Associate Counsel Job in Reston, VA

Vacancy No. 25-12640155-DNI/IG/COUN Department Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Salary $117,962.00 to $153,354.00 Grade 13 to 13
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 12/11/2024 Close Date 1/8/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Reston, VA


Summary

The Office of the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community (IC IG) was established within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) by the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. The IC IG's organizational divisions include Audit, Investigations, Inspections and Evaluations, Mission Support Division, the Center for Protected Disclosures, and Counsel to the Inspector General.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Open to current and former Federal employees with competitive or excepted status; and all U.S. Citizens. Former members of the Peace Corps may be considered for ODNI employment only if five full years have elapsed since separation from the Peace Corps.

Duties

The Office of the Counsel to the IC IG ensures that the IC IG team receives independent, confidential legal advice and policy counsel. The Counsel team supports each IC IG Division by providing counsel; reviewing reports; highlighting and offering guidance on potential legal issues; identifying and interpreting key policy, contract and statutory or regulatory provisions; assisting in the evaluation of whistleblower disclosures and requests for External Review Panels; and reviewing matters related to IC IG personnel, administration, training, ethics, independence, and budgetary functions. The Counsel team participates in the Intelligence Community Inspectors General Forum, chairs the Forum's Counsels Committee and Legislative Subcommittee, and takes part in multiple associated working groups. The Counsel team leads IC IG's interactions with Congress and coordinates legislative matters on behalf of the Forum.

Interpret and explain laws, regulations, policies, and other legal authorities related to the IC IG and authority of the Director of National Intelligence.

Provide oral and written legal advice and guidance addressing novel or complex legal issues, with input from supervisors and colleagues.

Develop innovative and legally sound advice and guidance outlining possible courses of action and assessing risk.

Prepare persuasive legal documents on complex legal issues for a variety of internal and external recipients.

Review IC IG documents for legal sufficiency.

Draft policies and procedures to ensure IC IG's activities are effective, efficient, and compliant with all applicable law and policy.

Coordinate on legal matters with internal and external organizations, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the IC, the Executive Branch, and Congress. In doing so, mediate, negotiate, and resolve intra- and inter-agency disputes covering a wide range of topics across legal practice areas. Consistently demonstrate "strategic lawyering" practices that anticipate or prevent legal problems.

Conduct legal research and analysis on complex or sensitive legal issues as well as on laws, regulations, and policies that have an impact on IC IG equities and brief senior attorneys on issues and findings.

Respond to requests from IC elements and other federal agencies.

Analyze laws, bills, reports, and Congressional records, as well as proposed Executive Branch orders, directives, regulations, and policy statements, to determine their effect on IC IG equities. Provide authoritative advice and counsel to IC IG senior management on relevant legislative proposals and congressionally directed actions. Draft legislative proposals to ensure IC IG independence and the protection of whistleblowers.

Prepare, in conjunction with expert attorneys, IC IG senior officials for written or oral testimony, briefings, or other engagements before the congressional intelligence committees, and perform other congressional engagement coordination functions as needed.

Foster and maintain cordial, professional, and productive relationships with counterparts within the ODNI, the public, other Offices of Inspectors General, congressional intelligence committees, Intelligence Community elements, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, and other entities.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen residing in the United States
  • Appointment is subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance based on an SBI with eligibility for sensitive compartmented information (SCI)
  • Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
  • A two-year trial period is required for all new permanent appointments to the ODNI.

Qualifications

Mandatory Requirements:

Intermediate-level knowledge of one or more of the general or specialized areas of IC IG's law practice, including: the Inspector General Act, National Security Act of 1947, as amended, administrative and criminal investigations, administrative law, federal employee ethics, intelligence oversight, acquisition law, appropriations law, and privacy and civil liberties.

Knowledge of the mission, organization, and functions of the IC IG, ODNI, and IC.

Ability to interpret laws, regulations, judicial decisions, Executive orders, and statutes involving complex concepts and issues, as well as expert-level research, analytical, and organizational skills.

Ability to quickly integrate and synthesize the facts and law to make legally sound decisions and recommendations pertaining to the most complex situations, or in the context of ambiguous or ill-defined situations.

Ability to prepare and edit logical, concise, and accurate written materials on the most complex topics, in ways that are easy to understand, persuasive, and grammatically correct.

Ability to routinely communicate, oral and in writing, concepts and issues in a manner well-matched to the audience being addressed.

Ability to consistently make sound, timely decisions in ambiguous or ill-defined situations.

Ability to foster trust within the IC IG and with colleagues, partners, and stakeholders.

Ability to exemplify IC IG core values of Integrity, Independence, Accountability, Diversity, and Transparency.

