Saturday, September 13, 2014

Position: Attorney-Advisor, USAID Office of General Counsel (Washington, DC, Deadline: Sept. 26, 2014)

Interesting position at USAID in Washington, DC, focused on international food supply/security issues; seems to have a significant environmental connection/overlap. But seems to require some practice experience.

Here's USAJOBS.gov link:

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/380344700


Job Title:          Attorney Advisor
Agency:           U.S. Agency for International Development
Job Announcement Number:2014-GC-05-BAT
SALARY RANGE:          $106,263.00 to $138,136.00 / Per Year
OPEN PERIOD:            Friday, September 5, 2014 to Friday, September 26, 2014
SERIES & GRADE:        GS-0905-14
POSITION INFORMATION:      Full-time - Two-year term-limited appointment
PROMOTION POTENTIAL:14
DUTY LOCATIONS:      1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington DC, DC View Map
WHO MAY APPLY:       Applications will be accepted from United States Citizens.
SECURITY CLEARANCE:           Secret
SUPERVISORY STATUS:           No
JOB SUMMARY:
About the Agency

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) implements the U.S. Government's economic and humanitarian foreign assistance programs.

This is a USAID Office of the General Counsel (GC) position for a dynamic and versatile attorney to provide legal support to the USAID Bureau for Food Security (BFS), which leads the U.S. Feed the Future initiative (FTF), the U.S. Government's Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative. http://www.feedthefuture.gov. The attorney will work under the supervision of the lead attorney for the Bureau for Food Security, within a division of GC staff attorneys.

TRAVEL REQUIRED
Occasional Travel
USAID is an international organization and some travel may be required in the United States and abroad.
RELOCATION AUTHORIZED
No
KEY REQUIREMENTS
Background Security Investigation
Random Drug Test for illegal drug use
U.S. Citizenship
Specialized Experience and Education
Local and/or International Travel may be required
DUTIES:
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The attorney will provide legal advice and guidance to BFS and to other USAID attorneys in Washington, D.C. and abroad relating to the functions and work of BFS and FTF, including but not limited to U.S. foreign assistance law, regulations and policy and international law matters including: complex U.S. interagency relationships and legal restrictions relating to agricultural development and procurement, grants and cooperative agreements, contracts, public-private partnerships, and interagency agreements; fiscal and budgetary matters; legislation and legislative strategy; environmental law; and other federal and international law matters. The attorney will also be expected to develop further practice in specialized legal areas of concern to BFS and FTF, including intellectual property. (See “Qualifications” below).

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:
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You must have excellent writing and speaking skills.

Graduate of a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (or foreign equivalent) and be a member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar.

Applicants must have four years of legal experience, of which at least two years should be specialized experience at a level close to the work of this job that has provided the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform successfully. Experience with Federal contracts, grants and cooperative agreements, foreign assistance legislation, and doing business in developing countries would be valuable. Experience is often gained by working within the field of this job or a field that is closely related.

Of particular further value would be legal experience or related expertise in one or more of the following areas:

-- U.S. and international intellectual property development, licensing, access, management and operations, particularly in the fields of agricultural research, agricultural development, agribusiness and the biosciences;

-- genetic engineering and biosafety, particularly in agricultural contexts;

-- international treaties and conventions relating to plant genetic resources and biodiversity; and

-- agricultural research, agricultural development, agribusiness, nutrition and the biosciences in general.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:
Applicants will initially be evaluated to determine if they meet the minimum qualification requirements and on the extent to which their resume shows possession of the following knowledge, skills and abilities associated with the position.


1) Knowledge, skills and ability to manage a legal services caseload associated with "Duties" above;

2) Knowledge of and experience with the subject matters in "Qualifications Required" above and the ability to apply such knowledge in a practical manner in complex and unique situations;

3) Ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in written format, with all levels of Agency work; collaboratively with teams consisting of non-attorneys and those who may have divergent points of view, and to enable informed, rational decision making at the most senior levels of management.

The best qualified candidates will be evaluated in a structured interview process.

To preview questions please click here.
BENEFITS:
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You can review our benefits at: https://careerconnector.jobs.treas.gov/cc/usaid/vacancy/preview!benefits.hms?orgId=664&jnum=112492



