Deputy General Counsel for Legal Counsel

600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580
Posted on  

Job Description

Duties

The Deputy General Counsel for Legal Counsel oversees OGC's role in advising the Commission and staff on issues of law and policy and helps assure agency compliance with statutes and regulations such as the Administrative Procedure Act, the Government in the Sunshine Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Federal Procurement Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Civil Service Reform Act, the Commission's Rules of Practice, and administrative and federal court litigation. The incumbent's responsibilities extend to advising the Commission and external stakeholders about legislative and regulatory efforts, OGC and agency policies, and the agency's long-range strategic goals and objectives.

The Deputy General Counsel for Legal Counsel is a key member of the General Counsel's senior
management team. In fulfilling these responsibilities, the Deputy General Counsel for Legal Counsel is responsible, with the other senior management team members, for strategic planning regarding OGC's role in agency missions, and serves as a primary link between OGC, bureau and office heads, and FTC commissioners. In exercising important policy functions, the Deputy General Counsel for Legal Counsel devises and implements OGC policy, reviews policy recommendations that affect agency missions, considers political, social, economic, technical, and administrative factors that potentially affect recommended policies, and formally recommends actions to the General Counsel or other approving official. The incumbent is one of the agency's key sources for advice on broad questions of law and policy.

The Deputy General Counsel for Legal Counsel manages and helps to prepare responses to formal Congressional requests for information about Commission actions, conducts or assists with briefings of Congressional staff members, and prepares or assists in the preparation of testimony for Congressional hearings. The incumbent also prepares opinions, reports, recommendations, and provides other services for the agency on a wide variety of subjects related to administrative law, policy, and procedure relative to the acts and statutes administered by the agency, which arise in connection with proposed or existing programs or work.

When necessary, the incumbent may be called upon to appear before the Commission,
Congressional committees, and other varied fora to discuss the agency's work, emerging trends in administrative law, emerging problems of law violations, as well as proposed legislation, regulation, and related matters. The incumbent may also represent the agency or General Counsel in proceedings before government agencies or give speeches or other briefings to various groups.

The incumbent is accountable for the success of the Legal Counsel programs and/or projects assigned. The incumbent ensures that the Legal Counsel resources are used effectively, and in accordance with resource and budget constraints. Deals with key officials within and outside the agency to gain understanding and support of the agency, General Counsel and Legal Counsel's programs and projects. The incumbent also assesses policy, program, and project feasibility; determines project goals and objectives; monitors progress toward organizational goals; develops plans to achieve goals and objectives; identifies, diagnoses, and consults on problem areas related to assignments and goal achievement; and makes decisions on alternative courses of action.

The incumbent professionally and administratively directs, oversees, supervises, coordinates, and
reviews (including through subordinate supervisors) the work of Legal Counsel attorneys and legal support staff in accomplishing OGC's goals and objectives. Makes sure the work is structured to promote effective work accomplishment, productivity performance requirements are effective and efficient, and management/internal control standards are implemented. Responsible for ensuring the training, development and effective use of Legal Counsel staff; evaluating work product; conducting formal performance reviews; taking action to correct performance of conduct deficiencies; and recommending promotions, awards, and other personnel actions.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen to qualify for this position.
  • You must possess a J.D. or LL.B. degree from an accredited law school.
  • Background investigation (Public Trust) is required.
  • You will serve a one-year probationary period unless you have previously completed the probationary period in the Senior Executive Service (SES).
  • The individual selected will be required to file an Executive Branch Personnel Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278) in accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
  • This position may be eligible for remote work or telework from a regional office. If selected, you must be approved for remote or telework prior to onboarding in accordance with FTC's Workplace Flexibilities Policy.

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS:
As a basic requirement, applicants must demonstrate technical and professional competence as described in the Mandatory Professional Credentials/Technical Qualifications section below and executive leadership capabilities as described in the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) of the SES listed below. Typically, experiences of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-15 grade level or its equivalent in federal service, or with state or local government, private industry, or nongovernmental organizations.

