Description
The incumbent must have excellent legal research and analytical skills and should possess strong professional management, problem-solving, and written and verbal communication skills. The ideal candidate must have experience in providing analysis of complex legal and legislative issues for executive-level decision-makers and exercising sound judgment to negotiate solutions and execute decisions on behalf of executive-level officials.
The duties of the Deputy Legislative Affairs Officer include, but are not limited to:
Assisting the Legislative Affairs Officer in planning, developing, coordinating, advising, and directing the activities of the office.
Advising the Legislative Affairs Officer and OLA team on strategic decisions and oversight activities of the Judicial Conference Committees on the Judicial Branch and Federal-State Jurisdiction.
Providing legal and legislative advice and recommendations to office and agency officials on legislative matters of importance to the judiciary.
Identifying and developing sound strategies to resolve legislative issues of importance to the judiciary.
Building relationships and coordinating regularly with Hill staff, judiciary stakeholders, and AO leadership.
Providing leadership, management, supervision, and coordination to attorneys, paralegals, and support staff.
Responding to legislative inquiries from Congress, the AO Director, judges, court officers, and others.
Attending congressional meetings, hearings, briefings on behalf of the judiciary.
Requirements
Qualifications
Applicants must have demonstrated experience which shows competence in the qualifications as listed below. This requirement is according to the AO Classification, Compensation, and Recruitment Systems which includes interpretive guidance and reference to the OPM Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions.
Bar Membership: Applicants must currently be an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or a federal court of general jurisdiction. Applicants are responsible for citing minimum qualifications such as J.D. and bar membership information (institution name, state(s) for bar, and dates) on their respective resumes. Failure to supply details will constitute an incomplete application. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Post J.D. Experience: Applicants must also possess at least 4 years of post J.D. experience.
Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one full year (52 weeks) (preferably 5 or more years) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-15/JSP-15/CL 31 level which is in or directly related to the line of work of this position. Specialized experience for this position is defined as follows:
Expertise and demonstrated experience in the political, administrative, and legislative processes of Congress.
Demonstrated ability to provide strategic advice and communications with executive-level officers.
Demonstrated ability to solve executive-level complex and sensitive problems.
Demonstrated expertise in composing, reviewing, and revising legal memoranda, legislative documents, explanatory materials, congressional testimony, executive-quality correspondence, speeches, and reports.
Demonstrated ability to assess executive-level, complex, and sensitive information, identify key issues, and implement appropriate solutions.
Highly Desired:
Experience in the federal legislative or judicial branches.
Staffing a judicial or legislative committee or working with judges, legislators, or executive-level officials.
Additional Assessment: Applicants who meet the specialized experience requirements also will be assessed on the following Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) and Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).
Mandatory Technical Qualifications: The MTQs listed below should be evident in your resume. A supplemental narrative must be uploaded and attached to your application addressing each MTQ listed below. Please limit your response to one page for each MTQ. Expert experience dealing with members of Congress and congressional staff, executive branch agencies, and the media. Demonstrated experience staffing congressional hearings or preparing individuals for written and oral testimony before congressional committees.
Excellent skills in oral and written presentation of complicated legal and policy matters. The ability to express, orally and in writing, complex legal and policy issues in clear and succinct language so that the concepts are easily understood by both judges, lawyers, and non-lawyers. Expert experience conducting and overseeing legal research on pending legislation or regulatory changes, including experience preparing legal analysis, documents, and responses in the form of letters, memoranda, and white papers.
Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs): See vacancy announcement.
