Summary

The Department of Justice, Criminal Division investigates and prosecutes complex criminal matters and assists the United States Attorney 's Offices in investigations, trials, and appeals. Senior Counsel in the Office of the Assistant Attorney General (OAAG) for the Criminal Division work at the center of the Division's most consequential policy, legislative, and strategic initiatives, helping shape how the Division communicates its work to Congress, Department leadership, and the public.

This job is open to

Federal employees - Competitive service

Current federal employees whose agencies follow the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's hiring rules and pay scales.

Federal employees - Excepted service

Current federal employees whose agencies have their own hiring rules, pay scales and evaluation criteria.

Clarification from the agency

Open to current federal employees.

Duties

While this vacancy announcement expires 05/27/2026, the announcement may be closed at any time if a selection is made. This is a 6-month reimbursable assignment, with the possibility of extension with the approval of the originating and receiving component/agency. Applicants must be a current Federal employee and should receive supervisory approval before applying.

Senior Counsels are responsible for:

Leadership support and counsel. Providing strategic support, advice, and assistance to the Assistant Attorney General, the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, the Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, and the Deputy Assistant Attorneys Generals in the Criminal Division's Front Office, ensuring leadership has timely, accurate, and actionable information to advance Division priorities.
Legislative affairs and congressional engagement. Coordinating the Criminal Division's legislative affairs work, including managing congressional correspondence, briefing congressional staff, and ensuring timely, accurate responses to inquiries from Congress on criminal cases, policy matters, and Division operations.
Strategic communications. Drafting and refining testimony, hearing prep materials, policy papers, memoranda, talking points, and other communications to support the Division's engagement with internal and external stakeholders.
Written-product review and quality control. Reviewing, editing, and quality-controlling a wide range of high-visibility written products - including press releases, correspondence, and reports - for accuracy, clarity, and consistency with Division and Department positions
Cross-component and interagency coordination. Managing requests for information from Criminal Division sections, other Department components, federal agencies, and external partners, overseeing and ensuring timely and accurate responses.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

You must undergo a pre-employment security investigation.
You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications: Interested applicants must possess a J.D., or equivalent, degree, be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any State, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, and be an active member of the bar in good standing.

Grade Specific Qualifications:

To qualify at the GS-13 grade level, applicants must have at least one and a half (1.5) years post J.D. legal experience, one of which was specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-12 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include: performing legal analysis and formulating recommendations to senior managers; composing pleadings, briefs, and other court documents involving legal issues in civil or criminal litigation; and conducting civil or criminal litigation.
To qualify at the GS-14 grade level, applicants must have at least two and a half (2.5) years post J.D. legal experience, one of which was specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-13 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include: performing legal analysis and formulating recommendations to senior managers; composing pleadings, briefs, and other court documents involving legal issues in civil or criminal litigation; and conducting civil or criminal litigation.
To qualify at the GS-15 grade level, applicants must have at least four (4) years post J.D. legal experience, one of which was specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-14 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include: independently performing legal analysis; composing pleadings, briefs and other court documents involving unique and/or difficult legal issues in civil or criminal litigation; conducting highly complex civil or criminal litigation; and leading paralegals and support staff.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience handling federal criminal cases.
Experience analyzing legal issues and making concise oral and written recommendations.
Experience reviewing documents and responding to requests for information.
Experience working with inter-agency processes and coordinating across offices and federal agencies.
Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with high-ranking officials.
Demonstrated ability to evaluate and analyze government initiatives and activities, gather and compile data, analyze problems, and prepare well-written, error-free work product.
Excellent writing and analytical skills.
Excellent organizational skills, independent judgment, initiative, resourcefulness, and the ability to manage competing priorities under tight deadlines.

Education

A J.D., or equivalent, degree.

Applicants who possess an equivalent degree rather than a J.D. may be subject to additional review by the Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management.

Additional information

Additional selections may be made from this vacancy announcement to fill vacancies that occur subsequent to this announcement.

Permanent relocation is not authorized but the detailee may be eligible for either a temporary change of station (TCS) or EX-TDY if long-term travel is required for the detail. If eligible, a cost comparison will be conducted to evaluate which option will be offered and more information will be provided at that time

The Criminal Division participates in the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify). E-Verify helps employers to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees.

The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. Additional information on DOJ's EEO policy can be found on our website.

It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. Citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. Citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, please reach out to criminal.crmjobs@usdoj.gov or (202) 514-0361 for alternative application procedures.

Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the Human Resources team at CRM.RA@usdoj.gov. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Fair Chance to Compete: The Fair Chance Act prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOJ employee or Federal contractor acting on its behalf has violated your rights under this Act, you may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to criminal.crmjobs@usdoj.gov. Note: In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201(b) certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance Act.

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.

Review our benefits

How you will be evaluated

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

Required Documents

See "How to Apply"

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

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes the Assessment Questionnaire and the Required Documents indicated below. The Application Package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on 05/27/2026.

We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process. You may preview the assessment questionnaire by clicking https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12960018.

You are strongly encouraged to convert your resume to an Adobe PDF file prior to submitting your application, especially if you are submitting using a Mac system. Resumes not pre-converted to a PDF file will undergo conversion by the system. This conversion process may cause some formatting changes to your resume, including line and page break errors. To ensure your submitted resume does not display with formatting issues, please submit your resume as a PDF. This error does not affect USAjobs resumes.

A complete application package must include:

Cover Letter (highlighting relevant experience).
Resume - Applicants will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of experience or related education as reflected in their resume. Applicants are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show the possession of knowledge of the subject matter pertinent to the position and the technical skills to successfully perform the duties of the position. Your resume must be no more than 2 pages. Resumes longer than 2 pages will not be accepted. Please ensure all information you believe is qualifying for the position is contained within your resume, or you may be marked ineligible. Additionally,your resume must include your JD date and the following information for each job listed: month and year, start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008), and full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week).
SF-50 - Notification of Personnel Action - Your most recent SF-50 showing your current position title and series, grade, and duty location.

To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the assessment questionnaire.

Please ensure you click the "Submit My Answers" button at the end of the process.

Agency contact information

Human Resources

Phone: (202) 514-0361
Email: criminal.crmjobs@usdoj.gov

Next steps

We will notify you of your status as a candidate after each step of the recruitment process (receipt of application, determination of basic qualifications, notice of forward to selecting official, and final selection). After extending a tentative job offer and receiving acceptance by the selectee, we will conduct an employment suitability/security background investigation to confirm that the selectee meets all requirements to fill the position. We expect to make a final job offer once all such reviews have been completed.

Senior Counsel (Detail Opportunity) Job in Washington, DC