If you are a current career member of the SES, are eligible for reinstatement into the SES, or have completed an SES Candidate Development Program and have been certified by the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Qualifications Review Board (QRB), you can apply for competitive and/or noncompetitive consideration. For competitive consideration, you must submit a resume and written statements addressing the Mandatory Professional Credentials/Technical Qualifications, ECQs, and other applicable qualifications. For noncompetitive consideration, you must submit your resume, written statements addressing the Mandatory Professional Credentials/Technical Qualifications, and other applicable qualifications. Written statements addressing the ECQs are not necessary for noncompetitive consideration. You must also provide documentation of QRB certification (i.e., SF-50 showing career SES status or OPM-issued SES qualification certificate).

MANDATORY PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS AND TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS:

Mandatory Technical Qualifications (should not exceed two pages per qualification):

MTQ 1: Extensive experience in (1) legal counseling and intragovernmental relationships, (2) administrative law, with an emphasis on rulemaking and/or administrative proceedings, and (3) substantive competition or consumer protection law to advise the Commission and staff on issues of law and policy and ensure agency compliance with statutes and regulations.

MTQ 2: Demonstrated excellence in written and oral analysis and communication as needed to
prepare opinions, reports, and recommendations relative to the acts and statutes administered by the Commission.

MTQ 3: Ability to analyze complex legal issues and questions of strategy as needed to advise
agency officials regarding their legal options.

MTQ 4: Demonstrated excellence in leading and supervising attorneys in order to
coordinate agency activities compliant with applicable statutes and regulations.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS: All applicants must submit written statements describing accomplishments that would satisfy the ECQs. You must respond to all ECQs and address each one separately, as failure to do so will result in a rating of 'ineligible' for the position. You can find additional information on the ECQs in the Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications. A good competency-based qualifications statement should address the following elements for each ECQ: (a) the goal, problem, or activity and its challenge, (b) the context or environment in which the activity took place, (c) specific actions you took to address the challenge, and (d) the results or impact of the activity. Each accomplishment should be clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities, the scope and complexity of the programs you managed, and the results of your actions. You are strongly encouraged to review the Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications. The ECQ statement, addressing all five ECQs, may be no longer than ten pages.

ECQ 1 - Leading Change: This ECQ 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.

ECQ 2 - Leading People: This ECQ involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's 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 the constructive resolution of conflicts.

ECQ 3 - Results Driven: This ECQ 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.

ECQ 4 - Business Acumen: This ECQ involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.

ECQ 5 - Building Coalitions: This ECQ 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.

Education

Total background, including experience, education, awards, self-development, and training will be reviewed.

Additional information

1. The agency may reimburse relocation expenses.

2. If we select you for an initial career appointment to an SES position, the OPM QRB must approve your ECQs prior to appointment. A selection is tentative until we obtain a QRB certification.

3. You must complete a Declaration for Federal Employment before we can hire you in order to certify the accuracy of your written application and provide the information necessary to determine your suitability for federal employment.

4. If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959 and we select you for this position, you must certify prior to appointment that you registered for the military selective service.

5. If we select you for this position, you must complete personnel suitability documents. Your appointment is contingent upon the successful completion of an appropriate background investigation.

6. Veterans' preference does not apply to SES positions.

7. The FTC provides reasonable accommodations, where appropriate, to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the FTC. The agency considers requests for reasonable accommodation on a case-by-case basis. Questions about the FTC's accommodation policy can be directed to dpm@ftc.gov.

8. The Ethics in Government Act, PL 95-521, requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a financial disclosure statement, SF-278, prior to assuming the SES position, annually while employed, and upon termination of employment. You may also be subject to post employment restrictions.

9. Your application includes information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 U.S.C. 552a). This information is necessary to determine qualifications for employment, and collection is authorized under Title 5 of the U.S. Code, 3302 and 3361.

