Duties
As an Attorney-Advisor (General), you will be responsible for a wide range of duties. Major duties include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Performing legal research into statutes, court decisions, decisions of administrative tribunals, and other legal and regulatory materials to provide OIG leadership and staff with supporting documentation, information, and precedents regarding compliance and alleged breaches with Federal laws, regulations, and directives relating to DOE programs.
- Communicating complete oral and written legal opinions for supervisory review on issues impacting the OIG, including providing legal support in areas of law affecting internal OIG operations.
- Reviewing pending and proposed legislation, regulations, executive orders, and presidential directives, and drafting comments regarding their potential impact on OIG programs and operations.
- Identifying legal issues and proposing resolutions to those issues in consultation with a senior attorney in order to advance the mission of the OIG.
- Providing support for ongoing litigation of OIG legal matters, including in front of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Merit Systems Protection Board, under the direction of a senior attorney.
Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.
Requirements
Conditions of employment
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
- This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
- Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
- Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
- Must obtain and maintain a Q security clearance.
- This position is a Drug Testing Designated position and is subject to preemployment and random drug testing.
- May be required to successfully complete a trial period of up to two years.
- May be required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450 or an Executive Branch Personnel Confidential Financial Disclosure Report upon entering the position and annually. See 5CFR Part 2634, Subpart I USOGE, 6/08.
- This position is not remote. The selectee will be expected to report to the duty station(s) listed. If selected, military spouses, veteran caregivers, and spouses of foreign service employees may be eligible for applicable workplace flexibilities.
- Must provide proof of current active membership in good standing in the bar of a State, District of Columbia, territory of the United States, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
- Employees must maintain active bar membership while employed as an attorney with DOE-OIG.
- Will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
Qualifications
You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (10/22/2026) of this announcement.
Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience.
For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected
To qualify for this position at the GS-12 and/or GS-13 grade level(s), you must possess all of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
- Must meet the minimum education requirements of successful completion of a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) with a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.); AND
- Must be a current, active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
-AND-
EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:
For GS-12: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate:
One year of professional legal experience as an attorney and active membership in a state or District of Columbia bar and advanced educational attainments that clearly indicate the ability to independently perform complex legal work. The educational background should include course work beyond the first professional degree in a field directly related to the work of this position (i.e., law).
Attained professional legal experience may be in diverse areas such as administrative law, ethics law, information law, personnel law, whistleblower law, procurement law, and/or investigating violations of regulations or civil or criminal statutes.
For GS-13: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate:
One year of professional legal experience as an attorney and active membership in a state or District of Columbia bar and advanced educational attainments that clearly indicate the ability to independently perform complex legal work; AND
One additional year of professional legal experience as an attorney at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience that meets the GS-12 equivalency level requirement is defined as three (3) or more of the following:
- Assisting with legal research and analysis to make recommendations to other attorneys and/or staff for case development and appropriate legal action.
- Presenting complete oral and written legal opinions for review by a senior attorney on basic legal issues impacting an organization.
- Reviewing, evaluating, and summarizing pertinent statutes, case law, regulations, or other regulatory documentation for general consumption or application to legal case work.
- Acquiring, maintaining, and applying basic legal knowledge on laws, regulations, procedures, and guidance impacting an organization.
- Coordinating with internal and external entities on legal matters and working collaboratively as part of a team engaged in legal work.
Applicants must demonstrate this specialized experience in their resumes. When describing your experience, please give examples that demonstrate the complexity of the knowledge you possess, the level of the people with whom you have interacted, and the sensitivity of the issues you have handled.
In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined above by the closing date of the announcement.
Volunteer Experience: "Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills; and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Education
This position has a Basic Requirement/Positive Education requirement. See the Qualifications section above for detailed requirement.
You must submit legible copies of transcripts from an accredited institution(s) with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), grade-point average or class ranking, and date degree conferred. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.
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.
If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: Department of Education.
You must also provide proof of bar membership or your bar number.
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.
Additional information
- This is an excepted service position which does not confer competitive status.
- This announcement may be used to fill additional similar positions across OIG-DOE if identical vacancies occur within 120 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
- More than one selection may be made from this announcement.
- For general information on government-wide Telework polices visit: www.telework.gov. You will be assigned to an OIG office. Limited, situational telework flexibilities may be offered as defined by agency policy. Telework flexibilities are not guaranteed.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here:
Reasonable Accommodations for USA Hire
For
Reasonable Accommodation information or assistance:
Email: reasonableaccommodationoig@hq.doe.gov
Phone: (202)586-4393
711 for TTY-Based Telecommunications Relay Service | Federal Communications Commission (fcc.gov)
Recruitment incentives: May be authorized to newly appointed federal employees, subject to available funding and management approval. If a recruitment incentive is authorized, the employee must sign an agreement to fulfill a period of service with the agency of not less than 6 months and not more than 4 years, as determined by the gaining office in accordance with agency policy. Authorization of incentives is not guaranteed.
Relocation Incentives: May be authorized, subject to available funding and management approval, to current Federal employees who must relocate to accept a position in a different geographical area. If a relocation incentive is authorized, the employee must sign an agreement to fulfill a period of service with the agency of not less than 6 months and not more than 4 years, as determined by the gaining office in accordance with agency policy. Authorization of incentives is not guaranteed.
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.
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.
Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all required assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
- Attention to Detail
- Customer Service
- Flexibility
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Learning
- Self-Management
- Stress Tolerance
- Teamwork
- Decision Making
- Reasoning
Since this is an Excepted Service position, a non-rated method of evaluation will be used. We will evaluate your application by comparing your description of your work experience, level of responsibility, and accomplishments with the requirements of the position to determine whether you meet all the qualification requirements. When describing your experience, please give examples that demonstrate the complexity of the knowledge you possess, the level of the people with whom you have interacted, and the sensitivity of the issues you have handled. Although competitive examining rules for rating and ranking and veterans' preference do not apply, veteran's preference will be considered as a positive factor. Candidates who meet all the qualification and other eligibility requirements will be referred to the selecting official for consideration and possible interview.
To preview the Application Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13090247
Your successful completion of a USA Hire Assessment may be required. See the How To Apply section below for additional information.
Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you MUST provide a complete application package which includes:
- Your two (2) page RESUME showing all relevant work experience (paid and unpaid) including: duties performed; full name and address of the each employer; start and end dates (month/day/year); work schedule (part-time, full-time, number of hours if intermittent); salary; and any completed education and training (program title, subject area, number of hours completed, and completion date).
- Cover Letter, optional, expressing additional information not covered in your resume.
- Transcripts, if specific educational requirements are indicated in this job announcement.Unofficial transcripts or any report listing institution, course title, credits earned (semester or quarter hour) and final grade is acceptable. It is your responsibility to provide adequate proof that you meet the educational requirements.
- Active Bar Membership: You must submit evidence of an Active Bar Membership as described in the Qualifications Section of this announcement.
- Veterans' Preference documentation, if applicable, DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; current active duty members- certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA letter. For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center & OPM CHCOC website for VOW information.
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.