Legal Program Specialist

Job Announcement

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Office of Chief Counsel

Position Title: Legal Program Specialist

Duty Station: FEMA Headquarters (Washington, DC)

Grade: IC-9/11 (Equivalent to that of a GS-9/11)

OPENING DATE: Monday, February 10, 2025

CLOSING DATE: Monday, February 24, 2025, by 11:59 PM ET

POSITION TITLE AND LEGAL DIVISION:

Legal Program Specialist within FEMA’s Office of Chief Counsel’s (OCC), Regional and Field Operations Legal Division (RFOLD)

SERIES, PAY PLAN, GRADE, SECURITY CLEARANCE, AND TRAVEL:

Series 0301-Legal Program Specialist, IC-9/11. This means that OCC may fill the position at either the IC-9 or IC-11 salary level. An individual hired at the IC-9 level may later be promoted to the IC-11 level, subject to the conditions of the Office of Chief Counsel Hiring and Promotion Plan. The position has a full performance level of IC-11.

This is a public trust position and does not require a security clearance.

This position may require travel, approximately 10 to 15% of the time, for training or other duties. Travel will vary depending on operational necessity.

DUTY STATION LOCATION AND REMOTE WORK ELIGIBILITY:

The position has a duty station of Washington, DC. The position is not eligible for remote work.

POSITION TYPE:

This is a Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employee (CORE) position. This is a temporary appointment in the Excepted Service, not to exceed three (3) years, with the option to extend based on workload and funding availability.

POSITION SUMMARY AND IDEAL CANDIDATE:

RFOLD seeks qualified applicants for the position of IC-0301-9/11 (GS equivalent grade) Legal Program Specialist under the immediate supervision of the Associate Chief Counsel, RFOLD.

The ideal candidate is a proactive, highly organized, and detail-oriented professional with strong communication skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities efficiently. They thrive in a fast-paced legal environment, working independently and collaboratively to anticipate needs, streamline processes, and provide critical administrative and legal support to the RFOLD team.

The ideal candidate will have experience supporting large teams, managing sensitive records, scheduling meetings and events, drafting documents and taking notes, tracking deadlines, and overseeing administrative tasks. The ideal candidate will be a solution-oriented problem solver who takes initiative to improve efficiency, support attorneys, and maintain critical records.

Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint is essential, along with the knowledge or ability to learn SharePoint site maintenance.

DUTIES OF THE POSITION:

• Serve as RFOLD’s records manager, ensuring the proper maintenance, organization, and accessibility of legal and administrative documents. Assist in tracking and analyzing division data to optimize processes and inform strategic decision-making.
• Compile, edit, and finalize the RFOLD weekly report.
• Support the division’s SharePoint page by assisting the SharePoint Editorial Board.
• Track meeting action items and administrative tasks to ensure deadlines are met.
• Maintain and update RFOLD’s organizational charts to reflect staffing changes and ensure accurate record-keeping.
• Support hiring by organizing applicant materials, maintaining tracking spreadsheets, scheduling interviews, and preparing hiring panel folders. Support onboarding by facilitating equipment and access rights.
• Serve as timekeeper, ensuring the accurate and timely submission of timecards.
• Assist attorneys by conducting legal research, organizing case files, and other administrative duties.
• Oversee training and licensing compliance, tracking attorney bar memberships and renewals.
• Coordinate travel arrangements for training sessions, track associated expenditures, and monitoring completion of mandatory training.
• Provide meeting support by taking detailed notes and minutes for key RFOLD discussions.
• Assist with 508 Compliance reviews of RFOLD documents.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED/SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:

Minimum Requirements include:

• U.S. Citizenship
• Ability to successfully pass a background investigation (public trust),
• Ability to obtain and maintain a government travel card,
• Selective Service registration for males born after 12/31/59,
• Agreement with Every Employee is an Emergency Manager requirement.

Minimum Experience:

You qualify for this position at the IC-9 level if you possess the following experience by the closing date of this announcement:

Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience.

OR

A master’s degree or equivalent graduate degree or two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such degree from an accredited institution.

OR

A combination of specialized experience and graduate level education.

You qualify for this position at the IC-11 level if you possess the following experience by the closing date of this announcement:

Applicants must have at least two years of specialized experience.

OR

A combination of specialized experience and graduate level education.

Specialized experience for this position includes:

• Demonstrated experience supporting large teams, managing sensitive records, scheduling meetings and events, tracking deadlines, overseeing administrative tasks, handling timekeeping, coordinating onboarding and offboarding, assisting with legal research, taking and revising notes, tracking data, and preparing reports.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint is required.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

The applicant must submit the following to be considered:

• Cover letter explaining the applicant’s interest in the position and how the applicant’s experience is relevant to the position.
• Resume

EMERGENCY MANAGER ASSIGNMENT:

Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.

HOW TO APPLY:

Interested applicants should submit a resume and cover letter to Scott Dowling via email at [email protected] by the closing date of this announcement. The subject line of the email should reference that you are applying for the RFOLD Legal Program Specialist position.