Closing Date: 10th May, 2024

Description:

Summary:
This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), A Government Entity. 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.

Duties:
As the Associate Chief Counsel, the incumbent is the principal legal representative of the Office of Chief Counsel, A Government Entity , for his/her jurisdiction, and is responsible for the supervision and performance of all legal duties within the area and such other duties which may be prescribed by delegation from the Chief Counsel.

Under the general direction of the Chief Counsel and the Deputy Chief Counsel, the Associate Chief Counsel (Long Beach) (ACC (LB)) is responsible for the direction and management of the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Long Beach) and the subordinate Assistant Chief Counsel offices.

The ACC (LB) has full supervisory authority over the staff in his/her territory, including all attorney and non-attorney employees. He/she is responsible for providing the full range of legal advice and representation to all A Government Entity offices in his/her territory, including: U.S. Border Patrol (USBP); the Office of Field Operations (OFO); Air and Marine Operations (AMO); the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR); and the Office of Trade (OT). He/she deals with top A Government Entity officials in his/her territory and A Government Entity officials nationwide; officials of DHS at the Department level and other Government departments; representatives of state, local, tribal and foreign governments; and attorneys from the private sector.

The ACC (LB) provides legal advice and representation on a very broad range of matters, including enforcement of all immigration, customs, and agriculture laws, rules and regulations; enforcement of U.S. laws at the U.S. border; and various Constitutional issues. He/she will deal with matters related to national security, homeland and border security, intelligence, and trade facilitation. He/she ensures the appropriate disclosure of organization information and handles tort claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and Bivens. He/she provides legal advice under employment law, including the conduct of hearings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Merit Systems Protection Board and arbitrators.

The ACC (LB) performs a full range of legal duties, including supervising or personally handling: the review of the most complex civil and criminal cases before referral to the Department of Justice (DOJ), negotiation of settlements of large and important cases; the review of other very complex civil and criminal cases at the request of DOJ attorneys and/or A Government Entity managers including such highly sensitive matters as civil rights suits against A Government Entity officials; review of cases for possible appeal and, when appropriate, recommending appeal to a higher court through A Government Entity, DHS and DOJ channels, including meeting with the Solicitor General's Office. He/she prepares detailed memoranda of fact and law recommending action to be taken. He/she has oversight of the preparation and presentation of complex or sensitive cases in administrative or third-party hearings, directs research activities and other preparatory efforts.

As principal attorney, he/she exercises full responsibility for development and presentation of aforementioned cases. He/she also prepares appropriate pleadings, briefs, and discovery documents, interviews witnesses and presents oral arguments as required. He/she is responsible for the formulation of the agency's legal position in all of these matters.

Requirements:
Conditions of Employment:

You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
You must submit to a pre-employment drug test.
You must be able to obtain/maintain a TS/SCI security clearance.
You may be required to undergo periodic drug testing.
You will serve a one-year probationary period unless you previously completed the probationary period in the SES.
Selectee will be required to complete form OGE-278, Executive Personnel Financial Disclosure Form.
You must possess a professional law degree (e.g., J.D., LL.B.) acquired through graduation for a School of Law accredited by the American Bar Association.
You must be an active member in good standing of the Bar of a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.
Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

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. As such, your resume should demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully fulfill responsibilities inherent in most SES positions such as:

Directing the work of an organizational unit;
Ensuring the success of one or more specific major programs or projects;
Monitoring progress toward strategic organizational goals, evaluating organizational performance and taking action to improve performance;
Supervising the work of employees; and
Exercising important policymaking, policy determining, or other executive functions.

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 PDF 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