Attorney Advisor (Reemployed Annuitant and ICTAP eligibles)

Job Details

Position Overview

Duties

The selectee will serve as an Attorney Advisor in the Office of the Chief Counsel. Typical work assignments include:

• Providing advice, conducting legal research and analysis, and reviewing and drafting policy and concerning a variety of administrative matters including, but not limited to, budget, appropriations, claims brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and employment matters under Title 5 of the United States Code.
• Analyzing and rendering legal advice on all facets of agency protective and investigative operations, to include complex matters of first impression under 18 U.S.C. 3056 and 3056A that are of such scope that they may warrant the assistance of one or more attorneys of lower grade or other specialists.
• Preparing for hearings and trying cases before administrative bodies including the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Government Accountability Office, and the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, including cases that are of such scope that they may warrant the assistance of one or more attorneys of lower grade or other specialists.
• Conducting research for, developing, and implementing legal training curriculum to law enforcement personnel as well as administrative, professional, and technical personnel at all levels within the agency that fully complies with the law as well as Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Secret Service policy.

Qualifications & Requirements

To be considered qualified for this position you must meet the following qualification requirements for the respective grade level in which you are applying.

Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Basic Requirements AND Minimum Qualification requirements as listed below:

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
A. A first professional law degree (Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) or Juris Doctor (J.D.)) obtained from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association at the time the degree was obtained;

AND

B. Be an active member in good standing of the bar of a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States. (Note: Supporting documentation must be included with the application package).

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS ABOVE, YOU MUST ALSO MEET THE FOLLOWING MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

GS-15
Specialized Experience: You qualify for the GS-15 level (starting salary $169,279.00) if you possess:

• Three years of specialized professional legal experience, following obtaining first professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.), of which includes experience training and advising clients regarding protective, investigative, and administrative programs and activities to perform successfully the duties of the position (generally, the experience is in or related to the work of the position to be filled).

Applicants must have demonstrated writing, editing, and oral communication skills.

The qualification requirements listed above must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Education

Requirements

• Be a U.S. citizen
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.

• Obtain and maintain a Top-Secret Tier 5 clearance. For more information visit OPM Mythbuster Page.
• Submit to a drug test prior to your appointment and random drug testing while you occupy the position.
• Submit a credit check after a conditional offer of employment has been accepted.

Dual Compensation Offset Waiver Approved for Rehires: This announcement is being used to recruit CSRS and FERS annuitants on a limited basis with a waiver of salary offset (if a dual compensation waiver is requested) under certain specified circumstances not to exceed 12/31/2028.

Annuitants who are reemployed with a salary offset waiver (dual compensation) are eligible for:

• Full annuity and full Federal salary.
• Annual and sick leave (not applicable for an intermittent work schedule)
• Full-time work schedules.
• Receive overtime (on a full schedule). Overtime hours are counted towards maximum hour limitations.
• New hires under this authority will be offered a 4-year, non-status, term appointment in the excepted service.
• Appointments that continue past December 31, 2028, may be subjected to salary offset (reduced) if the OPM dual compensation salary offset waiver is not renewed.

• Additional retirement coverage (other than Social Security coverage).
• TSP Contributions.
• Annual, sick leave or holiday pay (applicable to an intermittent work schedule only).

Evaluations

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. Upon review, your resume and/or supporting documents need to support your answer choices and reflect the one year of specialized experience requirement, in order to be considered. If the one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the next lower grade level cannot be identified in your resume, you will be considered not qualified. The competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job are:

• Administrative Law
• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Manages and Organizes Information
• Oral Communication
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork
• Written Communication

Required Documents

In addition to addressing the vacancy specific questions, you must also submit the following documentation:

• Resume - Limit your resume to no more than two pages. The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an application that includes a resume over two pages. In order to receive credit for experience contained in an uploaded resume, your employment history should show relevant work experience in month/year format (MM/YYYY), reflecting starting date and ending date, and include the number of hours worked per week. To learn how to format and submit a two-page resume, please visit the USAJOBS Help Center.
• Transcripts- Submit a copy of your law school transcript accredited by the American Bar Association. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted that includes your name, name of the educational institution, declared degree program, course title(s), credits completed, grade, date of completion, Grade Point Average (GPA), and date of degree conferral. Your legal education must have been obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the American Bar Association. If selected, an official transcript will be required.
• Licensure- Submit a copy of your bar license, certificate of good standing, or other documentary evidence to prove that you are an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
• Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP)? Submit a copy of your agency notice, copy of your most recent performance appraisal (with at least a satisfactory rating) and your most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location.
• Are you a federal annuitant? Submit a copy of your retirement SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing your tenure code, position occupied and highest grade and step. In addition, if you have or had service in a Federal Law Enforcement position covered by law enforcement or firefighter retirement provisions, including early or mandatory retirement, the SF-50 must show the retirement code. An award SF-50 does not contain the required information. You may be asked to provide a copy of your recent performance appraisal and or incentive awards. Instructions for obtaining your SF-50: If you need assistance with obtaining your SF-50 showing your retirement, please contact the National Records Center website at https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/civilian-non-archival. You must submit the SF-50 associated with your retirement for consideration.
• Are you a Veteran? Veterans' preference does not apply to selections made under this announcement. However, if you would like to submit your military records for benefits you may receive after selection, please submit the following: copy of your DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member Copy 4). If a DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member Copy 4) is not available, other documentation listing the beginning and ending dates of active service and the type of discharge must be submitted to verify eligibility.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. PLEASE NOTE: Only resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. Applicants with resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 08/25/2026 to receive consideration.

The application process is as follows:

1. To begin your online application, click the Apply Online button and follow the prompts to register or sign into USAJOBS,
2. Complete the online questionnaire and submit the required documents. See Required Documents section for more detail.
3. You must complete the application process and submit any required documents no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 08/25/2026.
4. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
5. Access to USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
6. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
7. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
8. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: USA Hire Reasonable Accommodation.

We strongly encourage you to apply online. If you cannot apply online, you may contact the APT Talent Management Division at [email protected] OR by calling (202) 406-6420 between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:30 pm EST (excluding Federal holidays) prior to the closing date of this announcement to receive assistance.

The Secret Service provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.

Once your complete application is received we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications and determine your eligibility. Best-qualified applicants will be referred for further consideration and possible interview. We expect to make a selection within 45 days of the closing date of this announcement. If you are selected, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation. We will notify you by email after each of these steps has been completed. Your status will also be updated on USAJOBS throughout the process. To check your status, log on to your USAJOBS account, click on "Application Status," and then click "More Information. For more information on applying for Federal employment, please click here.

Note: The average re-employment process is typically 2-6 months depending on your unique history.