OIG is organized into seven operational units: the Immediate Office of the Inspector General, Office of the Counselor, Office of Audits and Evaluations, Office of Healthcare Inspections, Office of Investigations, Office of Management and Administration, and Office of Special Reviews. In addition to the Washington, DC, headquarters, OIG has offices located in more than 60 locations throughout the country.
OIG is organized into seven operational units: the Immediate Office of the Inspector General, Office of the Counselor, Office of Audits and Evaluations, Office of Healthcare Inspections, Office of Investigations, Office of Management and Administration, and Office of Special Reviews. In addition to the Washington, DC, headquarters, OIG has offices located in more than 60 locations throughout the country.
All Candidates who are: Internal employees of VAOIG who are Status Candidates or currently serving on a Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA), OR CTAP eligibles.
As an Attorney-Adviser (General) Deputy Counselor for Oversight, you will:
- Work directly with Assistant Inspectors General (AIGs) and Deputy AIGs providing legal review and coordination of OIG audits, reviews, investigations, inspections, and other initiatives designed to prevent or detect inefficiency, waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in VA programs and operations.
- Interpret and provide legal and policy advice concerning the IG Act and the IG's authorities, Federal criminal and administrative laws and regulations, State laws affecting the provision of healthcare, as well as VA regulations and policies. In providing this advice, the incumbent must consider the complex issues of criminal, civil, and administrative laws, practices and procedures, remedies, and enforcement mechanisms.
- Evaluate the IG's position on sensitive issues, including legal objections raised by VA to OIG findings and recommendations, and advises senior OIG managers whether there is a sound basis for elevating the matter to Department Administration heads, the General Counsel, the Secretary or Deputy Secretary, or to Congress.
- Oversee the conduct of special or confidential reviews of VA practices in order to help resolve problems affecting VA programs and operations. When authorized by the IG or DIG, oversees internal investigations on hostile work environment complaints and other complaints of misconduct against OIG staff. Working with other Deputy Counselors, develops recommendations for actions to address findings.
The experience may have been gained in either the public, private sector or volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your résumé.
Key Requirements:You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Be a current member of a bar with a valid license to practice law in a state or territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Mandatory Qualifications Requirements: To meet minimum qualifications, applicants must possess the following technical competencies. These competencies would typically be gained through experience, education, and training that reflects progressive development and achievement in managing a Federal legal program for a nationwide organization. An individual's total experience and education must demonstrate the ability to perform the duties of the position. ***The experience in your resume MUST address all TPCs***
TPC 1: Working knowledge of operations in an Office of the Inspector General, and of the statutory, regulatory, and other legal authorities relevant to such operations. Demonstrated experience working with agency policy, criminal and civil laws, rules, regulations, and court decisions.
TPC 2: Demonstrated experience conducting, directing, or advising on broad non-routine investigations, audits, reviews and/or program evaluations from an Office of the Inspector General. Demonstrated experience organizing, drafting, and editing reports of investigations, audits, reviews, program evaluations, and advising or directing others in these tasks.
TPC 3: Describe your experience with congressional and public affairs, including but not limited to the following: preparing written congressional testimonies, engaging with congressional committees and staff, preparing public statements released to the media, and engaging directly with members of the press.
Must be a graduate of a law school accredited by the American Bar Association at the time of graduation (a copy of your transcript will be required if selected).
A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page.
If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
How You will be Evaluated: Your application includes your résumé, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your résumé includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination.
Rating: This announcement is issued under excepted service hiring authority for Attorney positions (5CFR 213.3102): all candidates who meet all the qualification and other eligibility requirements may be referred for consideration. Competitive examining rules providing for rating and ranking and veterans' preference do not apply.
Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview and/or a writing assessment. Applicants who are selected for an interview may ask questions about the evaluation process at the time they are contacted for an interview.
A complete application includes 1. A résumé, 2. Vacancy question responses, and 3. Submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).
All applicants are required to submit a résumé either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/date/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your résumé. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your résumé to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view résumé tips.
VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: Even though veteran's preference does not apply to this excepted service authority you are still encouraged to submit your documentation. Please see applicant guide for required documentation.
EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION: Submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions.
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.
VAOIG has partnered with the Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service to provide certain personnel services to its organization. Fiscal Service's responsibilities include advertising vacancies, accepting and handling applications, and extending job offers.
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on the announcement's closing date.
The Bureau provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.
Once the online questionnaire is received, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. We will review your resume and transcript(s) (if appropriate) to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided and may interview the best-qualified applicants. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct any required suitability and/or security background investigation.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
