Requirements
Conditions of employment
- Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
- Position requires the incumbent to be able to obtain and maintain a determination of eligibility for a Top Secret-Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS-SCI) security clearance for access for the duration of employment.
- TS-SCI clearance and may be required to stand duty and work 24 hour operations during contingencies.
- Incumbent must be a U.S. citizen.
- This position requires the incumbent to maintain active bar membership, in good standing (as defined by the pertinent bar) of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
- Position is covered by the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Program; incumbent must pass urinalysis screening for illegal drug use prior to appointment and periodically thereafter.
- Incumbent is required to sign a DA Form 5019-Condition of Employment for Certain Civilian Positions Identified Critical under the Department of the Army Drug-Free Federal Workplace Program.
- This position is subject to a pre-employment screening and testing thereafter, including random testing, testing based on reasonable suspicion, and testing due to direct involvement with an on-duty accident.
- Must obtain and maintain a no-fee passport and associated visa while assigned to a Federal civilian position in an area requiring a passport and associated visa, if authorized.
- Employee must pass a medical examination and receive required immunizations for the overseas/deployed location.
- Incumbent must obtain and maintain Country/Theater clearance per the foreign clearance guide and complete any pre-employment screening for country entry.
- Incumbent must be available 24/7 dependent on mission requirements. This will include on-call, stand-by, and after duty hours, as well as occasional shift work, including after hours, holiday, and weekend duty.
- Position has a mandatory seasonal influenza vaccination requirement and is therefore subject to annual seasonal influenza vaccinations.
- Incumbent may be required to sign a condition of employment statement consenting to seasonal influenza vaccinations.
- Position requires approximately 15% of the incumbent's time to be spent in a temporary duty status, including travel to Africa.
Qualifications
Who May Apply: US Citizens
Applicants will be evaluated to determine if they meet the minimum qualification requirements and on the extent to which their application shows possession of the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with the position.
KSA's:
- Skill in identifying, researching, and analyzing highly technical and complex legal issues across administrative law, government information law (FOIA and Privacy Act), ethics and standards of conduct, civilian personnel/labor law, international and host-nation law, and acquisition/fiscal law.
- Skill in providing legal, technical, and policy guidance to senior command officials, staff, and host-nation counterparts on matters involving U.S., host-nation, and international law, including international agreements, environmental agreements, Status of Forces Agreements, and contingency/deployment operations.
Qualification Requirements: The following minimum qualification requirements must be met before applicants are eligible for further consideration:
Education Requirements: Position requires the possession of the first professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.)
AND a member in good standing with the highest court of a State, U.S. commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia. Applicants for initial appointment into attorney positions within the Department of Army must be graduates of law schools accredited by the American Bar Association at the time of the applicant's graduation. As indicated below, a law school transcript must be submitted with your application materials.
Bar Membership: Applicants must currently be a member in good standing (as defined by the pertinent bar) of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As noted below, proof of such membership and good standing must be submitted with your application materials.
Experience: In addition to the requirements above, applicants for the GS-14 or equivalent Attorney positions must also possess 3 years of professional legal experience, acquired after being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. Graduation from an ABA-Accredited Law School in the top 25% of the class or an advanced law degree such as an LLM may substitute for one year of the required professional legal experience.
Time in Grade: The Qualifying Authorities (QA's) will make a determination as to the applicability of time in grade based on the requirements of the position. If you are currently employed as an attorney by the Federal government you must have completed one year at the next lower grade level within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement, or previously served at the same or higher grade level as the position being filled.
NOTICE OF VETERAN'S PREFERENCE: There is no formal rating system for applying veteran's preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Defense considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information 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. The SF 15 will identify the supporting documentation required along with the list of the types of 10-point preference. The SF 15 is available from the OPM at
https://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/type/sf/.
Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the
Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit
https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction/ for more information.
Education
Only degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements or to substitute education for experience. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. Department of Education websites at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications and http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html.
Additional information
- PLEASE NOTE THAT REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATION, TIME IN GRADE, AND EXPERIENCE MAY BE WAIVED BY THE APPLICABLE AUTHORITY AND THE REQUIREMENTS SHOULD NOT DETER ANY INDIVIDUAL FROM APPLYING FOR THE POSITION.
