Legal Careers
Principal Deputy Chief, Housing and Civil Enforcement
The U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ" or "Department") is the principal federal agency charged with enforcing federally protected civil and constitutional rights. The Civil Rights Division ("CRT" or "Division") is primarily responsible for enforcing federal statutes and executive orders that prohibit, among other things, unlawful discrimination in education, employment, housing, police services, public accommodations and facilities, voting, and federally funded and conducted programs. The laws that the Division enforces also prohibit conduct by law enforcement agencies, as well as conditions of public residential institutions, such as health care and correctional facilities, that violate the constitution.
The Division is seeking a managing attorney to serve as the Principal Deputy Chief of the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section ("HCE Section" or "Section"). The HCE Section enforces civil rights laws designed to protect persons from illegal discrimination in housing, lending, zoning and land use, and places of public accommodation. In addition, the Section enforces the rights of servicemembers under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The Section conducts investigations, brings lawsuits, and monitors compliance with court orders and settlements.
CRT offices are near the Metro transportation system or other public transportation, and are conveniently accessible to restaurants, museums and other Washington, D.C. area attractions. Most jobs in the Division offer alternative work schedules and other family friendly opportunities. Most employees who commute by public transportation are eligible for a transit subsidy benefit.
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.
As Principal Deputy Chief, the successful candidate will assist the Section Chief in planning and directing a nationwide program to enforce the federal civil rights laws and executive orders prohibiting discrimination in housing, lending, zoning and land use, and places of public accommodation. Responsibilities include:
- Advising the Section Chief on personnel, overall management planning, litigative program development, budget, and other matters; and participating in the decisional process relating to these subjects. S/he supervises directly and through subordinate managers and supervisors, attorneys, investigators, and support personnel.
- Supervising various administrative tasks, including evaluating attorneys.
- Overseeing the preparation of, review, and edit of complaints, other pleadings, discovery requests and responses, motions, briefs, proposed consent decrees and other legal documents. Overseeing all aspects of pretrial discovery and motion practices to ensure the development of testimonial and documentary evidence for trial. Personally handling the most sensitive and difficult cases.
- Meeting, coordinating, and fostering good working relationships with the United States Attorneys' Offices, other Department of Justice ("DOJ" or "Department") components, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, federal regulatory agencies, and other partner agencies.
- Coordinating with counsel for private litigants in cases in which the Government intervenes; conferring with the United States Attorneys' Offices at all important stages of litigation; and meeting with the public (and their delegations), law enforcement entities, and others.
- Consulting and advising on an emergency basis with DOJ officials at the highest echelon, reporting on the immediate status of civil rights matters that fall under the HCE Section's areas of oversight.
- Consulting and advising the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights and the Deputy Assistant Attorneys General. Coordinating with the Division's other Section Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs as appropriate.
- Speaking at meetings and conferences to educate other governmental agencies, industry, and/or the public about the work of the HCE Section. Meeting and conducting outreach to community organizations and other interested parties.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is required by law to review the executive qualifications of each new career appointee to the Senior Executive Service (SES) prior to appointment. To be considered for this position, you must submit a written statement addressing the five (5) Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) listed below at section 3. Failure to address both the mandatory technical/professional qualifications and the ECQs as set forth below will adversely affect your chances for selection. Current members of the career SES, former career SES members with reinstatement eligibility, and OPM/QRB certified candidates need not address the ECQs.
You must submit a separate narrative statement that addresses each of the Technical Qualifications (TQs) and Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) related to this position; limit your responses to no more than one page for each TQ/MTQ. Unless you are a current Senior Executive Service (SES) career appointee, a former SES member having reinstatement eligibility, or an OPM-certified graduate of an approved SES Candidate Development Program, you must also submit a separate narrative statement (10-page limit) addressing each of the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) related to all positions in the SES. You must address how you have demonstrated progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior executive level managerial capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined in this job announcement. Qualified candidates typically gain experience of this nature at or above the GS-15 grade level in the Federal service or its equivalent with state or local government, the private sector, or nongovernmental organizations. For examples and guidance on writing effective ECQ narrative statements, you are strongly encouraged to review the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications. You must use the Challenge- Context- Action- Result (CCAR) model when describing your accomplishments.
(1) Technical Qualifications:
- Ability to manage a complex organization and tackle challenging organizational issues.
- Ability to manage a diverse workforce that includes lawyers, non-lawyer professionals, and support staff.
- Ability to establish and implement an organizational vision, develop a strategic plan and implement strategic change, develop and advance policy initiatives, and build coalitions and identify opportunities for collaboration, both within the organization and outside the organization, to effectively enforce the applicable statutory provisions effectively.
- Ability to communicate effectively on complex legal and technical issues, both orally and in writing, including the ability to advocate successfully with diverse stakeholders, external partners and individuals or groups having differing and often conflicting interests, on matters related to the successful execution of a large-scale organization's mission, programs and projects.
- Demonstrated experience supervising, developing, or resolving issues through effective oral and written communication.
- Ability to consult and provide advice on complex legal and technical issues.
- Demonstrated experience in developing or litigating cases and negotiating settlements.
(2) Mandatory Technical Qualifications:
- Extensive experience working with one or more of the applicable statutory provisions (i.e., the Fair Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act).
(3) Executive Core Qualifications:
- Leading Change: This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment. Leadership Competencies for ECQ-1: creativity and innovation, external awareness, flexibility, resilience, strategic thinking, vision.
- Leading People: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts. Leadership Competencies for ECQ-2: conflict management, leveraging diversity, developing others, team building.
- Results Driven: This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks. Leadership Competencies for ECQ-3: accountability, customer service, decisiveness, entrepreneurship, problem solving, technical credibility.
- Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. Leadership Competencies for ECQ-4: financial management, human capital management, technology management.
- Building Coalitions: This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals. Leadership Competencies for ECQ-5: partnering, political savvy, influencing/negotiating.
The following fundamental competencies underlie the five ECQs, which should be incorporated into your responses to the ECQs and not as separate statements:
- Interpersonal Skills: Treats others with courtesy, sensitivity, and respect. Considers and responds appropriately to the needs and feelings of different people in different situations.
- Oral Communication: Makes clear and convincing oral presentations. Listens effectively; clarifies information as needed.
- Integrity/Honesty: Behaves in an honest, fair, and ethical manner. Shows consistency in words and actions. Models high standards of ethics.
- Written Communication: Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
- Continual Learning: Assesses and recognizes own strengths and weaknesses; pursues self-development.
- Public Service Motivation: Shows a commitment to serve the public. Ensures that actions meet public needs; aligns organizational objectives and practices with public interests.
Specialized Education and Licensing:
You must be a graduate of a law school accredited by the American Bar Association and be an active member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar.
The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time Zone) on Tuesday, July 12, 2016.
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package, which includes:
1. Résumé
2. A complete Occupational Questionnaire
3. Narrative statement addressing each of the TQs and MTQs (limit to one page per TQ/MTQ)
4. Narrative statement addressing each of the ECQs (10-page limit) (if required)
5. Current performance appraisal (if none exists, a statement to that effect)
To apply for this position, see page at https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/PrintPreview/440788800.
ES-0905-00 - $123,175.00 to $185,100.00 / Per Year
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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.
Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs: 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.
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.