Chief Counsel

Summary

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), John Glenn Research Center (GRC) is recruiting for the role of Chief Counsel, an executive leadership position reporting directly to the NASA General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). The Chief Counsel serves as the senior legal adviser to the GRC Center Director and staff on all matters of legal policy and law related to GRC activities, conducted in alignment with agency-wide legal standards.

Duties

The Chief Counsel: Serves as the Chief Counsel and senior legal adviser to John Glenn Research Center (GRC) Center Director and staff on all matters of legal policy and law in connection with activities at GRC. The Chief Counsel reports directly to the NASA General Counsel on the provision of legal services NASA-wide and develops local procedures and policy consistent with and in coordination with the Agency General Counsel. Directly responsible for the oversight and supervision of staff members of the center's legal office and other staff members from the NASA Legal Enterprise as may be assigned. Develops and executes Center's legal staffing plan, legal office procurement budget, and overall legal operations in close coordination with the NASA Legal Enterprise and as part of the Enterprise's annual Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) cycle. Directly responsible for coordination with the NASA Office of General Counsel (OGC), as well as other OGC counsel and management officials, and other NASA officials either directly or in conjunction with the Center Director in the areas of policy, program objectives, funding, and other pertinent activities. Represents NASA interests in litigation in which the Center is a party and provides advice and assistance to the Department of Justice. Accepts process or pleadings in legal proceedings on behalf of the Center Director and takes all necessary further actions to protect NASA's interests in real or personal property and adjudicates claims presented to the Center for personal injury or damage to or loss of real or personal property. Ensures legal representation in matters involving other Federal, state, and local Government agencies when the Center's interests are involved and as required in formal regulatory proceedings where the Center's interests require representation and in appropriate courts and administrative agencies. Exercises responsibilities delegated to Center Chief Counsel in NASA agency directives, is responsible to the Designated Agency Ethics Official and Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official for all ethics activities at the Center, and is responsible for the administration of the Center's patent program.

Qualifications and evaluation

All qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. We will review your resume to ensure you meet the qualification requirements. If you meet the basic qualification requirements, your application will be referred to and evaluated by an executive panel. Highly Qualified applicants may undergo one or more interviews and/or be asked to provide a list of references or additional documents to confirm eligibility. Upon selection, if the selectee does not have Qualifications Review Board (QRB) certification by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), he/she must undergo an ECQ based structured interview with OPM before being appointed to this position.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement. To be eligible, you must clearly state in your resume the following: degree, major and/or minor, and college/university. A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page. You must possess a J.D. or LL.M from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association and be a member in good standing of a bar in a state/territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR 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. These education credentials must be 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. For further information, click here.

How to apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section and submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your resume to be included with your application package. Your uploaded resume may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the "Include Personal Information" section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. It is applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and uploaded, (i.e., resume) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, 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://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status. Faxed, emailed, and/or mailed application materials will not be accepted for this announcement. NASA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you are an applicant with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency contact center listed on the job vacancy announcement. The decision on granting reasonable accommodations will be on a case-by-case basis.

Required documents

A complete application includes items described below. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may be removed from consideration for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible). Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. RESUME: All applicants are required to submit a two (2) page resume showing all relevant experience. Applicants seeking initial career appointment to the SES must include evidence of the ECQs and MTQ within their resume. Please see this guidance: What to include in your resume. Note: if any of the following types of information are included on your resume, you may be disqualified: Classified or government sensitive information. Social Security Number (SSN) Photos of yourself Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc. Encrypted and digitally signed documents. If your resume contains any of the above information, you must redact that information prior to the submission of your application. VACANCY QUESTION/ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES: Responses are automatically submitted through USAJOBS when you apply to this vacancy. You may be asked to provide additional documentation to support your eligibility and the information provided in your application package. For example, we may request academic transcripts, SF-50s, SES Candidate Development Program certificate, etc. Therefore, we encourage you to have these documents prepared and ready when requested by the agency. If you fail to provide the required documents within the stated time period, we may withdraw a job offer and/or remove you from further consideration.

Additional information

Veterans' preference is not applicable to the SES.