Attorney Advisor

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Office of Public and Governmental Affairs (PGA)
Attorney
Location Negotiable After Selection,
United States
21-EXC-050-KRM
About the Office: 

This position is a Senior Attorney in the Office of Public and Governmental Affairs (PGA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Department of Justice (DOJ). The Senior Attorney is assigned to PGA’s Legislative Affairs Division (LAD) and primarily provides legal advice on pending legislation and congressional activities relating to ATF’s jurisdiction. 

As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.

Job Description: 

Supports the Legislative Affairs Division’s work in developing and implementing its program to manage relationships and handle information exchange between Congress and ATF related to ATF’s appropriations and operations.

Prepares guidance and presents briefings on ATF programs and initiatives to members of Congress, their staff, and Department and ATF executives. Such presentations may involve highly sensitive, controversial, complex, and critical issues, which have a nationwide impact.

Prepares responsive comments, reports, statistical materials, and other information that provides accurate and logical justification on ATF’s/DOJ’s views and goals. Monitors relevant legislation to know when specific items will be appearing on the Congressional agenda.

Plans meetings, conferences, and seminars for the Chief, LAD, and other ATF and Departmental officials with Congressional representatives for the purpose of establishing ATF’s position on ATF’s budget, operations, and areas of mutual Congressional interest.

Provide guidance to Special Agents in Charge and Public Information Officers, who are preparing to meet with congressional staff in their State or district offices.

Serves as a technical advisor to the ATF managers and Departmental officials on all legislative matters that may have an impact on ATF’s appropriations.

Qualifications: 

To qualify at the GS-15 level, applicants must have at least six years of specialized experience as a practicing attorney.

Specialized Experience is experience which is in or directly related to the line of work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.  Specialized experience required for this position is legal experience in excess of six years commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position.

Specialized experience for this position includes:

  1. Expertise in subject matter areas of particular value to ATF and has a thorough understanding of duties and responsibilities handled by the Field Operations and Information Division and Public and Governmental Affairs directorate.
  2. Demonstration of original thinking, mature judgment, and sound reasoning are continually required as new problems of law, policy and procedures are presented for solution.
  3. Demonstrated ability to provide legal advice on the Federal legislative process, Congressional/Committee rules and procedures, appropriations procedures, and related statutes and regulations.
  4. Demonstrated mastery of communication principles, practices, techniques, analytical methods, and interpersonal relations to function as a technical authority and perform appropriations and other liaison activities with Congress.

The GS-15 salary range starts at $128,078.00.   If you are a new federal (civil service) employee, your starting salary will be set at the Step 1 for this position.

Salary: 
$128,078 to $166,502 per year
Travel: 
Occasional travel - Infrequent domestic travel may be required.
Application Process: 

This job is filled through a 3-step on-line application process.

STEP ONE - (Online Resume - USAJOBS) You must create a user account and at least one Federal resume at USAJOBS. Information you provide in USAJOBS is general information completed by all applicants. The information you provide and your Federal resume will become part of your application and will automatically be transferred to CareerConnector when you apply online. If you have an existing USAJOBS account, simply login and select the resume you wish to include with your application package for this announcement.

STEP TWO - (Vacancy Specific Questions USAJobs) In USAJobs, you will answer vacancy specific questions necessary to evaluate your qualifications for the job to which you are applying. When completed, the information you provided at USAJOBS and the answers to the USAJob questions will become your application package.

STEP THREE - (Supporting Documentation) You may upload supporting documentation in one of two ways:

(l) Once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement, you will be prompted to upload your document(s) to your application package. You will be given the choice to either upload the document as part of the application process, or you can select a document that you've already loaded on USAJOBS, or simply fax supporting documentation, which will provide you the necessary cover sheets for each of your documents so that they will be correctly submitted to the appropriate vacancy announcement. The fax number will be available on the cover sheet.

(2) You can upload a document to an existing application by logging into your USAJOBS account profile. Click on "My Applications" and search for the vacancy. Once you have located the vacancy, click on the vacancy and select "Apply Online". Move through your existing application to the Documents page and select "Upload" in order to add a document to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation that the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS. Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g. DD-214) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.

Application Deadline: 
Monday, July 5, 2021
Relocation Expenses: 
Relocation expenses will not be reimbursed
Number of Positions: 
1
Updated June 23, 2021

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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 race, color, religion, national origin, sex - including gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy status - or because of age (over 40), physical or mental disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, or any other non-merit based 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. For more information, please review our full EEO Statement.

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 disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. 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. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee’s Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is 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. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates must have lived in the United States for at least three of the past five years. The three-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement. This is a Department security requirement which is waived only for extreme circumstances and handled 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 their retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that they were transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).

USAO Residency Requirement:  Assistant United States Attorneys must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof.  See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.

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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.