Chief Counsel

⁠​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌⁠The EDGAR Business Office is seeking a Supervisory Attorney Adviser (Chief Counsel). As a Chief Counsel, you will manage the operations of the EBO Office of Chief Counsel (OCC) and provides legal guidance on a wide range of legal and policy matters pertaining to the Commission's EDGAR system. You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. If you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, you must submit a copy of your unofficial transcripts or equivalent by the closing date of the announcement. Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Internal Applicants: OHR will verify education qualifications for internal applicants using documents in the Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF). If required transcripts or certificates are not present in your eOPF, you will be required to provide them to OHR. If selected, a start date will not be established until official transcripts are received.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs. For more information, click here.

Applicants may also find the following helpful:
National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) is an association of 19 credential evaluation services with admission standards and an enforced code of good practice.

Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE) is an association of 10 credential evaluation services with a board of advisors and an enforced code of ethics. In this role as a Chief Counsel, you will be responsible for:

• Managing, assigning, and coordinating the work of staff in a collaborative and positive environment to achieve EBO objectives and Commission priorities, including but not limited to managing all EBO legal and certain EBO audit initiatives.
• Collaborating and communicating in a highly effective way with divisions/offices regarding, including but not limited to, rulemakings that create new or changed filing requirements to allow accurate and timely implementation in EDGAR.
• Ensuring high quality action memoranda and draft release documentation and other materials for Commission adoption of EDGAR Filer Manual changes/changes to EDGAR-related forms; and ensuring draft rule proposals prepared by EBO are well-researched, well-written and well-reasoned; engaging in clear and cordial communication with division/office staff and members of the Chairman's and Commissioners' offices.
• Providing legal advice and coordinating collaboratively on matters that impact the operation and development of the EDGAR system, including but not limited to support of EBO's Filer Support and Development and Operations teams.
• Managing and providing definitive legal guidance to EBO's Filer Support team on, inter alia, matters arising under Rule 15 of Regulation S-T.
• Communicating in a highly effective way with external EDGAR stakeholders, and reviewing and providing legal and other guidance on external communication.
• Providing legal counsel to SEC senior management on a broad range of sensitive and complex matters relating to EDGAR.

Applicants are responsible for confirming all required materials are submitted by the closing date of the announcement. Please check the How You Will Be Evaluated and Required Documents sections carefully, as missing documents will render the application incomplete and ineligible for review.

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sector. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: All applicants must possess the following

• J.D. or LL.B. degree --AND--
• Active membership of the bar in good standing in any state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the commonwealth of Puerto Rico. (Note: proof of bar membership will be required before entry on duty.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the basic requirement, applicants must also meet the minimum qualification requirement.

• SK-17: Applicant must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/SK-14 level. Specialized experience includes:1) Conducting legal research for SEC programs or projects; AND 2) Drafting legal memoranda, briefs, rulemakings, or other policy documents; AND 3) Providing legal advice on federal security laws, including the filing, disclosure, and reporting requirements administered through EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval); AND 4) advising stakeholders on disclosure issues and SEC reporting obligations.

ACCOMPLISHMENT RECORD COMPETENCIES: Your Accomplishment Record narratives should address the following competencies. See the How You Will Be Evaluated section below for more information:

Competency 1: Critical Thinking - Considers a variety of factors, general and subject matter-specific, when making decisions and determining next steps in a case.

Competency 2: Teamwork and Collaboration - Interacts with internal and external customers in a manner that advances SEC goals and objectives.

Competency 3: Strategic Execution - Understand and implement SEC's and Division/Office's policies and goals, with regard to personnel or programs in their purview anticipating, identifying, and addressing the impact of internal and external environmental factors, linking them to capabilities and potential of the organization.

Competency 4: Legal and Regulatory Analysis - Conducts analysis and prepares documents and reports in compliance with Federal law that governs the rulemaking process.