Duties

Summary

About the Position: This position is located in the United States Army Legal Services Agency, Fort Belvoir, VA.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Serves as the Director of the U.S. Army Advocacy Center and is responsible for oversight and program management of advocacy training throughout the Army.
• Coordinates and oversees the design, development and implementation of the Army's advocacy and litigation training programs, to include prosecuting crimes of a sexual nature.
• Coordinates with the Army Trial Defense Service on the effective provision of training and education to ensure that the Army maintains and improves Army trial defense counsel to effectively represent and defend Soldiers accused of committing crimes.
• Adviser to senior leaders at The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School.

Travel Required

50% or less - Business Travel may be required up to 40%

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
15

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• Must obtain and maintain Secret Clearance.

Qualifications

Applicants will be evaluated to determine if they meet the minimum qualification requirements and on the extent to which their application shows possession of the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with the position. KSA's:
(1) Expert in the knowledge of Army Trial Counsel (prosecution) and Defense Counsel Services.
(2) Knowledge of advocacy issues.
(3) Knowledge of and experience in establishing, implementing, and overseeing the advocacy and litigation training programs covering military justice and civil litigation.
(4) Skill in providing legal advice to attorneys, judges, and high level legal departments regarding Army advocacy.
(5) Ability to write publications in Army legal material to educate attorneys on new developments in military justice and civil litigation.
(6) Skill in counsel training to improve uniformed counsel and civilian attorney judgment and performance.

VETERANS PREFERENCE INFORMATION: There is no formal rating system for applying veteran's preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Army considers veteran's preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veteran's preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documents (e.g., DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active duty) to their submissions. 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 http://www.opm.gov/ .)

TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENTS: If currently employed as an attorney by the Federal Government must have completed 1 year at the next lower grade level within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement, or previously served at the same or higher grade as the position being filled.

The following minimum qualification requirements must be met before applicants are eligible for further consideration:

Education: An applicant must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have the first professional law degree (LLB or JD).
Bar membership: Applicant must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Experience: Applicant must have two or more years of professional legal experience, acquired after being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. Graduation from an ABA-Accredited Law School in the top 25% of the class or an advanced law degree such as a Master of Laws (LLM) may substitute for one year of the required professional legal experience.

Education

Please refer to Qualifications section for information on the education requirements for this position.

Additional information

• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• Two year trial/probationary period may be required.
• Direct deposit of pay is required.
• Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
• If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
• This is a Career Program (CP) 56 - Legal position
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .
• Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement as described in this vacancy announcement and identified by the Selecting Official.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc). Please review the following links to see which documents you need to provide to prove your eligibility to apply: Applicant Merit Checklist and Proof of Eligibility .

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

• Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• For additional information see: What to include in your resume .

2. Official Law school transcripts. Photo copies are acceptable when applying but certified documents must be furnished before entering on duty.

3. Bar Membership certificate. The official certificate must show that you are a member in good standing of the bar, dated within three months of the date the application is submitted. The certificate is required to be submitted by all applicants to include attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of The Judge Advocate General (including active duty Army Judge Advocates).

4. Fitness to practice law. A sworn (notarized) statement from you that your fitness to practice law or conduct as an attorney has never been challenged in any jurisdiction to the best of your knowledge, or if either has been challenged, a sworn (notarized) statement concerning the facts and circumstances, together with any explanation that you deem appropriate may be submitted. As an alternative to a sworn (notarized) statement, a statement which includes a declaration under penalty of perjury may be submitted in the following format: "I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct...executed on (date)... (your signature)." (28 U.S.C. 1746). The statement must be dated within three months of the date the application is submitted. The statement is required to be submitted by all applicants to include attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of The Judge Advocate General (including active duty Army Judge Advocates).

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

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.