This position will be located in the Office of Employment Law (L/EMP). The attorney will defend the Department in litigation and provide legal advice to senior officials on issues related to employment law.
This position is in the Excepted Service and appointments are made without regard to the requirements of the Competitive Service through laws, Executive order, or OPM regulations.
Summary
This position will be located in the Office of Employment Law (L/EMP). The attorney will defend the Department in litigation and provide legal advice to senior officials on issues related to employment law.
This position is in the Excepted Service and appointments are made without regard to the requirements of the Competitive Service through laws, Executive order, or OPM regulations.
Identifies potential legal issues, researches and applies relevant and/or pertinent Department regulations, policies, laws, Executive Orders, and other guidelines for legal implications related to human resources and labor relations.
Provides appropriate legal advice to management throughout the Department on relevant laws including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Rehabilitation Act, among others.
Independently carries out all assignments, including conducting investigations or negotiations, planning the approach, and developing the completed products.
Participates in intradepartmental, interagency, and inter-jurisdictional meetings and conferences in which s/he is expected to justify recommendations for particular legal considerations associated with deciding courses of action or policy positions.
Independently defends the Department in litigation before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Merit Systems Protection Board; acts as a liaison with the Office of Special Counsel; and works with the Department of Justice on employment cases in federal courts, including appeals of Foreign Service Grievance Board decisions.
At the GS-15 level, the incumbent performs the same duties as outlined above; however, the scope and complexity of assignments are increased, and the incumbent receives less supervision than the GS-14.
Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
Copy of license to practice law.
Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/
Qualifications
All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Applicants applying for this position must meet the following requirements to be eligible for further consideration:
Law Degree: Applicants must be a graduate of an accredited law school with a J.D. or LL.M. Bar Membership: Applicants must be a current member of a bar in good standing in any state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Applicants applying for the GS-14 level:
Experience: Applicants must have at least three years of specialized experience with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal Service, which provided you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position. The specialized experience must have been gained after admission to the bar.
Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:
Experience with employment law and litigation, including Federal statutes, administrative regulations, and judicial decisions that pertain to areas of the employer/employee relationship.
Experience addressing in writing legal aspects of domestic operational situations, memorializing interagency agreements, and settlement agreements.
There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-14 position.
Applicants applying for the GS-15 level:
Experience: Applicants must have at least four years of specialized experience with at least one year equivalent to the GS-14 level in the Federal Service, which provided you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position. The specialized experience must have been gained after admission to the bar.
Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:
Experience with employment law, including Federal statutes, administrative regulations, and judicial decisions that pertain to areas of the employer/employee relationship.
Experience defending against claims at the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Experience conducting investigations or negotiations, planning the approach, and developing the completed products.
Experience drafting texts of international treaties or agreements, typically beginning when the parties to the negotiation come closer to an agreement on the major policy issues.
There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-15 position.
Education
See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements.
Additional information
· For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or OAA@state.gov.
· If eligible, telework agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval.
· Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to similar positions in any Bureau/Office listed on this announcement for approximately 240 days. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.
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.
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.
There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of State considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor in the hiring process. For this announcement, all applicants will be reviewed to determine if they meet the qualifications for this position, specifically, the education and specialized experience requirements. Applicants will not be rated or ranked. All applicants that are verified to meet the required qualifications will be referred to the selecting official.
Your resume will be evaluated to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications required; and on the extent to which your application shows that you possess the knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position as defined below:
Knowledge of employment law.
Ability to draft clear legal briefs and arguments citing applicable laws, regulations, and precedents.
Ability to negotiate settlement agreements.
Ability to orally present factual and legal arguments in formal hearings.
Skill in performing legal research.
Ability to provide guidance to less experienced colleagues.
Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Your resume should include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week. For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.
Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any supporting documentation by the closing date of this announcement. Your application package must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement for each grade level(s) for which you are applying.
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.
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.
All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to legaljobs@state.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
1. Resume – your resume or any other written format you choose should contain the required information as specified in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section. Insufficient information will result in an ineligible rating.
2. Transcripts – you must submit a copy of your college transcript(s) from an accredited law school with your application. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.
3. Proof of bar membership – you must submit proof of bar membership from any state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico with your application.
4. If you are qualifying based on other criteria listed under the Qualification Section of this announcement, you MUST submit the required supporting documentation (certificates, certifications, etc.) with your application.
