Legal Careers
Deputy Director
The Office of Adjudication, Recruitment, and Management (OARM) is the primary resource on all issues relating to law student and attorney employment, including recruitment, outreach, retention, and separation at the Department of Justice. OARM is responsible for administering and promoting law student and attorney employment opportunities at the Department, including the Attorney General’s Honors Program, Summer Law Intern Program, volunteer legal interns, and lateral attorney recruitment.
The Deputy Director reports to the Director of OARM and provides strategic direction with respect to OARM’s mission and is responsible for the overall coordination and management, including planning, conducting, and evaluation of Department-wide legal recruitment, hiring, and retention programs and policies. The Deputy Director advises Department hiring officials, including those at the highest level, on issues affecting legal recruitment and hiring.
This position offers a unique opportunity for an individual committed to recruiting highly qualified applicants with varied backgrounds and experiences for the largest legal employer in the country. We seek candidates who share a passion for our mission and have a unique combination of personal qualities and professional experience. A good match for this position will be someone with an entrepreneurial mindset, who thrives in an environment that puts a premium on consensus building, who can be both collaborative and independent, who is mission-oriented, self-motivated, has high energy, articulate, flexible, has a sense of humor, and who demonstrates the highest degree of professionalism. Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Plans, develops, and maintains recruitment programs and policies to meet the Department's requirements for legal recruitment and retention of entry-level and experienced attorneys, as well as law students.
- Analyzes and evaluates existing Departmental practices, models, and systems, with a goal of developing best practices within DOJ based on a proven track record in similar settings, phasing out what is not working, and experimenting with new ways to strengthen and improve the Department’s legal recruitment and retention programs.
- Manages lateral attorney recruitment, entry-level attorney hiring, including the Attorney General's Honors Program, the Department's compensated Summer Law Intern Program, and volunteer legal intern recruitment.
- Oversees key programs under OARM’s purview, including but not limited to, the Attorney Student Loan Repayment Program and Attorney Mentor Program.
- Actively promotes the Department to law schools, bar associations, other government agencies, public interest organizations, and the public; proactively builds relationships with the same communities.
- Oversees and directs recruitment outreach strategy, programming, and training and provides advice and guidance regarding legal recruitment and hiring policies and practices.
- Responsible for the administration of web-based and print recruitment for attorney and law student positions within the Department.
- Works with the Director and component leadership on hiring and employment policy matters in the Department and answers questions from both internal and external stakeholders.
- Supervises and manages a team of attorneys and legal recruitment support professionals.
- Provides assistance and support with policy and personnel management oversight for the Department’s career attorney personnel.
- Handles various administrative functions associated with a small office.
- Assumes managerial duties and responsibilities of the Director in the Director's absence and develops, coordinates, executes special projects or studies assigned by the Director, and performs other duties as assigned.
Applicants must possess a J.D. degree (or equivalent), be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction), and have at least 6 years of post-J.D. (or equivalent) experience, including demonstrable legal recruitment, career development, and/or supervisory experience. In addition, ideal candidates for this position will have:
- Practical experience and in-depth knowledge of the legal community, hiring trends, and the principles and practices of effective attorney recruitment and management;
- Experience in formulating and implementing strategic and long-range plans to facilitate change in large, complex organizations;
- Strong supervisory, management, employee engagement, and team-building experience, including responsibility for developing and coordinating complex program initiatives that involve consensus building among multiple stakeholders with competing interests;
- Proven ability to exercise sound judgment, tact, and diplomacy in resolving difficult, sensitive, and controversial issues;
- Excellent writing and editing skills, with experience writing reports and marketing materials and media;
- Extensive use of web technology to meet recruitment objectives, including video conferencing platforms;
- Outstanding public speaking skills with the ability to adjust style and content to a variety of audiences;
- Experience creating presentations and trainings; and
- Strong interpersonal skills with a particular emphasis on relationship building and public relations.
Additional Qualifications: Other experience which is highly desirable includes prior experience with the U.S. Department of Justice or other federal agencies, knowledge of employment law-related issues, experience with developing and implementing marketing strategies. This is an in-person position in the Washington, D.C. office.
Applicants must submit a resume (no more than two pages), writing sample (no more than 15 pages), and a detailed cover letter that highlights the applicant's interest in the position and relevant experience and qualifications, including examples of legal recruitment, career development, and/or supervisory experience.
Applicants must submit their cover letter, resume, and writing sample in one combined pdf, titled Last name, First Name – Deputy Director Application via email to OARM.DD@usdoj.gov.
No telephone calls please. This position will be open until filled, but applications must be received by October 16, 2026.
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 conflicts of interest or disqualification issues that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.
Current salary and years of experience will determine the appropriate salary level within the GS-15 grade, $169,279 - $197,200, which includes locality pay.
Department Policies
The Department remains steadfast in its commitment to equal employment opportunity (EEO) and treating employees with fairness, dignity and compassion. We must ensure that no applicant for employment or employee of our Department is denied equal opportunity because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex – including pregnancy – or because of age, physical or mental disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, or any other non-merit based factor and that all have the freedom to compete on a fair and level playing field. To learn more, please view the Department’s full Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.
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.
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.
Unless otherwise required by law, the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits employees of the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal contractor acting on its behalf from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history record, either in writing or orally, before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to the hiring office using the contact information listed in the announcement.
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://help.usajobs.gov/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.
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).
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.
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.