Duties

As an Attorney Advisor, you will:

• Provide legal opinions and advice as appropriate, interpreting statutes, regulations, case law, departmental orders, agency circulars, and contracts, with particular emphasis on all legal matters under the responsibility of the General Law Division.

• Provide legal advice and support on complex or high-profile legal and policy issues requiring a high degree of creativity and competence to identify and resolve.

• In adversarial and adjudicative proceedings in which the incumbent may represent FTA—predominantly contracts and employment matters before administrative tribunals—the incumbent plans FTA’s litigation strategy, directs all discovery, and advocates on behalf of FTA through written and oral presentations.

The ideal candidate has experience advising and representing a federal agency on administrative matters, preferably with experience administering federal grants or advising and defending contracting activity subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• This is an Excepted Service position.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
• You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• TRIAL PERIOD: This is an Excepted Service position. This job will be filled by an alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive service. Applicants selected for an excepted service position may be subject to a two-year trial period.
• GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
• PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection and a service agreement may be required.
• The Division is responsible for: (1) internal administrative laws like Federal contracting, employment, FOIA, and ethics; and (2) requirements applicable to FTA’s multi-billion-dollar infrastructure grant programs, including the laws of federal financial assistance, administrative law, domestic preference laws like Buy America, and providing guidance for the public.

How You Will Be Evaluated

• 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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

  Review our 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.

• Required Documents

  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.

  All applicants must provide a resume created within USA Jobs Resume Builder.

  TRANSCRIPTS - Transcripts are REQUIRED as there is a stated education requirement for the series. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

  PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS/INCENTIVE AWARDS: If applicable, performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and will be forwarded to the selecting official as support in consideration of your application in the evaluation process. To receive credit, you must submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation dated within the last 18 months (i.e. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.).

  VETERANS: Your last DD214 (member 4 copy), Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, that shows the type of discharge and all dates of active duty is required to verify your eligibility. It need not be official.

  • If you are applying to a vacancy opened to all US Citizens under category rating and wish to be considered as a preference eligible, you need to submit a copy of your DD214 (member-4 copy).
  • If you are claiming preference eligibility as a disabled veteran, you must submit proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally a valid letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability. An SF-15 is desired, but not required.
  • If you are applying to a vacancy opened Status and you are requesting consideration under Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) (https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/shav/#veoa), you need to provide a copy of your last DD214 (member-4 copy), which verifies your military service dates, reason for separation, OR certification of separation that shows a discharge date within 120 days of the closing of this announcement, and eligibility for consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.

  FEDERAL APPLICANTS: You must submit SF-50(s) that verify your highest competitive grade, full performance level, and eligibility as a federal applicant. DO NOT submit an award SF-50 as these often do not verify grade or eligibility. For consideration for a promotion, Box 4 of the SF-50 must show a date that is at least 52 weeks prior to the job announcement closing. We recommend submitting your last promotion SF-50 or within-grade increase SF-50. Pay adjustment raise SF-50s for the current year will not support the 52 weeks’ time-in-grade requirements. https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/service/SF-50/

  NON COMPETITIVE APPLICANTS: If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility, you must provide the appropriate SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS, such as PCS orders (military spouse) describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability (schedule A), etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments.
  DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 85) and provide all of the following documents:

  • your most recent performance appraisal,
  • the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and
  • your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.

  Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition.

  Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.

  If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

  Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

  Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

• How to Apply

  You must submit a complete application package (including resume, vacancy questions and supporting documents) no later than 11:59 pm (EST) on the closing date of the announcement.

  • To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
  • Follow the directions to register, submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
  • You may review your saved application(s) at https://my.usajobs.gov.

  If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at: Transjobs@dot.gov

  Agency contact information

  Automated Staffing Office

  Phone

  000-000-0000

  Email

  TRANSJOBS@dot.gov

  Address

  DOT, FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION
  Submit Application and Documents Online
  1200 New Jersey Ave SE / HAHR - 50
  Washington, District of Columbia 20590
  United States

  Next steps

  Within two weeks of the closing date, a Human Resources Specialist will evaluate your application. You may check your application status by logging into USAJobs.com. (Select "My USAJOBS" and click "Applications").

  Ratings will be determined based on the documents and information received by the closing date.

  If you are selected for an interview, the hiring agency will contact you directly. Once the position is filled, we will notify all applicants of their final status.

• Fair and Transparent

  The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
  • Criminal history inquiries
  • Reasonable accommodation policy
  • Financial suitability
  • Selective Service
  • New employee probationary period
  • Signature and false statements
  • Privacy Act
  • Social security number request

Required Documents

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen. This position is in the Excepted Service. For information on the Excepted Service, please visit: Excepted Service Appointing Authorities@ http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/excepted-service/ This is not a Bargaining unit position.