This assignment is for a period of 12 months, beginning in or about Summer 2017, with the possibility of extension, contingent on the availability of funding. Appointment to this position will be effected by reimbursable detail.
* Applicants should receive the approval of their management before applying for this detail. *
The mission of the Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) is to develop and administer technical and developmental assistance designed to enhance the capabilities of foreign justice sector institutions and their law enforcement personnel. This assistance is administered in order to enable those institutions and their personnel to combat more effectively terrorism, organized crime, corruption, financial crimes, and other types of crime in a manner consistent with the rule of law. The assistance is also administered to enable those institutions and their personnel to cooperate more effectively regionally and with the United States in combating such crime. http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/opdat
The RLA will represent the U.S. Department of Justice and OPDAT in the implementation of a justice sector technical assistance program. The objective is to help the Ukrainians further modernize their criminal justice system in line with international standards and best practices. Specifically, the RLA will work closely with the Government of Ukraine and Ukrainian legal and law enforcement professionals throughout the country to provide timely and direct assistance in the following areas: (1) anti-corruption; (2) asset forfeiture; (3) criminal procedure and adversarial system implementation; (4) prosecutorial reform; (5) support in drafting legislation related to criminal justice reform; and (6) anti-money laundering.
Required: To qualify for this position, applicants must possess ALL of the requirements below:
- Have a J.D. 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. Applicants must have, or be able to obtain through their Component/Agency, and maintain a Top Secret-SCI security clearance.
- Specific grade level requirements:
- GS-15: At least four (4) years of post J.D. legal experience including four (4) years of federal judicial or prosecutorial experience.
- GS-14: At least three (3) years of post J.D. legal experience, to include three (3) years of prosecutorial experience at the federal or state level.
Preferred: Experience in the following areas is desired but not required: working in an Embassy and/or overseas environment; working on cases with international dimensions; and familiarity with criminal justice systems in Eastern Europe/Eurasia.
The successful applicant should also have:
- The ability to function effectively in an international, multi-cultural environment;
- Excellent interpersonal and management skills;
- The ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing; and
- Extensive prosecution experience in the areas identified under the “Responsibilities and Opportunities Offered” section.
Although this vacancy announcement expires on June 26, 2017, the announcement may be closed at any time if selections are made.The Application Package must be received by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on the closing date of this announcement.
All interested attorneys meeting these qualifications should submit a cover letter and resume to OPDATDetails.CEE@USDOJ.GOV(link sends e-mail).
Internet Sites:
For information about the Criminal Division, please see: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/index.html
For other attorney vacancy announcements, please see: www.usdoj.gov/oarm/attvacancies.html
Department Policies
Equal Employment Opportunity: 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 other 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.
Reasonable Accommodations: 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.
Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to register for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Shared List of People with Disabilities (the Bender Disability Employment Registry) by submitting their resume to resume@benderconsult.com(link sends e-mail)and referencing “Federal Career Opportunities” in the subject line. Additional information about the Bender Registry is available at www.benderconsult.com(link is external). Individuals with disabilities may also contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC). See list of DPOCs.
Suitability and Citizenship: 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.
Veterans: 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).
This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. 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.