Attorney Advisor

The position is located in the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Office of General Counsel. This position is to serve as the Assistant General Counsel for Procurement Matters and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Privacy Act (PA), and Investigations.

Duties

As a Attorney Advisor, you will be responsible for duties to include, but are not limited to:

• Provides expert advice to senior agency officials, and employees at all levels on
  interpretation and application of laws, rules, and regulations concerning investigations
  including congressional oversight investigations, OIG investigations, or related matters.
• Research and interpret policies, procedures, regulations, and statutes relating to the
  provisions of the Privacy Act and other relevant Acts, court decisions and administrative
  rulings.
• Reviews proposed contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, delivery orders, and
  interagency agreements prior to their final execution, certifying to the General Counsel
  that they conform to law and regulation and are legally sufficient.
• Develops policies and establishes procedures concerning implementation of USAGM
  policy and procedural guidance for the programs and establishes standards and
  procedures designed to assure compliance with pertinent statutory requirements and
  Agency directives.

Salary

• $167,603 - $195,200/year

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S Citizen or U.S. National.
• This is a sensitive or national security position. If selected, this position requires the completion of the SF-86.
• Suitability Determination: If selected, you will be subject to a background investigation to establish your suitability for federal employment. The background investigation may include, among other aspects, a review of your credit and legal history.
• New appointees to the Excepted Service must serve a two-year trial period.
• The full performance grade level for this position is GS-15.
• If you are a male applicant, born after 12/31/59, you are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act. The Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.
• Must provide proof of active bar membership.
• Unofficial transcripts are required at the time of application.
• This position is not covered by a Union Agreement.
• Applicants must complete online questionnaire.
• If selected for this vacancy, you will be required to the OGE form 450 (Confidential Financial Disclosure Report).
• Recruitment incentive: If selected for the position, the agency will offer a recruitment incentive of $5,000 to a newly appointed employee. The selectee must sign a service agreement for employment with the agency for two years.

Qualifications

To qualify for the GS-15, you should have four (4) or more years of post-J.D. legal experience, at least one (1) of which were specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-14 grade level or higher and hold an active bar membership.

Applicants must have a minimum of one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility comparable to the GS- 14 or comparable pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position and includes all of the following:

• The statutory requirements and guidelines governing Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act programs.
• Experience in drafting or revising organizational policies, based upon continuing review of case law, appropriate legislation, and regulatory implementation, to minimize organizational legal risk.

Education Attorney positions do have an education requirement. Applicants must be a graduate of an accredited law school with an LL.B. or J.D. For positions with an education requirement, you MUST submit a copy of your unofficial transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions. Applicant cannot substitute education for experience at the GS-15 levels, although educational achievement may be considered when rating applicants, as with any attorney position. Other Information Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by closing date of the announcement to be considered. The recruitment incentive is only available to newly appointed employees to the federal government or previous employees who have had a break in federal service for at least 90 days. Selectee must sign a two-year service agreement with the agency. 1. If you are a male applicant who was born after 12/31/59 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency. For Military Selective Service Act requirement information, please visit Selective Service 2. Your application to this vacancy announcement will only allow consideration for this announcement. We cannot electronically or manually move your application to corresponding announcements, if applicable. 3. Additional vacancies not reflected in the announcement that occur after the opening date of the vacancy announcement for position(s) identical (same grade, series and title) to the original vacancy may be filled from the selection certificate during the validity of the certificate. 4. Budgetary conditions may delay or otherwise affect filling this vacancy. However, all interested candidates should apply now. Required Documents

The following documents are required by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date for your application package to be complete. Encrypted or ineligible documents may result in loss of consideration.

• 2 page Resume: Include contact information, education, and detailed work experience (including work schedules, employment dates, and position titles). The agency will not accept a resume longer than 2 pages.
• Transcripts: 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. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application. If selected for the position, you will also be required to submit official transcripts before your start date. *For foreign education, you must submit an equivalency evaluation from a member organization of Association of International Credential Evaluators (AICE) or National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). The evaluation must include all criteria found on the OPM website: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4.
• Proof of an active bar membership

How to Apply

You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. If you cannot complete the Application Package online, please contact the Human Resource Specialist listed in this vacancy announcement.

• To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents and any appropriate Accepted Documents.
• To begin, click Apply in the announcement; then, choose to create a new USAJOBS account or Sign-in into your existing account.
• 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 submitting it. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
• Click the following link to pre-view and print the occupational questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12848622.
• After completing the questionnaire and uploading appropriate documents, click the Submit Application to submit your application package.
• It is applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered in the profile is accurate and all required documents are uploaded and submitted before 11:59 PM (ET) on 01/05/2026 of the announcement to receive consideration.
• Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. If a document is not in legible format, applicant will not be able to view it in Application Manager which means applicant must again upload the documentation to the system by the closing date of this announcement.
• To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account. The page will display the positions for which you've applied as well as the status of each application.
• To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click on the plus sign (+) next to the job title to expand information about the job. Next click on Update Application to complete the application process.
• Note: Submission of a resume alone IS NOT a complete application. This position requires the completion of additional forms and/or supplemental materials as described previously. Please carefully review the complete job announcement, including the Required Documents, Other Information, and How to Apply sections of the announcement.
• Application packages will NOT be accepted via mail or e-mail. All resumes/applications received at the addresses listed in the Contact Information or Agency Information will be destroyed and will not be considered for this vacancy announcement.
• This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact HROperations@usagm.gov or 202-920-2400 to request this.