10. We will not accept applications received in government postage-paid envelopes.

11. USAJOBS expires all jobs at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the published closing date.


  • Benefits

    Review our benefits

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated for this position based on how well you meet the Mandatory Professional Credentials/Technical Qualifications and ECQs stated in this vacancy announcement.

You will be evaluated on the quality and extent of your total accomplishments, including experience, education, awards, self-development, and training. This information will be obtained from the application package, including the required narrative statements for the Mandatory Professional Credentials/Technical Qualifications and ECQs described in this vacancy announcement.

Your application package may be evaluated by a rating and ranking panel consisting of SES members. This evaluation will determine which applicants are Highly Qualified. Highly Qualified candidates may undergo an interview and a reference check.

The selecting official will review results and make recommendations on final selections to the Appointing Authority. Unless the OPM QRB has already certified you, your ECQs must be forwarded to the OPM QRB for certification before your appointment can occur.

Note: Veterans' preference does not apply to SES positions. This is in accordance with 5 USC 2108(3), which defines the term "preference eligible" and provides that this term does not include applicants for, or members of, the SES.

  • Benefits

    Review our benefits

  • 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.

    *DO NOT SUBMIT ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION* Extraneous materials such as a cover letter, letters of recommendation, past evaluations, award certificates, etc., will be discarded and not considered.

    1. RESUME - In addition to your written statements addressing the Mandatory Technical Qualifications, and ECQ Narrative (not to exceed 10 pages), submit a resume (not to exceed 5 pages) to describe your qualifications. Your resume should provide the following information:

    • Vacancy Announcement number: EXEC-20240705-32744-OGC-JN
    • Full name, email address, and day/evening telephone numbers. *PLEASE REDACT/REMOVE YOUR MAILING ADDRESS*
    • Educational information including the name, city, and state of colleges or universities you attended, as well as the type of any degree received. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by the U.S. Department of Education. For more information, you may refer to the U.S. Department of Education website: https://www.ed.gov/accreditation
    • Information about your paid and nonpaid work experience related to this position including job title, duties and accomplishments, employer's name and address, duration of employment, and salary
    • Information about honors, awards, and special accomplishments
    2. Mandatory Professional/Educational Credentials: (Degree) Graduation from an accredited law school and current possession of a bar membership which permits the practice of law in the United States are required.

    3. Mandatory Technical Qualifications: A narrative statement specifically addressing each Mandatory Technical Qualification. Statement should not exceed two pages per qualification.

    4. Mandatory ECQ Narrative: Narrative statement should not exceed 10 pages maximum and must specifically address all five ECQs (Leading Change, Leading People, Results Driven, Business Acumen, and Building Coalitions). In lieu of the narrative statement, current career SES members, reinstatement eligible, and SES Candidate Development Program graduates must provide the documentation in item #5.

    5. Copy of the Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50): Current and former federal employees, to include career SES members, must provide an SF-50 showing their status or reinstatement eligibility. Candidates who have successfully completed an OPM-approved SES Candidate Development Program must submit a copy of their ECQ certification. *PLEASE REDACT/REMOVE YOUR SSN AND DATE OF BIRTH* *DO NOT SUBMIT ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION* Extraneous materials such as a cover letter, letters of recommendation, past evaluations, award certificates, etc., will be discarded and not considered.

    *EFFECTIVE MARCH 18, 2016* OPM must authorize any employment offers made to individuals who are currently serving in or have previously served in political positions within the last 5 years. These positions include Presidential appointees with or without Senate confirmation, Schedule A or Schedule C political appointees, appointees serving in a political capacity under an agency-specific authority, and Noncareer SES employees in the Executive Branch. If you are currently a political appointee or have been within the last 5 years, please indicate this in your resume. Serving in a political position WILL NOT eliminate you from consideration.

    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

    TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION: Please select the "APPLY" button at the top of this announcement.

    Your online resume is not considered a complete application. In order to expedite the review of your application, you must submit a complete online application package to include a Resume, Mandatory Professional Credentials, Technical Qualifications, and ECQs.

