Attorney-Adviser (General)

About the role

About the Position: The duty station for this position is the Office of Counsel, Rock Island District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island, IL. The position will be filled at the GS-13 grade level and is an Excepted Service position. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is an equal opportunity employer.

The Corps is firmly committed to recruiting, developing, and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce where all employees are valued for their talents as members of the team.

What you will do

• Work under the general supervision of the Rock Island District Counsel and/or Deputy.
• Provide oral and written advice to Commander, Deputy Commander, and senior management officials.
• Work effectively with senior management officials and/or teams of diverse personnel in government and private industry, balancing customer program with legal goals and priorities, and to develop legal approaches to solving problems and issues.
• Furnish legal guidance, support, and services to operating officials regarding the following: Contract and procurement, environmental, federal regulatory, personnel administration, labor relations (union), real estate matters, and tort, admiralty, and administrative law.

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

For further information, visit: ***

How you will be evaluated

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

Basis for Rating: If eligible and meeting basic qualifications, your application package will be evaluated in conjunction with your résumé and supporting documents for the required knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of this position: Knowledge and/or experience of laws, regulations and procedures relating to: Contract, procurement and construction matters.

Real Estate matters, including acquisition, management and disposal. Environmental and Federal regulatory matters sufficient to advise operating officials on the impact of such statutes and regulations on studies, civil works projects and associated litigation. Personnel administration, Equal Employment Opportunity and labor relations (union) matters.

Tort and admiralty law, litigation and administrative law, including fiscal law, ethics and Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act.

Ability to work effectively with senior management officials and/or teams of diverse personnel in both government and private industry, to balance customer program with legal goals and priorities, and to develop legal approaches to solving problems and issues.

Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with diverse clients and constituencies on varied and complex topics. Veterans and Military Spouses will be considered along with all other candidates.

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment.

A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist for Public Announcements.

Documents you must provide

• As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply.
• If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.
• Your resume: Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
• Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
• For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement.
• If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood.
• The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.
• Other supporting documents: Cover Letter, optional Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable This position has an individual occupational requirement and/or allows for substitution of education for experience.
• If you meet this requirement based on education you MUST submit a copy of your transcript with your application package or you will be rated ineligible.
• See: Transcripts and Licenses This position requires a job-related license or certification.
• You MUST submit a copy of your license or certification with your application package or you will be rated ineligible.
• See: Transcripts and Licenses Time-in-grade documentation: If you are applying for a higher grade and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one year time-in-grade requirement so you will need to provide an SF-50 which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within-grade Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old).
• If you are a current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attorney, you MUST submit the following documents: Your latest non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50); A writing sample (Optional, Not Required) NOTE: Writing samples shall not exceed 10 pages Your 2 most recent Performance Appraisals 4.
• If you are NOT a current U.S. Army Corps of Engineers attorney, you MUST submit the following documents: Copy of law school transcripts AND an official statement of relative standing in your class, or official statement demonstrating the unavailability of class standing information (official copies will be required if selected and before placement); Certificate issued by the Bar Registrar or similar official showing that you are a member in good standing with the Bar of a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia, dated NO MORE THAN 90 days before the opening date of this announcement (a copy is sufficient for the application, but a certified copy may be necessary upon selection); A sworn statement, certifying that your fitness to practice law or your conduct as an attorney has never been challenged in any jurisdiction.
• This statement MUST be notarized, on a date NO MORE THAN 3 months before the opening date of this announcement.
• If your fitness to practice law or your conduct as an Attorney has been challenged in any jurisdiction, you must provide a notarized statement concerning the facts and circumstances, and any other explanation you deem appropriate.
• Three recent letters of recommendation, dated within 6 months of the opening date of this announcement from attorneys or the names of three professional references who are each members of the Bar of a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia A writing sample NOTE: Writing samples shall not exceed 10 pages.
• NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office.
• Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you.
• You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application.
• You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

What to expect next

If you provided an email address, you will receive an email message acknowledging receipt of your application. Your application package will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking for this position. If you are determined to be ineligible or not qualified, your application will receive no further consideration.

Additional information

Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.

You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.

This position requires a 2 year trial period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.

In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and interests; whether your continued employment supports organizational or Government goals; and whether it promotes the efficiency of the Federal service. Continued employment requires written certification that it advances the public interest. Direct Deposit of Pay is required.

This position requires you to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter. Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.

If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. This is a Legal Career Field position. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.

Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement. When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit *** for more information.

Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest. A Relocation, Recruitment, Student Loan Repayment, Advance in Hire or Advance Leave Accrual incentive may be authorized if it is in the best interest of the government.