About the Position: This position is in the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS). Employees occupying DCIPS positions are in the Excepted Service and must adhere to U.S. Code, Title 10, as well as Department of Defense Instruction 1400.25. This position is located at INSCOM, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Fort Belvoir, VA.
Duties
- Serves as the principal legal advisor on Government Information Practices to include, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Privacy Act (PA), Civil Liberties, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
- Assists with development of training on Government Information Practices, which familiarizes personnel with the requirements of FOIA, PA, HIPAA and other privacy legislation and regulations.
- Provides legal advice to FOIA/PA officials, commanders, and supervisors on requests for records under the FOIA and PA.
- Provides oral or written legal advice concerning any issue pending legal review by the Administrative Law Branch, to include (but not limited to) financial liability investigations.
- Provides advice and guidance on the INSCOM Privacy and Civil Liberties Program to ensure compliance with applicable statutory, regulatory, and policy requirements.
- Ensures compliance with procedures set forth in Army Regulation 27-40, Army Litigation.
Salary
Qualifications
Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities. United States Citizen Applying to a DCIPS Position Applicants will be evaluated to determine if they meet the minimum qualification requirements and on the extent to which their application shows possession of the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with the position. 1. Knowledge of legal principles of governmental information programs and processes that gives the incumbent the ability to provide legal counsel and services to and/or interface directly with top officials within and outside the Command, to include officials of the other Federal and DoD Agencies, Intelligence Community Partners, and Private Industry/Civilians. 2. Possess legal expertise and knowledge of regarding the Freedom of Information Act, Privacy, Civil Liberties, and Federal Records statues, executive orders, and current case law. 3. Professional knowledge of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Expert knowledge of Government information practices, the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act of 1974, the Civil Liberties Act, and the Federal Records Act statues, Executive Orders and case law. 4. Ability to plan and organize work assignments. Expert ability to communication orally and in writing. 5. Ability to produce clear and concise legal documents. VETERAN'S PREFERENCE INFORMATION: There is no formal rating system for applying veteran's preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Army considers veteran's preference eligibility a positive factor for attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veteran's preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documents (e.g., DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active duty) to their submissions. Although the point-preference system is not used, applicants eligible to claim a 10-point preference must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-point Veteran Preference, and supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed. (SF 15, which lists the type of 10-point preference and the required supporting documents, is available from the Office of Personnel Management Website at www.opm.gov. In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. The following minimum qualification requirements must be met before applicants are eligible for further consideration: EDUCATION: An applicant must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have the first professional law degree (LLB or JD). BAR MEMBERSHIP: Applicant must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. EXPERIENCE: Applicant must have 2 or more years of professional legal experience, acquired after being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. Graduation from an ABA-Accredited Law School in the top 25% of the class or an advanced law degree such as an LLM may substitute for one year of the required professional legal experience. PLEASE NOTE THAT REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATION, TIME IN GRADE, AND EXPERIENCE MAY BE WAIVED BY THE APPLICABLE AUTHORITY AND THE REQUIREMENTS SHOULD NOT DETER ANY INDIVIDUAL FROM APPLYING FOR THE POSITION. The following documents are required: 1. Official law school transcript and an official statement of relative standing in class. Photo static copies of documents are acceptable when applying but certified documents must be furnished before entering duty. 2. Official certificate showing that you are a member in good standing of the bar. The official certificate must be dated within three months of the date that the application package is submitted. The certificate is required to be submitted by all applicants to include attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of The Judge Advocate General (including active-duty Army Judge Advocates). 3. A sworn (notarized) statement from you that your fitness to practice law or conduct as an attorney has never been challenged in any jurisdiction to the best of your knowledge, or if either has been challenged, a sworn (notarized) statement concerning the facts and circumstances, together with any explanation that you deem appropriate may be submitted. As an alternative to a sworn (notarized) statement, a statement which includes a declaration under penalty of perjury may be submitted in the following format: "I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct...executed on (date)...(your signature)." (28 U.S.C. 1746). The statement must be dated within three months of the date the application package is submitted. The statement is required to be submitted by all applicants to include attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of The Judge Advocate General (including active-duty Army Judge Advocates). 4. Examples of writing skills as demonstrated by legal briefs, memoranda, or letters. These examples should total no more than ten pages in length. Extracts of selected sections of larger documents are acceptable. PLEASE NOTE THAT IF AN APPLICANT DOES NOT HAVE THEIR LAW SCHOOL TRANSCRIPTS, CERTIFICATE OF GOOD STANDING, OR FITNESS TO PRACTICE STATEMENT, HE/SHE SHOULD NOT BE DETERRED FROM APPLYING FOR THE POSITIONS. THE DOCUMENTS BELOW ARE REQUIRED FOR AN ATTORNEY TO ENTER ON DUTY; HOWEVER, THEY ARE PREFERRED, BUT NOT REQUIRED, AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION.
Education
FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html
Required Documents
WARNING: DO NOT INCLUDE CLASSIFIED INFORMATION IN YOUR APPLICATION PACKET! Application packages that contain Classified information WILL NOT receive consideration for this position. Should you submit a resume or any other document as part of your application package and it is confirmed that any of the information is Classified, in addition to being found ineligible for consideration for this position, your Security Office will be notified to determine if any further action is warranted. The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc). Please review the following links to see which documents you need to provide to prove your eligibility to apply: Applicant Checklist for Internal/Merit Promotion Announcements. As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further. 1. Your resume: Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy. For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position. For additional information see: What to include in your resume. 2. Other supporting documents: Cover Letter, optional Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable Proof of Eligibility to Apply: Your application must include the documents which prove you are eligible to apply for the vacancy. The Proof of Eligibility document describes authorities commonly used in merit promotion recruitment and what document(s) are required to prove you meet the requirements of the authority. You must meet the requirements of at least one of the authorities listed in the Who May Apply section above to receive further consideration. This position has an individual occupational requirement and/or allows for substitution of education for experience. If you meet this requirement based on education you MUST submit a copy of your transcript with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses This position requires a job-related license or certification. You MUST submit a copy of your license or certification with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 02/14/2025 to receive consideration. To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12683456). Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete. It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.
