The Challenge and Opportunity

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is a mission-driven, complex and dynamic organization and is seeking a General Counsel to join its leadership team to help steward the agency on its next phase of growth and impact. As General Counsel at OSSE, you will provide compelling legal guidance that challenges you to think big and differently. The General Counsel reports directly to the State Superintendent and serves as the primary legal advisor to the Superintendent and the executive leadership team on legal, policy and strategic issues. Additionally, the General Counsel leads and manages the Office of General Counsel (OGC) and supervises staff attorneys, legal assistants and interns assigned to OSSE who work on a vast portfolio of issues. These include issues related to District law, federal laws and regulations – with a primary focus on education, finance and grants, internal controls, ethics and data sharing.

To succeed in this role, you must operate as a thought partner – focusing on providing creative and action-oriented guidance to executive decision makers on high-stakes and urgent matters. You must demonstrate high capacity to develop relationships with stakeholders and pride yourself on your superior ability to communicate complex information. You are adept at building trust through the demonstration of good judgement and your ability to simplify legal concepts and communicate them plainly is a value add. You see problems as opportunities and take the initiative in helping colleagues, leaders and program staff identify creative solutions aligned with OSSE’s mission. Your intellectual curiosity enables you to continue to discover better and best practices to drive the work forward. Finally, you have unquestionable integrity and are passionate about the work we do.

Specific Functions of the General Counsel Include:

Legal Oversight and Litigation Management

• Holds full responsibility for conducting the legal business of OSSE, in coordination with the Mayor's Office of Legal Counsel and the Office of the Attorney General, including all suits instituted by and against the state education agency;
• Evaluates the merits of legal disputes filed against or on behalf of OSSE and pursues legal strategies;
• Directs the assessment of settlement offers and agreements; and
• In consultation with the Superintendent, supervises and directs strategies for all OSSE affirmative and defensive litigation before any judicial or administrative body.

Policy Development and Implementation

• Supervises the drafting of new legislation and regulations to support the Superintendent's policy agenda;
• Reviews and advises on legal sufficiency for a broad variety of policy matters affecting the early childhood through adult education continuum;
• Provides consultation during the review, research and preparation of responses for the Superintendent and leadership team to selected and sensitive, and often confidential inquiries and correspondence from the Mayor, members of the Council of the District of Columbia, officials of the District and federal governments, the media, and those surrounding jurisdictions, members of the private sector and the general public; and
• Oversees legal support for regulatory and oversight areas including licensing activities, special education services, data sharing, charter school financing and grants.

Internal Advisory Services

• Supports the OSSE Office of Human Resources on a broad array of labor issues and personnel matters for the nearly 400 main office OSSE employees and the nearly 1,400 employees in OSSE's Department of Transportation;
• Participates in the definition and development of agency policies, procedures and programs and provides continuing counsel and guidance on the legal implications of agency activities;
• Assists in the review of all relevant contracts, grants, agreements and other legal instruments between OSSE and other parties; and
• Provides time-sensitive and strategic guidance on time-sensitive and high-profile legal, policy and communications matters.

Key Qualifications:

• A law degree from an American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law school.
• Current member in good standing of the District of Columbia Bar or be eligible for waiver into the bar.
• At least one year of related specialized experience at or equivalent to either the lowest supervisory or highest nonsupervisory grade levels in the District of Columbia legal service.
• Substantive experience in providing legal advice on complex and sensitive issues to high-level executives and officials in a government agency or other entity.
• Substantive experience managing or supervising a legal team, with a focus on public policy or public interest law, and serving as an expert advisor in planning and policy decision-making; and, implementing, coordinating and directing the legal operation of an organization, designed to facilitate and improve legal service delivery to that organization.
• Excellent problem-solving, planning and strategic thinking skills.
• Superior relationship-building skills in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with coworkers, peers, staff and stakeholders.
• Experience in the education sector preferred.

Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) – Who We Are

OSSE is focused on sustaining, accelerating and deepening the progress being made for the District’s 90,000+ students. As the state education agency, OSSE serves as the District’s liaison to the US Department of Education and works closely with the District’s 470+ early childhood facilities, 250+ schools, 60+ local education agencies (including DCPS and charter organizations), and community-based organizations.

Over the years, OSSE has worked hard to improve systems and supports to help close the achievement gap and ensure people of all ages and backgrounds are prepared to succeed in school and in life. DC remains the fastest improving state and urban school system in the country on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card.

This is a Senior Executive Service Attorney Service position. Selected candidate must be a District resident or establish residency within 180 days of hire.

Interested candidates can apply on the DC Careers website (https://careers.dc.gov) and reference Job ID #13901.