Supervisory Attorney-Advisor (Customs)

Organizational Location:This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Trade (OT), Regulations and Rulings Directorate (RR), Border Security and Trade Compliance Division, located in Washington, DC. Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.
In this position you will provide Strategic communications, administrative, and policy development support and assist with the facilitation of the execution of planning, reviewing, and managing communication products and program operations at Customs and Border Protection, Office of Trade.

CBP Office of Trade is the architect of the most robust customs system in the world and the second largest revenue source for the U.S. Government. We facilitate legitimate trade, enforce U.S. laws, and protect the American economy as well as consumer health and safety. Collaborating with industry and government partners, we create a fair, competitive, and safe trade environment, and we enforce U.S. trade law to protect national economic security. Our expertise in the trade community allows us to lead the development of streamlined and efficient processes that provide certainty for legitimate importers, while combatting transnational crime.

Joining U.S. Customs & Border Protection Office of Trade (OT) will allow you to use your expertise in providing policy and technical legal support to the programs within the Regulations and Rulings Directorate. This position starts at a salary of $163,964.00 (GS-15, Step 1) to $191,900.00 (GS-15, Step 10) with promotion potential to $191,900.00 (GS-15 Step 10).


Typical work assignments include:

• Supervising, as a Division Director and as a first-line supervisor, the first-line supervisory attorney-advisor Branch Chiefs within the Division, as well as paralegals, and other support staff of the Border Security and Trade Compliance Division, and supervising, as a second-line supervisor, the attorney-advisors within the Division, as well as support staff.
• Reviewing Enforce and Protect Act administrative review determinations and other higher profile administrative legal determinations, decisions, recommendations, and other written materials prior to their issuance.
• Providing regular reports to RR and OT management regarding Division productivity, and other Division priority issues.
• Providing technical legal/policy advice and guidance on matters covered by the Division (such as fines, penalties, and forfeitures and claims for relief from liquidated damages; intellectual property rights; importation of cultural property; carriers and the navigation laws; restricted merchandise; and/or the Enforce and Protect Act), to other OT Directorates, CBP, other agency representatives, and other government agencies.

Basic Requirement: You must provide supporting documentation in your application to show you are an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Education Requirement: You must provide supporting documentation in your application to show your completion of the first professional law degree (LL.B. or JD); or completion of the second professional law degree (LL.M.) from an accredited institution.

Experience: You qualify for the GS-15 grade level if you possess 3 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Drafting and interpreting legal instruments and working on other projects such as litigation, proposed legislation, and training, especially as it relates to the border security and trade missions of CBP.
• Furnishing technical legal, administrative, and programmatic guidance and advice with respect to complex programs and/or Administrative Procedure Act (APA) rulemaking.
• Providing guidance on complex program issues requiring extensive interpretation for various and unrelated program processes and methods.
• Reviewing regulations, proposed rulings and decisions, or other work to ensure legal accuracy and technical adequacy, and analyzing border security and trade policy implications and the decisions' effects on uniformity.

NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.

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.

You must:

• Meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information, review the following links: Background investigation and the e-QIP process.

Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:

• Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military
• A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government
• Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university
• Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government