U.S. Department of Justice
Office on Violence Against Women
Experienced, Attorney-Advisor, GS-14/15
OPEN: January 27, 2014
CLOSE: February 28, 2014
About the Office: The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), a component of the U.S. Department of Justice, provides national leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence against women through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies, and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. In FY 2014, OVW will administer 18 grant programs, which were established under VAWA and subsequent legislation. Since its inception, OVW has awarded over $4 billion in grants and cooperative agreements, and has launched a multifaceted approach to implementing VAWA. By forging state, local, and tribal partnerships among police, prosecutors, victim advocates, health care providers, faith leaders, and others, OVW grant programs help provide victims with the protection and services they need to pursue safe and healthy lives, while simultaneously enabling communities to hold offenders accountable for their violence.
In addition to overseeing 18 federal grant programs, OVW and its Director provide national leadership in the field of violence against women. Recent OVW policy initiatives have included promoting the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, the development of workplace violence policies in federal agencies, and enhanced Department responses to Native American, immigrant, and LGBT victims. OVW also supports special initiatives to identify and disseminate promising practices, including the Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Demonstration Initiative, the Family Court Enhancement Project, and the Sexual Assault Demonstration Initiative.
Responsibilities and Opportunities Offered: The incumbent will provide legal and policy support for the administration of OVW and its grant programs. The incumbent must respond orally and in writing to complex and novel requests for legal advice or questions involving interpretation of legislation, including the Violence Against Women Act and other applicable statutes, case law, federal regulations and other legal authorities relevant to federal grants administration, federal Indian law, and national violence against women policy. Incumbent must conduct comprehensive and extensive legal research, prepare detailed advisory opinions and memoranda, and review proposed legislation to determine its effect on OVW operations and violence against women. Furthermore, incumbent must prepare highly complex correspondence, talking points, speeches, testimony, and other materials for the Director and other Department officials.
• Perform extensive legal research;
• Ensure that OVW activities comply with federal statutory, regulatory, and other requirements;
• Provide legal and policy guidance to OVW management and staff and other Department officials;
• Respond to inquiries from Congress and other federal agencies;
• Prepare responses to legal, legislative, and/or judicial matters on behalf of the Department;
• Review violence against women legislation, draft recommendations, and assist in legislative strategy development;
• Represent the Director in interactions with federal, state, local, tribal and other organizations; and
• Other duties as needed at the request of the Director, Principal Deputy Director, and the Supervisory Attorney-Advisor.
Qualifications: Interested applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the bar in good standing, and have at least four years post J.D. experience.
Preferred Qualifications: Hiring preferences include a record of excellence in academic achievement; superior analytic, legal research, drafting, and editing skills; outstanding oral and written communication skills; an ability to work efficiently under extreme pressure and to handle multiple matters simultaneously; and strong interpersonal skills. An applicant’s qualifications will be further evaluated based upon one or more of the following competencies:
• Knowledge of the Violence Against Women Act and related statutes
• Experience in the field of violence against women
• Experience in the field of federal Indian law
• Experience in federal grant administration law
Salary Information: Current salary level and years of experience will determine the appropriate salary at the time of appointment. Compensation will be at the GS-14 or 15 levels. The exact salaries within these GS levels vary based on many factors. Base salary table and locality pay tables for all U.S. locations during 2014 can be found at: OPM Pay Tables.
Location: This position is located in the Washington, DC metropolitan commuting area. Our office is a short and easy commute from most outlying residential areas. To learn more about the area and what Washington, DC has to offer, please visit the city’s official tourism site: http://washington.org.
Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are not authorized.
Travel: Occasional travel is required.
Application Process and Deadline Date: Applicants must submit a cover letter (highlighting relevant experience), a resume or OF-612 (Optional Application for Federal Employment), a list of references, and a writing sample to OVW.HumanResources@usdoj.gov. No telephone calls please. Please reference this announcement OVW ATTY 14-001 in your cover letter.
Alternatively, applications can be mailed to
U.S. Department of Justice
Office on Violence Against Women (Attn: S. Barksdale)
145 N Street, N.E., Room 10W.1401
Washington, D.C. 20530
Deadline: Applications must be received by February 28, 2014.
For more information about OVW, please visit our Web page at: http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/index.html. This and selected other legal position announcements may be found on the Internet at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html and http://dojnet.doj.gov/oarm/attvacancies.php
Department Policies: 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 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. 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.
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.
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).
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This and other attorney vacancy announcements can be found at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/attvacancies.html.