- You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
- Position requires a 2 year trial period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and interests; whether your continued employment supports organizational or Government goals; and whether it promotes the efficiency of the Federal service. Continued employment requires written certification that it advances the public interest.
- This is a Career Program 56 Legal position under the PILLAR Career Management Directorate, which falls under the Army Civilian Career Management Activity.
- Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
- Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest.
- Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
- Applicants must comply with the Exceptional Family Member Program requirements as outlined in DoD Instruction 1315.19.
- U.S. citizens overseas under ordinarily resident status are not eligible for appointment under the Status of Forces Agreement.
- Locality pay does not apply in the overseas area.
- On this overseas accompanied tour, medical and DoDDS special education services may not be available in the immediate location of this position.
- Movement overseas may require you to initiate a change in your health benefits plan to ensure coverage
- Employees (and family members) who require medical or dental care in the overseas location will be responsible for obtaining and paying for such care. Access for civilian employees and their families to military medical and dental treatment facilities is on a space-available and reimbursable basis only.
- Pay retention may be offered to selected applicants for positions at overseas locations. Pay retention will not be offered as an incentive for employees moving between overseas positions.
- Selectees may receive certain foreign area benefits such as: Living Quarters Allowance (LQA) or government quarters, home leave, etc. Selectees will have their eligibility for foreign area benefits determined at the time of hire in accordance with Department of State Standardized Regulation (DSSR) and DoDI 1400.25 volume 1250. http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/1400.25-V1250.pdf
- Defense National Relocation Program will not be authorized.
- Recruitment and relocation incentives may be authorized.
- Student loan repayment may be authorized.
- Salary negotiations, including an advanced in hire, for candidates new to Federal service or who would otherwise qualified, may be authorized.
- Credit for prior non-Federal experience and certain military service for leave accrual rates may be authorized.
This in an Excepted service position and is not eligible for Statutory or Administrative return rights IAW DODI 1400.25 and AR 690-300, Chapter 18, Return Rights. Contact your organizations Human Resources Specialist if you have any questions.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.
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.
Required Documents
The following documents are required:
Your resume:
- Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
- Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
- If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
- For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position.
- For additional information see: What to include in your resume.
References:
- Must provide three (3) licensed attorney references with contact information.
The following documents are preferred at the time of application, but not required:
PLEASE NOTE: If you do not have your law school transcripts, certificate of good standing, or fitness to practice statement, you should not be deterred from applying for this position. While not required at the time of application, these documents will be required for the attorney to enter on duty.
Official Law School Transcripts:
- Official law school transcript and an official statement of relative standing in class. Photo static copies of documents are acceptable when applying but certified documents must be furnished before entering duty.
Good Standing Certificate:
- Official certificate showing that you are a member in good standing of the bar dated at any time. However, in the event the candidate is selected for an interview and/or during the hiring process, the candidate must provide an official certificate dated within three months. The certificate is required to be submitted by all applicants to include attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of The Judge Advocate General (including active-duty Army Judge Advocates).
Fitness to Practice Statement:
- A sworn (notarized) statement from you that your fitness to practice law or conduct as an attorney has never been challenged in any jurisdiction to the best of your knowledge, or if either has been challenged, a sworn (notarized) statement concerning the facts and circumstances, together with any explanation that you deem appropriate may be submitted.
- As an alternative to a sworn (notarized) statement, a statement which includes a declaration under penalty of perjury may be submitted in the following format: "I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct...executed on (date)...(your signature)." (28 U.S.C. 1746)."
- The statement must be dated within three months of the date that the application package is submitted. The statement is required to be submitted by all applicants to include attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of The Judge Advocate General (including active-duty Army Judge Advocates).
Writing Sample:
- Examples of writing skills as demonstrated by legal briefs, memorandum, and/or letters. Regardless of the number of writing samples submitted, the page count of all writing samples combined cannot exceed 10 pages in length. Extracts of selected sections of larger documents are acceptable.
Standard Form (SF) 50:
- If you are a current or former federal employee, provide a copy of your most recent non-award SF50 to the application package.
NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.
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.