ATTORNEY-ADVISOR Job in Yokota Air Base, Japan

Vacancy No. DE-12779136-25-TG Department Immediate Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
Salary $125,133.00 to $162,672.00 Grade 15 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 8/8/2025 Close Date 8/18/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Yokota Air Base, Japan


Summary

There is an anticipated vacancy for the position of ATTORNEY-ADVISOR in the STAFF JUDGE ADVOCATE (J06) of COMMANDER US FORCES JAPAN.

***ACCESS TO MEDICAL AND DENTAL CARE IN JAPAN IS EXTREMELY LIMITED. Please see Additional Information section below.***

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens

Duties

  • You will be assigned a continuing responsibility for managing the international and operations law activities.
  • You will formulate, coordinate and administer a general legal program on all matters pertaining to the accomplishment of plans, policies and programs of the activity.
  • You will examine, interpret, and advise on cases, instruments, directives; provide legal advice on international agreements, host nation laws, DoD policies and regulations, and negotiate bilateral agreements with the host-nation.
  • You will provide legal advice on international agreements, host nation laws, DoD policies and regulations, and negotiates bilateral agreements with the host-nation.
  • You will develop solutions to problems involving highly intricate legal, factual, and political questions, and provides correct, practical legal advice and services in a timely manner.
  • You will research and respond to difficult legal questions and methods of research, analyzing, interpreting, and applying Federal laws, regulations, policy directives, contracts, and other legal instruments.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a US Citizen.
  • Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
  • Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
  • New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
  • Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final top secret security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
  • Successful completion of a pre-employment drug test (including marijuana) is required. A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if you fail to report to the drug test appointment or fail the test. You will be subject to random testing.
  • You will be required to complete training, obtain, and maintain a government credit card for travel and travel-related purchases.
  • This position is considered Key/Emergency-Essential. You will be required to provide immediate and continuing support to ensure the success of combat operations or the availability of combat-essential systems.
  • You will be required to obtain and maintain an active State Bar or the D.C. Bar and must be fully qualified to practice before the highest court of a State, D.C., a Territory, or before a federal Court.
  • You will be required to successfully complete a pre-appointment physical examination.
  • This position may require travel from normal duty station to CONUS and OCONUS and may include remote or isolated sites. You must be able to travel on military and commercial aircraft for extended periods of time.

Qualifications

The position will be filled under the General Schedule (GS) pay system at the GS-15 level. To be selected at the GS-15 level, the candidate must demonstrate at least one-year of experience using expert knowledge of federal statutes and regulations and international conventions and agreements in the areas of international law, operational law, and contract law with knowledge of matters directly related to the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security to implement international agreements. Also, have at least one-year of experience advising on bilateral basing rights in Japan and advising on the DoD's legal rights and obligations regarding the joint and shared use of areas and facilities in Japan.

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.

Education

The successful applicant must have graduated with a J.D. or LL.M. from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, be an active member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. Commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia, and be admitted to practice before a state or federal court.

Additional information

This is a public notice flyer to notify interested applicants of anticipated vacancies. Applications will not be accepted through this flyer. Interested applicants must follow the directions in the "How to Apply" section of this flyer to be considered. There may or may not be actual vacancies filled from this flyer. Notice of Result letters will not be sent to applicants who respond to this flyer.

Employees (and their family members) who require medical or dental care in Japan may experience severe limitations accessing medical care both on the military installation and the local economy, and also could incur costly medical expenses.

Pay retention may be granted when certain conditions are met.

This position is not covered by the Department of the Defense Priority Placement Program.

This position is in the excepted service and does not confer competitive status.

Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees.

A relocation incentive is generally a single payment intended to offset some of the relocation costs experienced by the selectee. A relocation incentive may be authorized.

A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.

Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/Documents/CivilianJobs/FedCivAnnuitants.pdf.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience.

As vacancies occur, the Human Resources Office will review your resume to ensure you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this flyer. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume, along with your supporting documentation.

If selected, you may be required to provide additional supporting documentation.

If after reviewing your resume and supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may be found ineligible/not qualified.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

All qualification requirements must be met before being considered for any vacancies.

Required Documents

A complete resume is required. Your resume must show relevant experience, job title, duties and accomplishments. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. The following information should be provided in your resume, but it is acceptable to provide elsewhere in your application package: employer's name, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), hours per week, and pay plan, series and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09) for relevant federal experience. TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use the Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume.

Are you using education as a substitute for some or all of the experience requirement? Is there a basic education requirement for this position? Check the Education section above to see what is allowed and what is required. Any claims you make in your resume or assessment questionnaire regarding education or degrees MUST be supported by submitting with your application official or unofficial transcripts or a list of courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned issued from your school. While unofficial transcripts are acceptable for initial application, an official transcript will ultimately be required if you are selected for the position. You may submit a copy of your degree(s) if specific coursework does not have to be verified.

Are you a veteran claiming veterans' preference?
There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Navy Office of the General Counsel considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must specifically claim such eligibility in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., DD Form 214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty") to their submissions.

Although the point-preference system is not used, applicants eligible to claim a 10-point preference must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference," and supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed. (SF-15, which lists the types of 10-point preference and the required supporting documents, is available from the Office of Personnel Management Website at www.opm.gov.)

Not all veterans are preference eligible. For a summary of time periods, campaigns, and conditions that entitle an applicant to preference eligibility, please visit https://www.fedshirevets.gov/index.aspx, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans, and see the Veterans' Preference Advisor, operated by the Department of Labor at http://www.dol.gov/elaws/vets/vetpref/vetspref.htm.

Are you an active duty service member? Active Duty Service Members will be required to submit a statement of service printed on command letterhead and signed by the command during processing of any hiring action. The statement of service must provide the branch of service, rate/rank, all dates of service, the expected date of discharge and anticipated character of service (Honorable, General, etc.).

Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents contain personal information such as SSN and DOB and some documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove said personal information before you submit your application. You must provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

Interested Applicants must submit resumes/application packages to:

All resumes should be forwarded to the Mr. Charles (Scott) Vogeley (charles.s.vogeley.civ@mail.mil)

In the subject line of the email, please annotate: DE-12779136-25-TG Attorney-Advisor - Last Name, First Name

Facsimile applications will not be considered.

All resumes/applications must be received no later than the close date of this flyer.

It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that all information in their resume and documents, are received, legible, and accurate. HR will not modify answers/documents submitted by an applicant.

Failure to submit a complete application package will result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration.

Agency contact information

Debbie D Tolentino
Address
COMMANDER US FORCES JAPAN
Yokota
Japan
FPO, AP 96349
US

Next steps

Qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager. The selecting official may choose to conduct interviews.

Our evaluation will be based on the information you provide. You should expect that we will verify performance, suitability, and security information and take that information into account in making employment offers.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.