Attorney-Adviser (Contract)

Summary

See below for important information regarding this job. Incumbents will serve as an Attorney-Adviser (Contract) in the Office of Counsel, Defense Logistics Agency, DLA Weapons Support, a Major Subordinate Command located in Richmond, VA.

Duties

As an Attorney-Adviser (Contract), you will be responsible for the following duties: Serves as a Team lead for contract attorneys under the supervision of the Deputy Chief Counsel as a Senior Contracts Counsel. Senior legal advisor and subject matter expert for a DLA Acquisition Supply Chain Directorate on all acquisition matters for supplies and services (legal issues relating to solicitation, negotiation, award administration and modification, etc). Provides advice and risk assessments on special procurements characterized by extensive discussions with high level officials, negotiation of special terms and provisions, high-level visibility, and/or substantial funds expenditure. Reviews and coordinates decisions by contracting officers concerning contract claims (contractor or Government) and terminations, breach of contract actions, revocation of acceptance of defective material, and re-procurement after default. Provides advice and litigation support for contract challenges, overseeing, handling directly, or supporting the assigned Department of Justice attorney in contract related actions before the Government Accountability Office, Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, and Federal Courts. Manages the distribution of work among contract team attorneys, assuring work is accomplished accurately, responsively, and timely. Provides guidance and assistance to junior attorneys on complex, unusual, or precedential issues, and assists in their training and development. Reviews and advises on local acquisition policies, procedures, and instructions for legal sufficiency, consistency, and compliance with applicable law, including Federal Acquisition Regulations, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, and DLA guidance. Prepares timely responses to Congressional and Executive level inquiries, advises on administrative matters, including Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, fiscal law, and contract fraud, and advises, counsels, and represents personnel labor, Equal Employment Opportunity law, ethics, and installation law.

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED 1) The first professional law degree (LLB. or J.D.); 2) Proof that you are licensed and a member in good standing with the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. Annual bar certification cards issued from your state of licensure are not considered acceptable. Proof is a "certificate of good standing" issued by your state of licensure dated within 6 months of the closing date of this announcement or a screenshot of your bar status taken from your state of licensure website that is dated within 6 months of the closing date of this announcement or sworn statement to that effect. If there is not a date on the screen shot, you must provide a statement signed by you on the date that the screen shot was created. The successful applicant selected for employment must provide a "certificate of good standing" issued by their respective bar showing they are in good status and in active status prior to appointment. 3) In addition to 1 and 2 (listed above), each grade level has the following qualification requirements: To Qualify at the GS-14 Level: You must possess professional legal experience in excess of 3 years commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. In accordance with DoDI 1442.2 (Personnel Actions Involving Civilian Attorneys), promotion for this position is based on the individual's time, performance, and mastery of skills at the required grade level and only with approval of the designated official (DLA General Counsel) in accordance with the applicable regulation. The legal experience described in your application package or resume will be evaluated and screened for competencies required to perform the duties of the position as described in the Major Duties section of this announcement. The QUALITY of experience will be evaluated and screened to determine how closely or to what extent your experience, education, and training are relevant to the duties and responsibilities of the announced position. Your application package or resume must demonstrate you have the competencies and quality of experience necessary to successfully perform the work of the position at the appropriate grade level. PRINCIPAL SELECTION FACTORS: The following factors will be used to evaluate the suitability of candidates for this position: Knowledge and experience in Federal acquisition law, preferably with the Department of Defense (DoD). Analytical/legal ability (including issue identification, legal research, analysis of options, risk analysis, creative problem-solving). Excellent oral and written communication skills. Excellent interpersonal skills and client relationships, and the ability to interact well with clients, colleagues and senior officials on routine as well as controversial and sensitive issues. Excellent legal and business judgement. Ability to lead team members toward achievement of organizational goals. Ability to train and assist in the development of junior attorneys. Ability to work effectively with a breadth of colleagues and geographically dispersed clients. Security Clearance: This position is designated Non-Critical Sensitive. If selected, you must obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance. If you are unable to obtain this level of security clearance (as a result of undisclosed or disclosed background issues), within a reasonable period of time (as defined by the agency), the employment offer may be withdrawn. In addition, incumbent is subject to periodic re-investigation to maintain security eligibility in accordance with DoD 5200.2-R.

Education

You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at time of application. FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that 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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

Selection(s) will be based on the judgment of the selecting official as to which applicant is best qualified to perform the duties of the position. Once this announcement closes, candidates will be evaluated based on the application package submitted. An oral interview may be conducted with some, none, or all candidates, depending upon the relative qualifications of the applicants.

Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on what authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, a current permanent Federal employee, a reinstatement, etc). Your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your application eligibility. If you fail to provide these documents, your application will be considered incomplete and will not be further considered. APPLICANTS MUST SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING REQUIRED DOCUMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED: 1. Resume: IMPORTANT UPDATE: Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. The resume and required supporting documentation should provide the minimum qualifications and relevant experience for the announced position. Must include the work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed. If multiple resumes are submitted by an applicant, only the last resume submitted will be reviewed for qualifications and referred for selection consideration, if eligible. The resume must not be more than 5MB and should be saved and uploaded as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. Page margins should be 0.5 inches, and font styles must be legible. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text. We recommend using a font like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. 2. If you are a current or former Federal employee, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50). 3. A copy of your most recent performance appraisal (if current Federal employee). 4. If you are applying under Veterans' Preference, you should submit documents verifying your eligibility with your application package. These documents may include but are not limited to: DD214 (which indicates character of service), SF-15, VA Letter and/or Activation/Deactivation orders. If you are currently on active duty, you must submit an official statement of service from your command or other official documentation that proves your military service was performed under honorable conditions. **The "certification" is 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. 5. If applicable, supporting documentation for military spouse preference. 6. TRANSCRIPTS: Official transcripts must contain the applicant's name, the name of the school, the degree awarded, date conferred, and all required courses as required by the position. IF SELECTED, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE TRANSCRIPTS TO VERIFY POSSESSION OF THE FIRST PROFESSIONAL LAW DEGREE (LL. B OR J.D.) 7. Proof you are licensed and a member in good standing with the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. Proof is a "certificate of good standing" issued by your state of licensure within 6 months of the date of application or a screenshot of your bar status taken from your state of licensure website dated within 6 months. If there is no date on the screen shot, you must provide a statement signed by you on the date that the screen shot was created. 8. A sworn statement signed by you as to whether or not you have ever been found by any tribunal to have committed any crime or other act reflecting upon your suitability to practice law. Applications will NOT be accepted or considered if sent by mail or facsimile. Only on-line applications will be considered. Please review the following to see if there are any other documents you need to provide: https://www.dla.mil/portals/104/documents/Careers/supportingdocumentation.pdf GENERAL COUNSEL CONTACT INFORMATION: Jennifer McNamara Supervisory Paralegal Specialist DLA Office of Counsel Weapons Support (Richmond) (804) 279-2217 jennifer.w.mcnamara@dla.mil

How to Apply

As required by 5 C.F.R. § 302.106, DLA will provide Section 508 conformant ICT to employees with disabilities. All ICT interfaces with the public related to vacancy announcements and career transition opportunities must conform to the applicable requirements in the current ICT Standards and Guidelines (36 C.F.R. § 1194). Applications must be submitted ON-LINE via USAJobs by 11:59 pm EST on the closing date of the announcement. Only complete application packages will be considered. APPLICATIONS THAT FAIL TO MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date to receive consideration. To begin, click Apply Online to access an online application. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account or you may need to create a new account. You will be taken to an online application. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application. NOTE: Resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. You will receive an email notification when your application has been received for the announcement. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

What to Expect Next

Once you successfully complete the application process, you will receive a notification of receipt. Your application package will be reviewed to ensure you meet the basic eligibility and qualifications requirements, and you will receive another notification. The selecting official may choose to conduct interviews, and as part of the selection process, applicants may be required to complete additional supplemental documents. Once the selection is made, you will receive a notification of the decision. If interviews are conducted, DLA uses a technique called Behavior Based Interviewing (BBI). To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/ .

Additional Information

Excepted Service Position: This job is being filled by an alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive civil service. Veterans Information: There is no formal rating system for applying veteran's preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Defense considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., DD Form 214, Certifi...

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED 1) The first professional law degree (LLB. or J.D.); 2) Proof that you are licensed and a member in good standing with the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. Annual bar certification cards issued from your state of licensure are not considered acceptable. Proof is a "certificate of good standing" issued by your state of licensure dated within 6 months of the closing date of this announcement or a screenshot of your bar status taken from your state of licensure website that is dated within 6 months of the closing date of this announcement or sworn statement to that effect. If there is not a date on the screen shot, you must provide a statement signed by you on the date that the screen shot was created. The successful applicant selected for employment must provide a "certificate of good standing" issued by their respective bar showing they are in good status and in active status prior to appointment. 3) In addition to 1 and 2 (listed above), each grade level has the following qualification requirements: To Qualify at the GS-14 Level: You must possess professional legal experience in excess of 3 years commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. In accordance with DoDI 1442.2 (Personnel Actions Involving Civilian Attorneys), promotion for this position is based on the individual's time, performance, and mastery of skills at the required grade level and only with approval of the designated official (DLA General Counsel) in accordance with the applicable regulation. The legal experience described in your application package or resume will be evaluated and screened for competencies required to perform the duties of the position as described in the Major Duties section of this announcement. The QUALITY of experience will be evaluated and screened to determine how closely or to what extent your experience, education, and training are relevant to the duties and responsibilities of the announced position. Your application package or resume must demonstrate you have the competencies and quality of experience necessary to successfully perform the work of the position at the appropriate grade level. PRINCIPAL SELECTION FACTORS: The following factors will be used to evaluate the suitability of candidates for this position: Knowledge and experience in Federal acquisition law, preferably with the Department of Defense (DoD). Analytical/legal ability (including issue identification, legal research, analysis of options, risk analysis, creative problem-solving). Excellent oral and written communication skills. Excellent interpersonal skills and client relationships, and the ability to interact well with clients, colleagues and senior officials on routine as well as controversial and sensitive issues. Excellent legal and business judgement. Ability to lead team members toward achievement of organizational goals. Ability to train and assist in the development of junior attorneys. Ability to work effectively with a breadth of colleagues and geographically dispersed clients. Security Clearance: This position is designated Non-Critical Sensitive. If selected, you must obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance. If you are unable to obtain this level of security clearance (as a result of undisclosed or disclosed background issues), within a reasonable period of time (as defined by the agency), the employment offer may be withdrawn. In addition, incumbent is subject to periodic re-investigation to maintain security eligibility in accordance with DoD 5200.2-R.