Summary

The Office of the Legal Adviser (L) seeks a specialist Attorney-Adviser for the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Ethics and Financial Disclosure (L/EFD). The attorney will help advise senior officials and other Department employees on ethics compliance and financial disclosure matters. This is an Excepted Service position; appointments are made without regard to Competitive Service requirements under law, Executive Order, or OPM regulations.

Duties

Help

• Identifies potential ethics issues; researches and applies federal ethics statutes, Department regulations, Executive Orders, and OGE guidance to matters involving employee conduct and conflicts of interest.
• Provides legal advice on ethics laws including the Ethics in Government Act, Standards of Conduct, conflict of interest statutes, and financial disclosure requirements (5 C.F.R. Part 2635).
• Reviews and adjudicates public and confidential financial disclosure reports (OGE 278/450) to identify conflicts of interest and recommend remedial actions.
• Advises on gift acceptance, outside employment, and post-government employment restrictions.
• Conducts negotiations on ethics compliance matters, plans the approach, and develops written opinions, guidance, and recommendations.
• Participates in intradepartmental, interagency, and inter-jurisdictional meetings, justifying ethics-related legal recommendations and policy positions.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
• 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/
• Copy of license to practice law.

Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Applicants apply 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.

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 providing legal advice on federal ethics laws and regulations, including the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (5 C.F.R. Part 2635), conflict of interest statutes (18 U.S.C. 201-209), and financial disclosure requirements under the Ethics in Government Act.
• Experience coordinating with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) and other federal agencies to ensure consistent application of ethics laws, respond to inquiries, and represent the agency in interagency ethics working groups or policy discussions.
• Experience reviewing, analyzing, and adjudicating public and confidential financial disclosure reports (OGE Form 278 and OGE Form 450) to identify potential conflicts of interest and recommending appropriate remedial actions, such as recusal, divestiture, or waiver.
• Experience drafting memoranda, briefs, written ethics opinions, guidance documents, and training materials on compliance with applicable ethics statutes, regulations, and post-employment restrictions.

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.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: www.naces.org/members.php.

Additional information

• For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at [redacted].

• If eligible, situational 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 other similar positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department for up to 240 days. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.

Expand Hide additional information

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

Help

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.

Review our 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.