Summary
The Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS) supervises and has responsibility for enforcing federal statutes pertaining to narco-terrorism, narcotic drugs, and other controlled substances. NDDS advises the federal officials involved in drug enforcement on all matters related to federal and international narcotics law enforcement including proposed and enacted legislation, policy, enforcement initiatives, and criminal and civil litigation.
Duties
The Deputy Chief of the Litigation Unit is primarily responsible for directing, and supervising the Unit's attorneys, and two Assistant Deputy Chiefs. The Deputy Chief for Litigation also works with the supervisory paralegal specialist to coordinate the work of the paralegals, and oversees all of the litigation functions of the Section, including:
- Assignment and monitoring of workloads;
- Writing annual performance appraisals and other employee relations related matters;
- Coordinating the preparation of weekly and other periodic reports regarding the Unit's significant cases;
- Supervision of the Unit's statistical reporting to the Criminal Division and Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF);
- Ensuring that the Department's litigation-related policies and practices are adhered to by the Unit's attorneys;
- Coordinating the professional development, training, and mentoring of the Unit's attorneys;
- Coordinating and interacting with management from federal and international law enforcement agencies with whom Litigation Unit attorneys work;
- Representing the Section at international coordination meetings and at national and international narcotics-related conferences and training seminars; and
- Serving as the Section's liaison to the OCDETF at its periodic Regional and National conferences.
This position reports through the Principal Deputy Chief to the Chief of the Section.
As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a U.S. Citizen to qualify for this position.
- You must undergo a pre-employment security investigation.
- All male applicants born after 12/31/1959 must have registered for the selective service. If selected, the applicant must sign a statement certifying his registration, or the applicant must demonstrate exempt status under the Selective Service Law.
- DIRECT DEPOSIT: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
- You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
- This position has supervisory/managerial responsibilities. A one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period is required upon selection. This may be waived if you have successfully completed the supervisory/managerial probationary period.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications: Interested applicants must possess a J.D. 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. To qualify at the GS-15 grade level, applicants must have at least five (5) years post J.D. legal experience, to include at least three (3) years of federal prosecutor experience.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Excellent interpersonal skills;
- A demonstrated interest in mentoring younger attorneys;
- A self-starter;
- Prior management experience; and
- Experience investigating and prosecuting complex, federal international narcotics cases is preferred, but not required.
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.
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.
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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.
BASIS OF RATING: Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.
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 his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
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 11/28/2024.
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. Resumes of any length will be accepted, however only information contained in the first five (5) pages will be reviewed against the position requirements. Please ensure all information you believe is qualifying for the position is contained in the first five pages, or you may be marked ineligible. Additionally, your resume must include 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).
- Assessment Questionnaire (you will be prompted to complete this when you apply online).
- Documentation of eligibility for special hiring authorities (if applicable) to prove appointment eligibility. Examples include: Schedule A disability letter, Peace Corps volunteer letter, military spouse hiring authority documentation, etc.
- Current or Former Political Appointees (if applicable) - please note on your resume and attach an SF-50. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office.
- Schedule A Documentation (if applicable) - The Criminal Division welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities and is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department. The Criminal Division also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes directly to the Criminal Division disability POC Areli Parada, at Areli.Parada@usdoj.gov.
- Veterans Preference Documentation (if applicable):
- If you are a discharged, non-disabled veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character discharge (Member 4 copy), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives at www.archives.gov/veterans.
- If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, and 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
- If you are a disabled veteran, Purple Heart recipient, or mother or spouse of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a completed SF-15 http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf and all additional proof required by the SF-15, as applicable. If you don't have your Department of Veterans Affairs letter establishing proof of disability, you may request it at http://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ or call 1-800-827-1000.
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.
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.