Attorney-Adviser

Assist and provide legal advice and findings in connection with a wide range of issues involving major USDA and OIG programs, policies and operations.

Assist in the development of new/revised OIG policy and guidance on a variety of legal issues, including but not limited to issuance of OIG subpoenas, review of laws and regulations, legal processes, and ethics.

Participates in all phases of litigation as agency representative/counsel for administrative matters and may serve as agency representative in civil and criminal cases when required.

Handles ethics issues arising with respect to OIG employees and officials, and drafts responses to administrative appeals of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

To meet minimum eligibility requirements for this position, applicants must possess at least a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an ABA-accredited law school. You are required to submit a copy of your law degree transcripts prior to the close of this vacancy announcement.

You must submit an unofficial transcripts that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to General Schedule Qualification Policies for more information.

You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient, however if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree.

A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - US Department of Education. Another listing of services that can perform this evaluation is available at the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website.

You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.

NOTE: Only education and experience acquired before the closing of this announcement will be considered. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Once the application process is complete, your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. The specialist will perform an initial review of applications to determine basic eligibility and qualifications for the position. Selection(s) will be based on the judgment of the selecting official as to which applicant is best qualified to perform the duties of the position.

Once this announcement closes, candidates will be evaluated based on the application package submitted. An oral interview may be conducted with some, none, or all candidates, depending upon the relative qualifications of the applicants.

An active Bar membership is required. Excepted Service Position: This job is being filled by an alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive civil service. Veterans Information: There is no formal rating system for applying veteran's preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; 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. (SF-15, which lists the types of 10-point preference and the required supporting documents, is available from the Office of Personnel Management Website at www.opm.gov).

If selected, you will be required to submit Form OGE-450 within 30 days of your initial appointment date, and annually thereafter. Selectee is subject to financial Disclosure Requirements in accordance with 5 CFR, Part 2635, Sub part E regarding business or personal transactions with applicants, borrowers, or business contacts who have or who are seeking business with this Agency. Selectee must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.

If selected you will be subject to a National Agency Check and Inquiry (NACI) and a credit report. This is a Testing Designated Position (TDP). Selectee must submit to a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and random testing thereafter.

Final appointment and continued employment is conditional on negative results for illegal drug use. If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.

Relocation expenses will not be paid. This is not a bargaining unit designated position. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin.

You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged.

We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing.

Resumes must not exceed two pages. REASONABLE ACCOMODATION - This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin follow the steps below: Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov.

It is recommended that as part of your profile you set up automatic email notification to be informed when the status of your application changes. If you choose not to set up this automatic notification, then you will have to log into your USAJOBS account to check on the status of your application. Step 2: Create a Resume with USAJOBS or upload a Resume into your USAJOBS account.

You may want to customize your resume to ensure it documents duties and accomplishments you have gained that are directly related to this position in order to verify that qualifications are met. In addition, your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire (you may preview the online questionnaire by clicking on the link at the end of the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement). Step 3: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the Occupational Questionnaire and attach any additional documents that may be required.

You can update your application or documents anytime while the announcement is open. Simply log into your USAJOBS account and click on "Application Status." Click on the position title, and then select "Update Application" to continue.. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred.

However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.

Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration.

Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.

Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment (month/year); title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications. Resume cannot exceed 2 pages. USA Jobs restricts resume uploads to a maximum of 2 pages.

Resumes attached in other sections (such as "Documents" or "Other") will not be considered if longer than two pages. Do not submit multiple resumes. Failure to follow these formatting guidelines may result in disqualification from further consideration.

To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. For resume writing guidance, visit USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a federal resume? Transcripts: You must submit a copy of your law school transcripts.

An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S.

Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website.

All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation. Proof of bar membership: You must submit proof that you are licensed and a member in good standing with the bar. If you are a current or Former Federal employee, you must submit: Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing you are in the excepted service, highest grade held (or promotion potential) on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND Most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable.

A performance plan is not an acceptable substitute. There is no formal rating system for applying veteran's preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; 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. (SF-15, which lists the types of 10-point preference and the required supporting documents, is available from the Office of Personnel Management Website at www.opm.gov).You must also submit a DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. If currently on active duty you must submit a certification of expected discharge or release from active duty service under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted.

Veteran's preference must be verified prior to appointment. Without this documentation, you will not receive veteran's preference and your application will be evaluated based on the material(s) submitted. For more information on veterans' preference visit FedsHireVets.