FirstBank Jobs

Summary The General Counsel, who is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the Department's chief legal advisor and principal legal advisor to the Secretary of DHS and, has final authority and responsibility for legal policy determinations within the Department and its components. Responsibilities The Associate General Counsel for Operations and Enforcement will be responsible for representing OGC at various Departmental and interagency meetings and negotiations, as well as with Congressional staff, State and local agencies, international partners and the private sector. Many of these duties are performed with little notice and under short deadlines. Specific responsibilities include: Provides legal advice and guidance to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and senior DHS officials in the exercise of their responsibilities and authorities under the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Legal advice will routinely involve complex, novel, or precedent-setting issues. Supervises the provision of legal support in matters related to the Department's operational and enforcement activities by directing a subordinate staff comprised of professional and administrative personnel. Directs the provision of a full range of legal advice and services and ensuring that legal matters are consistent with the intent of the law and are technically and administratively sound, efficient, and economical in nature. Identifies all legal authorities that impact Departmental operations, as well as all emergency authorities for lead departments/agencies involved in all-hazards incident management/response. Identifies gaps in emergency authorities and seeking remedies. Reviews all proposed legislation and regulations that may affect operations and enforcement activities. Coordinates with Federal, state, local, and tribal governments to activate their emergency authorities and integrate them with DHS's response. Establishes, leads, and manages comprehensive strategic and long range planning processes to foster the effective management of Departmental resources to achieve stated goals, enhance program support, and improve customer service standards. Provides legal counsel on issues related to domestic and international enforcement and coordination activities, including customs enforcement and other law enforcement activities of the Department, and the review of Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) matters. Coordinates all COOP planning among OGC and its component legal offices. Serves as the Continuity Coordinator for OGC and a member of OGC's Emergency Relocation Group (ERG), who are select personnel assigned to perform essential functions from an alternate operating facility when such functions can no longer be supported from the primary facility. Participates with the General Counsel in making recommendations on overall office programs. Represents the General Counsel with senior DHS management, other Federal agencies, business representatives and others in interpreting OGC programs. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications 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. The application process to recruit for this position is the TRADITIONAL-BASED method. The applicant must address each Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) separately. EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs): Unless you are currently serving under a Career Senior Executive Service (SES) appointment, eligible for reinstatement into the SES, or a SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) graduate, you must address the ECQs. Your narrative must address each ECQ separately and demonstrate the underlying competencies in the narrative. Examples should be clear, concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities; the scope and complexity of the programs, activities, or services you managed; program accomplishments; policy initiatives undertaken; level of contacts; the sensitivity and criticality of the issues you addressed; and the results of your actions. You should use action oriented leadership words to describe your experience and accomplishments and quantify your experience wherever possible to demonstrate your accomplishments (e.g., number of employees supervised; size of budget managed; amount of money saved, etc.). Applicants should use the Challenge, Context, Action and Results (CCAR) model below when responding to each ECQ: CHALLENGE: Describe a specific problem or goal. CONTEXT: Describe individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to address a particular challenge (e.g., clients, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale). ACTION: Describe the specific actions you took to address a challenge. RESULT: Describe specific examples of measures/outcomes that had impact on the organization. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills. Your narrative response should not exceed 10 pages, be typed in 12 point font with one-inch margins. It is recommended that you include 2 recent (not older than 10 years) examples per ECQ and draft your ECQs in a Word document before uploading into the system to ensure these guidelines are met. Information that exceeds these guidelines will not be reviewed. Detailed information on each ECQ, the underlying and fundamental competencies, sample narratives and a tips sheet for writing effective ECQs are available in the "Guide To Senior Executive Service Qualifications" Senior Executive Service Executive Core Qualifications and Senior Executive Service Qualifications & Fundamental-Competencies. ECQ 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. Leadership Competencies: Creativity & Innovation, External Awareness, Flexibility, Resilience, Strategic Thinking, Vision. ECQ 2 - LEADING PEOPLE. This core qualification 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 constructive resolution of conflicts. Leadership Competencies: Conflict Management, Leveraging Diversity, Developing Others, Team Building. ECQ 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. Leadership Competencies: Accountability, Customer Service, Decisiveness, Entrepreneurship, Problem Solving, Technical Credibility. ECQ 4 - BUSINESS ACUMEN. This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. Leadership Competencies: Financial Management, Human Capital Management, Technology Management. ECQ 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. Leadership Competencies: Partnering, Political Savvy, Influencing/Negotiating. NOTE: Those applicants currently serving under a career Senior Executive Service appointment, who are eligible for reinstatement into the Senior Executive Service, or who have successfully completed a Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program approved by OPM, need not submit a narrative statement covering each of the Executive Core Qualifications. However, those applicants must address the following Mandatory Technical Competencies. TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION (TQ)s: In addition to the Executive Core Qualifications, all candidates must show evidence of the following TQs below in order to meet basic qualifications for this position. Please label and include your name on each page. Please give examples and explain how often you used your skills, the complexity of the knowledge possessed, the level of people you interacted with, the sensitivity of the issues you handled managing a large public or private sector organization that administers complex, rules-based benefits or services, etc. It is recommended that you draft your TQ(s) in a word document and then upload into the system. You must address each TQ separately and you should not exceed 2 pages per TQ. You are required to respond to all TQs. If you fail to do so, you will be rated as 'ineligible.' TQ 1. Demonstrated experience providing legal advice to private sector or to government entities in one or more of the following subject areas: border security and related commercial and transportation security authorities (including inspection, search, and screening of passengers, cargo, and conveyances); application of criminal, civil and administrative laws, sanctions, and procedures, including seizure and forfeiture; investigative techniques and procedures; emergency operational authorities; international agreements or arrangements concerning enforcement and other matters; antiterrorism and counterterrrorism initiatives; cyber security matters; civil enforcement matters; foreign investment matters related to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and Team Telecom; trade matters, including those related to forced labor; information sharing and disclosure; international law, particularly in the area of international agreements and arrangements; credentialing programs; and authorities relevant to all-hazards incident management. TQ 2. Candidate should have demonstrated management abilities involving both legal and administrative matters in an agency, law firm, or other organization. Candidate should have an ability to work with legal and other professionals to evaluate and develop policies, procedures, and objective for an organization. DO NOT COMBINE THE TQ AND ECQ STATEMENTS. Failure to meet the basic qualification requirement and address all Mandatory Technical and Executive Core Qualification factors will result in your application being disqualified. Veteran's Preference does not apply to the Senior Executive Service. Education There is no recognized education to qualifying for this position; applicant's resumes and supporting documentation will be acceptable. 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; applicant's resumes and supporting documentation should only reflect education received from schools accredited by such institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following Website:http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency (a U.S. private organization's interpretation that such education has been deemed at least equivalent to conventional U.S. education programs) with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For more information regarding evaluation of foreign education for federal employment, please visit the U.S. Department of Education webpage. Additional Information Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expenses will not be paid. Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of its mission, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires each and every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation for Top Secret/ Sensitive Compartment Information clearance as a condition of placement in this Special Sensitive position. This review includes financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U. S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U. S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change. Pursuant to Executive Order 12654 and DHS policy, DHS is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and, therefore, conducts random and other drug testing of its employees in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. Headquarters personnel in safety- or security-sensitive positions are subject to random drug testing and all applicants tentatively selected for employment at DHS Headquarters are subject to drug testing resulting in a negative test result. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. DHS uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.