Summary
Join our team! The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking for a Supervisory Attorney Advisor to serve as a Deputy Director. OCR ensures that recipients of financial assistance from DOJ comply with Federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment and delivery of services or benefits based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, and disability.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
Applicants must be U.S. citizens.
Duties
As an organization, OCR is critical to DOJ's efforts to ensure that recipients of Federal financial assistance from the Department are acting in accordance with federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment and the delivery of services. OCR is the external civil rights office not only for OJP, but also for the DOJ's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). The laws that OCR enforces include (but are not limited to) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and the nondiscrimination provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and the Victims of Crime Act of 1984.
This position serves as one of two Deputy Directors reporting to the OCR Principal Deputy Director and OCR Director.
Duties of this position include:
Agency Liaison for Legal Issues Regarding Civil Rights Law
Under the direction of the OCR Principal Deputy Director and OCR Director, serves as an OCR primary point of contact for complainants and external agencies, participating in workgroup and interagency meetings or public forums related to complaint investigations or strategic initiatives.
Serves as a principal attorney in charge of complex civil rights law matters, addressing cases or legal issues that significantly impact OJP's activities. Identifies when discussions involve precedent-setting or crucial issues that require clearance from superiors before public disclosure.
Engages and negotiates with top personnel in OJP, industry, and state, local, Tribal, and foreign governments on critical legal and policy issues related to civil rights law. Advises and assists congressional committees in drafting legislation and provides expert testimony before Congress on legislative proposals concerning civil rights matters.
Delivers briefings and presentations on civil rights law at seminars and outreach programs for the Agency. Facilitates meetings and post-meeting Q&A sessions on civil rights issues. Coordinates with and provides advice to OJP leadership on civil rights policy development and interpretation. Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with recipients of federal financial assistance, state and Tribal governments, law enforcement organizations, and other key stakeholders.
Legal Reports and Opinions on Civil Rights Matters
Assists the OCR Principal Deputy Director in creating reports on OCR's program performance based on formal and organically developed measures. Provides information briefings to the OCR Director, the OJP Assistant Attorney General, and DOJ senior management on OCR performance and cases when requested. Ensures effective communication with OJP senior leadership to address and appropriately elevate urgent and compelling matters. Independently conducts investigations or negotiations, plans approaches, and develops comprehensive decisions, reports, briefs, opinions, contracts, and other materials related to complex civil rights issues.
Supervision
Supervises employees. Provides administrative and technical supervision necessary for accomplishing the work of the unit. Performs administrative and human resource management functions. Establishes guidelines and performance expectations for staff members, communicated through a performance management system. Observes employee performance and offers constructive feedback. Formally evaluates employee performance and resolves informal complaints and grievances. Develops work improvement plans, recommending corresponding personnel actions. Provides advice and counsel to workers related to work and administrative matters. Effects disciplinary measures as appropriate to the authority delegated. Reviews and acts appropriately on leave requests. Assures that subordinates are trained and fully comply with the provisions of the safety regulations. Complies with occupational safety and health standards. Ensures a continuing affirmative application of equal opportunity policies. Supports an environment that ensures successful translation and fidelity of guidance and program models, provides expertise to other staff members in resolving questions related to program requirements. Ensures that the staff maintains substantive expertise and knowledge of ongoing developments in practice, policy, current research and evidence-based practices in the field to ensure that legal advice is based in current knowledge and needs.
Performs other duties as assigned by OCR's Director.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- U.S. Citizenship required.
- Subject to background/suitability investigation/determination.
- Federal payments are required to be made by Direct Deposit.
- Requires registration for the Selective Service. Visit www.sss.gov.
- Pre-employment drug testing required.
- This appointment may be subject to completion of a 2-year trial period.
- 1-year supervisory probationary period may be required.
- This position requires active bar membership (any jurisdiction) in good standing.
- Submit all required documents and Online Assessment Questionnaire.
- Confidential Financial Disclosure may be required.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications
Applicants must:
- Possess a J.D. or LL.B. degree from an accredited law school.
- Be an active member of the bar in good standing (any U.S. jurisdiction); and
- Have a minimum of 4 years of post J.D./LL.B. legal experience in Civil Rights Law which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Supervisory experience is preferred, but not required.
All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Education
Applicants must possess a J.D. or LL.B. degree.
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.
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 rated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the education, experience and training you report relative to this position which shows that you possess the knowledges, skills and abilities required. Paid or unpaid experience will be considered.
Required Documents
REMINDER: ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MIDNIGHT Eastern Time (Washington, D.C. time) ON THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. Required Documents:
- Cover Letter
- Resume. Your resume must include education, including name of undergraduate and law school, degree received, and date graduated; date admitted to bar and jurisdiction; a general description of all past employment relevant to the practice of law, including dates of employment; and two professional references who supervised or worked directly with you on a daily or routine basis and can speak directly to your performance/quality of your work outputs/and your knowledge, skills, and abilities in a given position
- Writing Sample (5-10 pages)
- Unofficial law school transcripts (degree conferred must be reflected; official transcripts will be required if selected)
- Proof of bar membership in good standing (any U.S. jurisdiction)
- Veterans' Preference Documentation (if applicable; see below for more information)
Note: Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service- connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that their retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that they were transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
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 complete the online application and submit the supporting documentation specified in the Required Documents section above.A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the vacancy closing date to receive consideration.To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
- Follow the prompts to select your résumé and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
- After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
- You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account ( https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. If you need help with the application process, please see the USAJOBS Help Site .If you are unable to apply via email, please contact Bradley Mitchell at Bradley.Mitchell@usdoj.gov for alternate application procedures.
Next steps
Once your completed application is certified and received you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. After a review of your complete application is made you will be notified of your status and/or referral to the hiring official. If further evaluation or interviews are required you will be contacted. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation. We expect to make a final job offer within 80 days after the closing date of the announcement.
|