SEC seeks applicants for muni office chief

The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking applicants to head the office of Municipal Securities, a key post responsible for coordinating the SEC’s muni regulatory activities.

An Oct. 8 posting on the USAJOBS website that serves as the portal for federal government employment lists the position that is currently held by Rebecca Olsen, who has been OMS director since September 2018. The SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The selectee will serve as the Director of the Office of Municipal Securities (OMS) insuring that the Office effectively and efficiently administers all aspects of its municipal securities program and its oversight of Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board rulemaking pertaining to brokers, dealers, advisors, investors and issuers in connection with municipal securities,” the posting reads.

The job has a listed salary range of $190,564 to $267,780 per year. The applicant must be a lawyer, and a member in good standing of the bar somewhere in the 50 states, Washington D.C., or Puerto Rico.

The position is a three-year appointment and “may be extended for 1 additional year without further competition,” according to the posting.

Olsen had been acting director of OMS since September 2017 when then-director Jessica Kane left to go to the SEC’s Office of Credit Ratings. She was named OMS deputy director in May 2015 after serving as chief counsel for the office.

Olsen first joined the SEC in May 2013 as an attorney-fellow in OMS. Prior to that, she worked as a public finance attorney at the law firm of Ballard Spahr.

The posting is slated to close Oct. 22.