Supervisory Attorney-Adviser (General)

About the Position: This is a permanent position with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Office of the Chief Counsel. This is an excepted service, permanent position. One vacancy may be filled at each of the following duty locations: Tulsa District Pacific Ocean Division Portland District Pittsburgh District St. Louis District Los Angeles District

Duties

• As Division or District Counsel, incumbent directs and coordinates all legal activities in connection with the work of the Division or District.

• Interprets policies, procedures, and regulations of higher authority pertaining to the legal program, and issues supplemental instructions and procedures to the districts as necessary.

• Maintains continuing review of all legal functions and activities, and directs improvements needed to better serve the Division's or District’s missions and operational requirements.

• Incumbent will be responsible for the Government's defense in all contract appeals before the Armed Services Board Contract Appeals.

• Serves as legal and policy advisor to the Division or District Engineer and their staff on all questions of law.

• Advises on statutes, executive orders, regulations, and the opinions and decisions of the Comptroller General or Army General Counsel.

• Makes or recommends final legal decisions of the more complex legal problems and determines when a legal matter is of sufficient importance to require concurrence of higher authority.

• Serves as first-line and/or second-line supervisor, exercising personnel management responsibilities.

Salary

• $125,133 - $162,672/year

Conditions of Employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position requires the incumbent be able to obtain and maintain a determination of eligibility for a Secret security clearance or access for the duration of employment.
• Incumbent is required to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450, (5CFR Part 2634, Subpart I Confidential Financial Disclosure Reports) upon entering the position and annually.
• This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement of 10% of the time.
• A one year probation to assess your ability to perform supervisory duties is required unless previously completed.
• Excepted service positions are subject to a two year trial period unless the appointee has previously met the requirements.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

The minimum qualification requirements must be met before applicants are eligible for further consideration:

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.

Professional Legal Experience: Applicant must have three or more years of professional legal experience, acquired after being admitted to the bar, commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. One year of the required professional legal experience is equivalent to the GS-14 under the General Schedule or other pay systems which includes providing senior-level legal advice on federal contracting matters; conducting legal analysis and recommendations on contract claims, disputes, and bid protests; preparing litigation reports and supporting federal litigation through research, factual development, and coordination with Department of Justice or U.S. Attorneys; delivering authoritative ethics guidance, including reviewing financial disclosures and applying the Joint Ethics Regulation; and supervising attorneys and legal staff by assigning work, reviewing legal products, and offering technical oversight across a geographically dispersed organization.

NOTE: ALL APPLICANTS SHOULD ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

1. Technical Knowledge:

• Experience and/or knowledge in the specialized body of law applicable to civil works authorities, military programs, fiscal law, environmental law, ethics, information law, and general law. This includes extensive experience with and knowledge of Federal, DoD and Department of the Army regulations, guidelines, and policies.
• Experience and mature judgment in handling legal problems including statutory interpretations, preparing legal documents, and reviewing document for legal soundness and accuracy sufficient for accomplishment of difficult, complex and varied legal work relating to complex procurements, litigation, civil works, military construction, regulatory, ethics, fiscal law, and interagency agreements, administrative and international law

2. Management skills and leadership abilities:

• Workload and/or staff direction and management experience. Experience in establishing goals, executing processes, and leading staff to implement and adjust objectives to meet regional mission requirements.

3. Other knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Ability to advise and communicate effectively with senior leadership at all levels.
• Experience in recruiting, managing, and evaluating attorneys; ability to lead and manage complex legal issues, including reviewing work of legal subject matter experts.
• Credentials as indicated in the résumé and other application materials (e.g., awards, performance ratings, educational achievements).

TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENTS: If currently employed as an attorney by the Federal Government you must have completed 1 year at the next lower level within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement or previously served at the same or higher grade as the position being filled.

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).Only a degree from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education acceptable to meet positive education requirements, or to substitute education for experience. Only degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements or to substitute education for experience. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. Department of Education websites at - http://www.opm.gov/qualifications and http://www.ed.gov//admins/finaid/accred/index.html.Foreign education must be evaluated for U.S. equivalency in order to be considered for this position. Please include this information in your resume. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Other Information Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration. You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. One year trial/probationary period may be required. Direct Deposit of Pay is required. This position requires you to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter. Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees. If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. This is a Legal Career Field position Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement. When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction/ for more information. Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest. A relocation incentive OR recruitment incentive MAY BE authorized. This is a permanent position in the excepted service without time limitation and will not be filled by a competitive appointment. Service in this position may be fully creditable toward civil service retirement. Any selected applicant who is in the competitive service will be taken out of the competitive service when he or she occupies this position and will compete only with other excepted status employees in the event of a reduction-in-force. Required Documents

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) Cover Letter: A cover letter is optional, but highly recommended.

2) Resume:

• A 2-page resume must be submitted and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
• 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).

3) Official transcript of the applicant's law school record: Photo static copies of documents are acceptable when applying but certified documents must be furnished before entering on duty.

4) Good Standing Certificate: Copy of official certificate showing that the applicant is a member in good standing of the bar. The official certificate must be dated within three months of the date the application is submitted.

The following documents are preferred at the time of application, but not required:

PLEASE NOTE: If you do not have your official law school transcripts, certificate of good standing, or fitness to practice statement, you should not be deterred from applying for this position. While not required at the time of application, these documents will be required for the attorney to enter on duty.

5) Official statement of the applicant's standing in law school class:If the applicant's law school does not rank students, and the transcript does not explain that the school does not rank students, the applicant needs to submit an official statement from the school confirming the practice.

6) Fitness to Practice Statement: Either a sworn and notarized statement by the candidate that his or her fitness to practice law or conduct as an attorney has never been challenged in any jurisdiction or if either has been challenged, a sworn and notarized statement giving the facts and circumstances, and any other explanation that the applicant considers appropriate. As an alternative to a sworn and notarized statement, 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)(signature of applicant)." (28 U.S.C.1746). The statement must be dated within three months of the date the application is submitted. The certificate and statement are required to be submitted by all applicants including attorneys currently appointed to positions under the qualifying authority of the Chief of Engineers.

7) References: List of three professional references. References from current and former supervisors are preferred. Please provide name, title, mailing address, telephone number, and relationship for each reference. Applicants selected for interviews will be asked to provide three letters of recommendation.

8) Writing Sample: A writing sample shall not exceed 10 pages including cover sheets, tables of content, etc. Any pages after page 10 will be discarded and not considered.

9) Current federal employees or reinstatement eligible applicants: Submit a copy of their latest SF 50 and most recent performance evaluation. Applicants currently serving in the military must also submit a copy of their most recent OER and/or DD 214. (Items 2, 3, and 4 above do not apply to Current Corps of Engineers Attorneys).

10) Judge Advocate Candidates: Submit a copy of your orders, or other suitable documentation with a separation/retirement date from your respective Armed Forces branch. This document must be provided within 14 days of a request, unless you receive a waiver from the Command Counsel. 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.

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 below.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 12/17/2025 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/12840887).
• Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. As a reminder, your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For additional information, refer to the 'Required Documents' section.
• 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. Your resume selected in USAJOBS will be included, but you must re-select other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application may 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://www.usajobs.gov/applicant/profile/dashboard/), 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://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.