OTHER INFORMATION:
All applicants selected for this position will be subject to random drug testing once they begin working for the Agency. All applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, political affiliation, age, sex, sexual orientation, physical disabilities, membership in an employee organization, or any other non-merit factors. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis. Entrance on duty is contingent upon completion of a pre-employment background investigation. Eligible applicants will be asked to submit forms required for a security clearance and suitability determination for appointment to the position. The clearance process considers such factors as: registration for the Selective Service; failure to repay a US government-guaranteed student loan; past problems with credit or bankruptcy; failure to meet tax obligations; unsatisfactory employment records; violations of the law; drug or alcohol abuse; a criminal record; extensive travel; education; residence and/or employment overseas; dual citizenship; foreign contacts; immediate family or relatives who are not citizens of the United States and/or a foreign born spouse; or less than honorable discharge from the armed forces. Investigations, which usually take several months, include current and previous contacts, supervisors, and coworkers. These investigations are conducted by USAID in cooperation with other federal, state, and local agencies. SELECTIVE SERVICE. As a condition of employment, all male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must have registered for the selective service. If selected for this position, the applicant must sign a statement certifying his registration, or the applicant must demonstrate exempt status under the Selective Service Law. DIRECT DEPOSIT: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.

VETERAN'S PREFERENCE:
When applying for Federal jobs, eligible veterans should claim preference on the Occupational Questionnaire in the section provided and provide a legible copy of DD-214(s) showing all dates of service as well as character of service (honorable, general, etc.). Additionally, veterans with service-connected disability of 10% or more must also submit a copy of their official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs, or from a branch of the Armed Forces, certifying their service-connected disability and/or their receipt of compensation for service-connected disability. If the military member is within 120 days of separation and does not yet have a DD214, the member may instead submit any written document from the armed forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is signed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.


HOW TO APPLY:
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Applications for this position are being processed through an on-line applicant assessment system that has been specifically configured for US Agency for International Development applicants. To begin the application process, please click on the "Apply Online" button to the right. All applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, political affiliation, age, sex, sexual orientation, physical disabilities, membership in an employee organization, or any other non-merit factors. The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on the announcement's closing date. Step 1 - Create or Upload a resume and cover letter with USAJOBS (www.usajobs.gov) - We suggest you go to the end of the Qualifications & Evaluation section of the job announcement to preview the online questions that you will answer in Step 3. You may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. - You may create a resume in USAJOBS in addition to uploading one of your own choosing. Although you must enter your Social Security Number (SSN) for USAJOBS, we will only see the last four digits for identification purposes. Step 2 - Apply Online Click the "Apply Online" link of this announcement and then select the resume you wish to submit with your application. You will be redirected to the USAID's CareerConnector website to complete the application process. Step 3 - Answer the Online Questions and Submit Your Online Application If this is your first time on USAID's CareerConnector website, you will be prompted to register by answering questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. The system will save these responses and take you back to the main screen so that you can answer the job-specific questions. Select "Take me to the assessment" and click on the "Continue" button to answer the job-specific questions. You must answer all the questions and click the "Finished" button. Step 4 - Review and Confirm Your Submission You will now have the option to upload a document or print fax cover-sheets for your required documents (see step 5 for details). Once you click "Done," you will see a summary of your application for your review. You may also print a copy for your records. When you click "Finished" at the bottom of the page, you will then be directed back to USAJOBS where you can confirm that your application has been submitted and track your application status. Step 5 - Submit Required Documents You can submit any required documents (discussed below) by document upload or fax. Whichever method you choose, please include the job announcement number with your documents. To protect your privacy, we encourage you to remove your SSN from any documents that you submit. Document Upload: You may upload supporting documents in one of two ways: 1. Once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement, you will be prompted to upload your document(s) to your application. You will be given the choice to either upload the document as part of the application process or you can select a document that you've already loaded on USAJOBS. Or 2. You can upload a document to an existing application by logging into your USAJOBS account profile. Click on "My Applications" and search for the vacancy. Once you have located the vacancy, click on the vacancy and select "Apply Online." Move through your existing application to the Documents page and select Upload in order to add a document to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation that the document uploaded. In the Application Review section, you may verify acceptance of your documents in CareerConnector if you see them listed on the "Vacancy Documents" screen. Then, click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS. Fax: Create a fax cover-sheet in CareerConnector by following the "Faxing Supporting Documentation" instructions. The fax number will be on the cover-sheet.

We will not accept hand delivered applications/resumes.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:
Resume

Cover Letter

Bar Form (in good standing)

DD-214 (Veterans Only)

SF-50 (Former or Current Federal Employees)

Law school transcript from an ABA accredited school.

Writing sample.
AGENCY CONTACT INFO:
Kim Minor
Phone: 202-712-1646
Fax: 202-216-3058
Email: kminor@usaid.gov
Agency Information:
United States Agency for International Development
1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington , DC
20523-6601
US
Fax: 202-216-3058
WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT:
After determining basic eligibility and qualifications, best qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interviews. We will notify you of the outcome after a final decision has been made. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation. A final job offer is contingent upon satisfactorily passing the background investigation and obtaining the proper security clearance.


You will receive final notification via email when this vacancy has been filled. Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

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