5. Most recent SF-50 for federal employment (if applicable).
6. Your most recent performance appraisal.
7. References – you must submit three professional references with your application.
8. Veterans Preference – There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of State considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor in the hiring process. If claiming 5-point veteran's preference, you must provide a copy of your DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member Copy 4 is preferred), which must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty.
If you are currently on active duty, you must provide a certification on letterhead from your military branch which contains your military service dates, expected date of discharge or release, and the character of service to show that your military service was performed under honorable conditions. The expected date of discharge or release must be no later than 120 days after the certification is submitted for consideration for this vacancy announcement. If the appropriate information is not submitted to confirm your current or expected discharge status, dates of service, etc., you will not receive credit for the claimed active duty military service.
If claiming 10-point veteran's preference (i.e., preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more), you must submit the documentation required by the SF-15 (Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference) to support your claim (e.g., DD-214, official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs). If we cannot verify your 10-point preference status, you will receive 5-point preference if veterans' preference requirements have been met. For further information regarding Veterans, click here.
For applicants claiming 10-point derivedveterans’ preference (i.e., spouses, widows, widowers or mothers of veterans), a completed SF-15must be submitted with the application with all required supporting documents listed on the form.
For Sole Survivorship preference, you must provide a copy of your DD-214 (Member Copy 4 is preferred) or another form of official documentation which shows your discharge or release from active duty occurred on or after August 29, 2008 and was based on a sole survivorship discharge.
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.
The APPLY button is deactivated and application packages are being accepted directly by the Office of the Legal Adviser (L).
Application packages are being accepted directly by emailing an application with all required documents, preferably in one PDF, to legaljobs@state.gov. Please have the subject line of the email read "L/EMP Specialist Attorney Position" AND include the Vacancy Announcment Number.
Please note, this vacancy exists with instructions on how to apply. Applicant notifications, however, will NOT be sent. If a hiring official determines you may have the needed skillset for the vacancy, a member of the hiring team will contact you.
Those applicants who may be contacted for an interview may be asked to provide further application material at a later time, including a writing sample.
All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to legaljobs@state.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
1. Resume – your resume or any other written format you choose should contain the required information as specified in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section. Insufficient information will result in an ineligible rating.
2. Transcripts – you must submit a copy of your college transcript(s) from an accredited law school with your application. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.
3. Proof of bar membership – you must submit proof of bar membership from any state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico with your application.
4. If you are qualifying based on other criteria listed under the Qualification Section of this announcement, you MUST submit the required supporting documentation (certificates, certifications, etc.) with your application.
5. Most recent SF-50 for federal employment (if applicable).
6. Your most recent performance appraisal.
7. References – you must submit three professional references with your application.
8. Veterans Preference – There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of State considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor in the hiring process. If claiming 5-point veteran's preference, you must provide a copy of your DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member Copy 4 is preferred), which must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty.
If you are currently on active duty, you must provide a certification on letterhead from your military branch which contains your military service dates, expected date of discharge or release, and the character of service to show that your military service was performed under honorable conditions. The expected date of discharge or release must be no later than 120 days after the certification is submitted for consideration for this vacancy announcement. If the appropriate information is not submitted to confirm your current or expected discharge status, dates of service, etc., you will not receive credit for the claimed active duty military service.
If claiming 10-point veteran's preference (i.e., preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more), you must submit the documentation required by the SF-15 (Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference) to support your claim (e.g., DD-214, official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs). If we cannot verify your 10-point preference status, you will receive 5-point preference if veterans' preference requirements have been met. For further information regarding Veterans, click here.
For applicants claiming 10-point derivedveterans’ preference (i.e., spouses, widows, widowers or mothers of veterans), a completed SF-15must be submitted with the application with all required supporting documents listed on the form.
For Sole Survivorship preference, you must provide a copy of your DD-214 (Member Copy 4 is preferred) or another form of official documentation which shows your discharge or release from active duty occurred on or after August 29, 2008 and was based on a sole survivorship discharge.
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.
The APPLY button is deactivated and application packages are being accepted directly by the Office of the Legal Adviser (L).
Application packages are being accepted directly by emailing an application with all required documents, preferably in one PDF, to legaljobs@state.gov. Please have the subject line of the email read "L/EMP Specialist Attorney Position" AND include the Vacancy Announcment Number.
Please note, this vacancy exists with instructions on how to apply. Applicant notifications, however, will NOT be sent. If a hiring official determines you may have the needed skillset for the vacancy, a member of the hiring team will contact you.
Those applicants who may be contacted for an interview may be asked to provide further application material at a later time, including a writing sample.