    Carefully read the "Required Documents" section of this announcement to verify whether any additional information is required, as well as how it should be submitted.

    If you are unable to apply online, please see the Reasonable Accommodation Policy at the bottom of this vacancy announcement.

    *DO NOT SUBMIT ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION* Extraneous materials such as a cover letter, letters of recommendation, past evaluations, award certificates, etc., will not be considered.

    Agency contact information

    Joan Nagielski
    Email
    jnagielski@ftc.gov
    Address
    Federal Trade Commission
    600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
    Suite H-723
    Washington, DC 20580
    US

    Next steps

    After all application packages are received, a preliminary review of applications by a human resources specialist will be completed to ensure your application meets the basic qualification requirements. An executive Rating and Ranking panel may evaluate qualified applicants based on the information provided, and will generate a certificate of "Highly Qualified" candidates for the selecting official. The selecting official may interview the "Best Qualified" candidates before making a selection recommendation to the Appointing Authority. We will verify performance, suitability, and security information and consider this information in making employment offers. You should expect a response on the outcome of your application within 90 workdays of the closing date of the announcement, excluding weekends and holidays.

  • Fair and Transparent

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

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

Required Documents

*DO NOT SUBMIT ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION* Extraneous materials such as a cover letter, letters of recommendation, past evaluations, award certificates, etc., will be discarded and not considered.

1. RESUME - In addition to your written statements addressing the Mandatory Technical Qualifications, and ECQ Narrative (not to exceed 10 pages), submit a resume (not to exceed 5 pages) to describe your qualifications. Your resume should provide the following information:

  • Vacancy Announcement number: EXEC-20240705-32744-OGC-JN
  • Full name, email address, and day/evening telephone numbers. *PLEASE REDACT/REMOVE YOUR MAILING ADDRESS*
  • Educational information including the name, city, and state of colleges or universities you attended, as well as the type of any degree received. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by the U.S. Department of Education. For more information, you may refer to the U.S. Department of Education website: https://www.ed.gov/accreditation
  • Information about your paid and nonpaid work experience related to this position including job title, duties and accomplishments, employer's name and address, duration of employment, and salary
  • Information about honors, awards, and special accomplishments
2. Mandatory Professional/Educational Credentials: (Degree) Graduation from an accredited law school and current possession of a bar membership which permits the practice of law in the United States are required.

3. Mandatory Technical Qualifications: A narrative statement specifically addressing each Mandatory Technical Qualification. Statement should not exceed two pages per qualification.

4. Mandatory ECQ Narrative: Narrative statement should not exceed 10 pages maximum and must specifically address all five ECQs (Leading Change, Leading People, Results Driven, Business Acumen, and Building Coalitions). In lieu of the narrative statement, current career SES members, reinstatement eligible, and SES Candidate Development Program graduates must provide the documentation in item #5.

5. Copy of the Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50): Current and former federal employees, to include career SES members, must provide an SF-50 showing their status or reinstatement eligibility. Candidates who have successfully completed an OPM-approved SES Candidate Development Program must submit a copy of their ECQ certification. *PLEASE REDACT/REMOVE YOUR SSN AND DATE OF BIRTH* *DO NOT SUBMIT ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION* Extraneous materials such as a cover letter, letters of recommendation, past evaluations, award certificates, etc., will be discarded and not considered.

*EFFECTIVE MARCH 18, 2016* OPM must authorize any employment offers made to individuals who are currently serving in or have previously served in political positions within the last 5 years. These positions include Presidential appointees with or without Senate confirmation, Schedule A or Schedule C political appointees, appointees serving in a political capacity under an agency-specific authority, and Noncareer SES employees in the Executive Branch. If you are currently a political appointee or have been within the last 5 years, please indicate this in your resume. Serving in a political position WILL NOT eliminate you from consideration.

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.


Help

This job is open to

  • Senior executives

    Those who meet the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).

  • The public

    U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from all groups of qualified individuals.