SENIOR ATTORNEY - 31001829

State of Florida•TALLAHASSEE, FL

49d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Attorney works in the Office of General Counsel at the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), with a particular focus on the Bureau of Mitigation. The role provides legal and policy support for Division functions and operations, including reviewing, revising, and drafting policies, procedures, contracts, and procurement documents; assisting with rulemaking; and carrying out other work assigned by the General Counsel or Deputy General Counsel. The position supports the development and updating of policies and procedures, administrative rulemaking, review of agreements, and compliance with requirements governing state and federal emergency management grant funds. It also helps manage appeals, contracts, audits, deadlines, records requirements, and monitoring tools. The role may involve coordination with other DEM attorneys and travel, including assisting with disaster response and recovery anywhere in Florida. FDEM employees may be required to work irregular or extended hours, including weekends and holidays, work away from their official headquarters, perform duties beyond those in their position description, and deploy to emergency sites with limited notice. Successful completion of background screening is required.

Requirements

Be a member of the Florida Bar in good standing.
Have working knowledge of Chapter 112, Florida Statutes, Part III, Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees, as applicable to DEM employees.
Knowledge of legal terminology, Florida laws and legal procedure, and Chapter 120, Florida Statutes.
Skill in reading comprehension, analysis, research, and organization.
Ability to provide legal counsel and interpret state and federal legislation, laws, and rules.
Ability to apply legal reasoning and anticipate possible legal problems.
Ability to communicate effectively and concisely, orally and in writing.
Ability to take action when direction is unclear and take initiative on independent research projects.
Ability to plan, organize, and coordinate work assignments and maintain effective working relationships.
Ability to use independent judgment when releasing information to the public.
Ability to collect and analyze data, conduct meetings, and make presentations.
Ability to perform legal writing and prepare legal documents.
Ability to conduct effective legal research using Westlaw and/or LexisNexis.
Ability to work irregular or extended hours, including weekends and holidays, when responding to emergency events, and to deploy to emergency sites with limited advance notice.
Successful completion of background screening.

Responsibilities

Provide guidance and technical assistance to DEM bureaus, particularly the Bureau of Mitigation, on developing, adopting, and updating policies and procedures and promulgating administrative rules under Chapter 120, Florida Statutes.
Prepare and review correspondence, summaries, reports, and memoranda for internal and external audiences.
Conduct legal reviews of grant and subgrant agreements, contractual service agreements, memoranda of understanding, memoranda of agreement, and other contracts.
Provide compliance support for the receipt and use of federal and state emergency management grant funds disbursed under DEM contracts.
Develop, review, and implement policies and procedures related to appeals, contract development and management, and compliance.
Promote DEM-wide awareness of and compliance with public records retention and management requirements.
Develop, review, and implement monitoring tools to ensure compliance with state and federal standards and requirements.
Assist DEM personnel with ongoing audits, including tracking active audits and response deadlines and researching and preparing audit responses as needed.
Track deadlines for rule changes, audit responses, contract reviews, and other technical reviews.
Coordinate with other DEM attorneys on legal and policy matters as needed.
Perform other related duties and travel as necessary, including assisting DEM response and recovery efforts during emergency and disaster events in Florida.
Perform other tasks assigned by the General Counsel or Deputy General Counsel.