Duties

Summary

The Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) investigates and prosecutes international crime cases involving human rights violators, human smuggling organizations, and extraterritorial violent crime over which the U.S. has jurisdiction. HRSP attorneys work with virtually all federal law enforcement agencies, and cases are brought in partnership with U.S. Attorneys' Offices around the country or by the Section alone.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

As an Attorney Advisor (Policy and International Law Attorney), the incumbent will perform the following functions:

• Monitor, review, and comment on draft legislation, potential testimony, federal regulations, policy proposals, and other requests.
• Participate in development of policy initiatives.
• Advise Section attorneys regarding international law principles and norms relating to the prosecution of human rights violations, international violent crime, and criminal immigration offenses.
• Perform legal research in support of HRSP portfolios.
• Develop and maintain positive and effective relationships within the Office.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Domestic and international travel may be required occasionally for international work.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
15

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.

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-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: independently performing legal analysis; formulating recommendations to senior managers; and composing pleadings, briefs or other court documents.
• 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; formulating recommendations to senior managers; composing pleadings, briefs or other court documents; conducting civil or criminal litigation; reviewing, analyzing and developing policies and legislation; and leading paralegals and support staff.

Preferred Qualifications :
Your qualifications will be further evaluated based upon the following competencies and experiences:

• Demonstrated expertise in international law principles;
• Familiarity with U.S. statutes pertaining to human rights law, particularly the law of genocide, child soldier use and recruitment, torture, war crimes, and female genital mutilation;
• Knowledge of U.S. criminal law, U.S. military law, international law, international organizations such as the United Nations, and international tribunals' processes and procedures;
• Knowledge of immigration law and fraud enforcement;
• Experience in policy development within the inter-agency process;
• Experience with the development of law, policy, and legislative proposals;
• Experience in drafting, analyzing, and reviewing legal policy, legislation relating to law enforcement, and executive orders;
• Superior oral advocacy and writing abilities;
• Superior analytical skills and judgment;
• Prior trial experience;
• Demonstrated ability to work well with others, both as a leader and as a team member;
• Foreign language skills;
• Ability to represent the Section in Department, interagency, and other committees, groups, and task forces; and
• Experience working with foreign governments, international organizations, and persons from diverse cultures and backgrounds.

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.

An in-person interview in Washington, D.C. may be required for this position prior to final selection. The cost of travel to the interview site will be the responsibility of the applicant unless otherwise stated. Reasonable accommodation requests will be considered on an individual basis as requested by a person with a disability. Declining an invitation to interview may remove you from further consideration.

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 U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department 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 of Justice. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

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, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

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).

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
Yes

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.