Office of the General Counsel 1400 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20250 US
• Name: Michelle Williams
• Phone: 202-791-8477
• Email: [email protected]