Duties

• Serves as the senior Attorney-Advisor to staff, supervisors, managers, and commanders within ARSOUTH in all areas of administrative and civil law.
• Provides advice to Commanding General and staff on all aspects of the organization, powers, functions, and employment of U.S. Army South in executing Theater Security Cooperation Activities, Title 10 Missions, and Contingency Operations.
• Interprets and applies international agreements, legislation, regulations of DoD and other Federal Agencies, judicial decisions, and OGC opinions.
• Legal actions include but are not limited to adverse, disciplinary, and performance-based actions pertaining to officers, enlisted personnel, and civilian employees; Article 138 complaints; conscientious objector applications, etc.
• Work is complex and requires collaboration with attorneys and officials at DoS, JCS Legal, DoD OGC, DA OGC, OTJAG, U.S. Southern Command, sister services, and multiple JTFs.
• Serves as the Command’s Senior Ethics Counselor and Command Ethics Program Manager for ARSOUTH.
• Proactively implements the Joint Ethics Regulation (JER) and practices preventive law to avoid agency ethics violations.
• Advises subordinate commands on ethics and standards of conduct issues.
• Independently researches, analyzes, and provides oral and written opinions in the most complex conflict of interest situations and the interpretation and application of ethical standards.
• Responsible for all matters pertaining to the investigation, adjudication, and final action on all foreign tort claims against the United States within the ARSOUTH area of responsibility.
• Serves as subject-matter expert on the Foreign Claims Act (10 U.S.C. 2734).
• Reviews claims filed by third-party foreign nationals against the U.S. Government, to determine a defense in the best interest of the U.S. Government.
• Exercises broad technical control, direction, and coordination over accomplishment of Administrative and Civil Law Division functions.
• Directly supervises all attorneys and paralegals in the administrative and civil law division.
• Plans work to be accomplished by subordinates, assigns continuing day-to-day responsibility and authority for accomplishment of Division activities, and provides broad direction to assure achievement of objectives.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• A two-year trial/probationary period may be required.
• This position requires the incumbent be able to obtain and maintain a determination of eligibility for a Secret security clearance for access for the duration of employment.
• This position may require the incumbent to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) upon entry, and annually thereafter in accordance with DoD Directive 5500-7-R.
• This position requires the incumbent to maintain active bar membership, in good standing (as defined by the pertinent bar) of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
• Position requires incumbent to obtain and maintain a U.S Official Passport.
• Temporary duty related travel up to 25% of the time is required.
• Travel locally, long distance and overseas for events such as (but not limited to) site assistance visits (SAVs) conferences, meetings, conduct training/ briefings, training opportunities, etc.
• Overseas locations include Central and South America, and the Caribbean.
• Travel may require specific immunizations, and compliance with all US Army Southern Command/US Army South annual AOR-specific training requirements, and Department of the Army mandated training, to include Personnel Recovery policies.
• Incumbent must comply with DoD Foreign Clearance Guide, US Southern Command, US Army South, JTFs, and US MILGRP requirements for entry into and operations in country.
• Position has been designated as “Key” and shall not be vacated during a national emergency or mobilization as doing so would seriously impair the capability of the organization to function effectively.
• Incumbent must be exempted from recall to active duty and will receive training to ensure mission accomplishment of sustaining base operations during mobilization.

How You Will Be Evaluated

• Benefits

  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

  Review our benefits

  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

• Required Documents

  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.

  The following documents are required:
  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.

  References on Resume:

  • Must provide three licensed attorney references with contact information.

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

  PLEASE NOTE: If you do not have your 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.
  Official Law School Transcripts:

  • 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.

  Good Standing Certificate:

  • Official certificate showing that you are a member in good standing of the bar dated at any time. However, in the event the candidate is selected for an interview and/or during the hiring process, the candidate must provide an official certificate dated within three months. 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).

  Fitness to Practice Statement:

  • 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 that 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).

  Writing Sample:

  • Examples of writing skills as demonstrated by legal briefs, memorandum, and/or letters. Regardless of the number of writing samples submitted, the page count of all writing samples combined cannot exceed 10 pages in length. Extracts of selected sections of larger documents are acceptable.

  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.

  If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

  Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

  Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

• 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 04/22/2024 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/12377052).
  • 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/.

  Agency contact information

  Army Applicant Help Desk

  Website

  https://portal.chra.army.mil/hr_public?id=app_inq

  Address

  FR-APF-WJMW99 MAIN CMD POST, US ARMY SOUTH
  DO NOT MAIL
  Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234
  US

  Next steps

  If you have questions regarding this job posting, please visit: https://portal.chra.army.mil/hr_public?id=app_inq and complete the online submission form. To expedite the process please include the Job announcement number, which can be found at the top, right hand side of the job announcement.
  If you provided an email address, you will receive an email message acknowledging receipt of your application. Your application package will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking for this position. If you are determined to be ineligible or not qualified, your application will receive no further consideration.

• Fair and Transparent

  The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
  • Reasonable accommodation policy
  • Financial suitability
  • Selective Service
  • New employee probationary period
  • Signature and false statements
  • Privacy Act
  • Social security number request

Required Documents