Demonstrated commitment to public service.

Strong interpersonal skills in establishing and maintaining effective and collaborative working relationships with others.

Ability to quickly integrate and synthesize the facts and law to make legally sound decisions pertaining to the most complex situations, or in the context of ambiguous or ill-defined situations.

At least one year of relevant or readily transferable post Juris Doctor (J.D.) legal experience.

Active membership in good standing of the Bar of the highest court of a U.S. State, Territory, Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia.

Desired Requirements:

Intermediate-level knowledge of several of the general or specialized areas of IC IG's law practice, including: the Inspector General Act, National Security Act of 1947, as amended, administrative and criminal investigations, administrative law, federal employee ethics, intelligence oversight, acquisition law, appropriations law, and privacy and civil liberties.

Education

Bachelor's degree from an accredited university.

J.D. or equivalent from an American Bar Association accredited university.

Additional information

Job Interview Travel: Candidates from outside the Washington, D.C., area may be selected for a telephone, teleconference, or in-person interview.

Salary Determination:

The ODNI uses a rank-in-person system in which rank is attached to GS employees on the basis of individual qualifications, experience, and performance.
Individuals whose current GS grade is equivalent to the grade of the advertised position will retain their current grade and step.
Individuals who transfer to the ODNI from a non-GS pay scale will have base pay converted to the appropriate GS grade and step as determined by the Director/ Human Resource Management.

On occasional instances when a current federal civilian employee applies for an ODNI position that is a lower grade than his or her personal grade, the candidate's personal grade will be downgraded to the grade of the advertised ODNI position and pay will be set at the step that is closest to but not less than the employee's current annual base rate of pay, not to exceed the maximum rate (i.e., step 10) of the GS grade to which assigned.

Relocation Expenses: For new ODNI employees, reimbursement for relocation is discretionary based on availability of funds.

Reasonable Accommodations:
The ODNI provides reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the Reasonable Accommodations Officer by classified email at dni_reasonable_accommodation_wma@cia.ic.gov, by unclassified email at DNI_DRA@dni.gov, by telephone at 703-275-3900 or by FAX at 703-275-1217. Your request for reasonable accommodation will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION TO THE EEOD EMAIL ADDRESS. THIS EMAIL IS FOR REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS ONLY.

The ODNI is an equal opportunity employer and abides by applicable employment laws and regulations.

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.

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

You must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement. We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you are among the best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview. w.

Required Documents

A complete application package must include:

a. RESUME: Applicants are encouraged to carefully review the vacancy announcement, particularly the MDRs, and construct their resume to highlight their most significant experience and qualifications relevant to this job opportunity. You must ensure the resume contains all of the required information and you organize it so we can associate the following information for each experience/position:?Job title; Name of employer; Beginning and ending dates of employment (month/day/year format); Hours worked per week. We will assume full-time unless otherwise stated. Detailed description of job duties, accomplishments, related skills, and responsibilities to include any supervisory/managerial responsibilities and number of staff supervised (if applicable) and;?Series and grade or equivalent (if a federal position).

b. POSITION NUMBER: Reference the announcement number in the subject line on each document submitted.

c. COVER LETTER: Applicants must submit a professional narrative as a supplement to the resume to elaborate on their qualifications and previous work performed.

d. CURRENT SF-50: Federal Government employees must provide your official most recent SF-50 (i.e., dated within the last 52 weeks from the closing date of this vacancy announcement.) SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" is used to verify to verify current federal status, position, title, grade, and organization of record. If your SF-50(s) does not provide the information needed to make a final determination for qualification, you will be found ineligible for the position.


Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

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

We encourage you to read the entire announcement prior to submitting your application.

Click "Apply" at the top of the page. Your application MUST be received by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of this announcement.

In order to be considered, you must apply via USAJobs. The ODNI will not accept emailed applications. Applications received after the closing date will NOT be eligible for consideration. All attachments should be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format.

Do not include the following types of information in your profile or resume:
- Classified or government sensitive information
- Social Security Number (SSN)
- Photos of yourself
- Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
- Encrypted and digitally signed documents

Agency contact information

Vacancy Team ODNI
Address
OFFICE OF THE COUNSEL
Director Of National Intelligence
Washington, DC 20511
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once you successfully complete the application process, you will receive an acknowledgement of receipt email. Please note that the acknowledgement email does not ensure completion of your application. You must ensure that you submit all required documentation.

The most highly qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview. We expect to make a selection within 60 days of the closing date of this announcement. Due to the large number of applications received, applicants will be contacted ONLY if they have been selected for an interview.






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


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