The Solicitor's Office performs the legal work for the United States Department of the Interior. Our primary client is the Secretary of the Interior. We provide advice, counsel and legal representation to the Immediate Office of the Secretary, the Assistant Secretaries, and all other bureaus and offices overseen by the Secretary. The Solicitors Office is organized into the Immediate Office of the Solicitor, the Ethics Office, five legal divisions, an administrative division, and eighteen regional and field offices located throughout the United States.
Current SES members who earn more than $165,300 will be reassigned at their current rate if selected.
KEY REQUIREMENTS
- Applicants must be U.S. Citizens
- Travel will be required for this position
- It is important that you maintain a current/valid e-mail address.
- More requirements are listed within the Qualifications and Evaluations tab.
DUTIES:
This position is in the Office of the Solicitor (Office), Division of Administration. The Director of Administration serves as the chief advisor to the Solicitor, Deputy Solicitors, Associate Solicitors, and Regional Solicitors regarding regulatory, policy, and administrative aspects of strategic human capital initiatives, budget and accounting, personnel management, performance management, employee relations, information systems, records management, facilities and property management, contracting and procurement, travel, training, employee development, program evaluation and management controls.
The Director provides executive direction and leadership to a variety of programs, operations, and staff. The programs include Information Technology Services; Records Management; Human Resources; Budget Services; Financial Management; Facilities Management, and Procurement Services. The Director will execute strategic plans for the Office, including providing advice to the Solicitor, Deputy Solicitors, and other senior managers regarding mission, goals and objectives, organizational structures, and management initiatives. Manages the preparation of the Office’s annual budget requests and assists the Solicitor in presenting these requests to the Department, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Congress. Identifies budgetary needs and priorities and develops the budget submissions. Manages programs and activities to provide human capital support and advice to both managers and employees of the Office of the Solicitor concerning personnel matters, including position management, recruitment, pay and benefits, employee relations, and equal employment opportunity, absence and leave, performance management, training and development, work/life programs, and other employee outreach programs. Manages strategic workforce planning, forecasting, and reporting. Manages the information and records management program, both paper and electronic, including planning and implementation of activities to ensure efficiency, and prudent use of space and other resources in how information is handled, retained, archived, and destroyed. Manages the information technology program including planning, acquisition, implementation, and administration of initiatives and activities to support the infrastructure, security, electronic discovery, application and network needs of the users and Office-wide programs and operations. Manages space, property, telecommunications, inventory, contracting, acquisitions, procurement, travel, and cost management activities of the office. This includes management and implementation of Departmental systems and associated requirements in support of the programs, and compliance with applicable regulatory and Departmental requirements. Manages the Continuity of Operations program and HSPD-12 program initiatives and activities.
QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:
Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience directly related to the duties, and equip the candidate with the scope and level of knowledge, skills, and abilities identified below to successfully perform the work. You must demonstrate progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior executive level managerial capability. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the GS-15 grade level in the Federal service or its equivalent with state or local government, the private sector or non governmental organizations.
Please provide written narratives describing your experience that has equipped you with the following qualifications (see below). Your examples should be clear and concise, and emphasize your level of responsibilities, scope and complexity of programs managed, program accomplishments with results of your actions, policy initiatives, and level of contacts. Follow the Challenge-Context-Action-Result Model when writing your responses. Click on www.opm.gov/ses/writingstate.asp to view the Guide for writing executive core qualifications statements.
Executive Core Qualifications (Mandatory ):
ECQ 1 - LEADING CHANGE: 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. Competencies: Creativity and Innovation, External Awareness, Flexibility, Resilience, Strategic Thinking, and Vision.
ECQ 2 - LEADING PEOPLE: Ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to the 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. Competencies: Conflict Management, Leveraging Diversity, Developing Others, and Team Building.
ECQ 3 - RESULTS DRIVEN: 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. Competencies: Accountability, Customer Service, Decisiveness, Entrepreneurship, Problem Solving, and Technical Credibility.
ECQ 4 - BUSINESS ACUMEN: Ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. Competencies : Financial Management, Human Capital Management, and Technology Management.
ECQ 5 - BUILDING COALITIONS: 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. Competencies : Partnering, Political Savvy, and Influencing/Negotiating.
Technical Qualifications (Mandatory):
1) Demonstrated knowledge of a complex budget process including formulation, preparation, presentation and justification, and execution; and proven ability to identify budgetary issues, weigh alternative viewpoints or findings thoughtfully, and propose conclusions or alternatives that are workable and that exhibit a thorough understanding of the issue involved.
2) Demonstrated knowledge of human resources regulations and policies including oversight of staffing and classification activities, personnel management issues, and employee relations matters.
3) Demonstrated knowledge of federal statutes and regulations governing administrative programs, including facilities management, procurement, and federal contracting.
Desirable Qualifications and Other Information:
1) Demonstrated experience with or substantial understanding of management operations of a law office.
2) Experience with managing an attorney recruitment program.
Failure to meet these basic qualification requirements will disqualify you from further consideration . Unless you are currently serving under a career Senior Executive Service appointment, are eligible for reinstatement into the Senior Executive Service, or have successfully completed a Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program approved by OPM, you must submit narrative statements which address EACH of the five ECQs and three technical qualification requirements separately. You will not be considered for this position if you fail to submit a narrative statement addressing the mandatory ECQ’s and the mandatory technical qualifications requirements. Addressing the Desirable Qualifications are optional, but strongly encouraged.
A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination. This position requires completion of a one year SES probationary period, if one has not previously been completed. If selected for this position, you will be required to file a Financial Disclosure Report, SF-278, and the supplemental form, Confidential Statement of Employment and Financial Interest, DI-278. All forms must be filed within 30 days of encumbering this position. If selected for this position, you may be subject to a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use.
HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:
You will be evaluated on the basis of the quality and extent of your accomplishments, experience, and education. This information will be obtained from your application package. To preview questions please click here .
BENEFITS:
Working for the Department of the Interior offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health benefits, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. The following Web address is provided for your reference to explore the major benefits offered to most Federal employees, http://www.opm.gov/insure/index.aspx .
OTHER INFORMATION:
If you are selected for this Federal position, you will be required to complete a "Declaration of Federal Employment", (OF-306), prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failure to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on the application may be grounds for not hiring you or for dismissing you after you begin work, and may be punishable by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001). Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position. Selectee will be required to have federal payments made by direct deposit. The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361. Veterans Preference does not apply to the Senior Executive Service. Relocation expenses will not be paid. Recruitment methods and selection procedures will be based solely on merit after fair and open competition, and will be made without regard to political, religious, or labor organization affiliation or nonaffiliation, marital status, race, color, sex, national origin, non-disqualifying disability, sexual orientation, or age. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.
