[blindlaw] U.S. DOJ Trial Attorney - West African posting

Wed Nov 7 23:47:47 UTC 2012

TRIAL ATTORNEY, GS-905-14/15

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

CRIMINAL DIVISION

OFFICE OF OVERSEAS PROSECUTORIAL DEVELOPMENT,

ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING

RESIDENT LEGAL ADVISOR FOR THE WEST AFRICAN REGION

13-CR-OPDAT-003

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The Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT), Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, seeks an experienced prosecutor currently employed as an Assistant United States Attorney, Department of Justice Trial Attorney, or a State Prosecutor to serve as a Resident Legal Advisor (RLA) for the West African Region. This assignment is for a term of 24 months with the possibility of extension, contingent on the availability of funding. This position is a reimbursable detail or term appointment. Conditions of the detail will be handled on a case by case basis and will require an agreement between the gaining and losing components.

ABOUT THE OFFICE: The mission of the Criminal Division's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) is to develop and administer technical and developmental assistance designed to enhance the capabilities of foreign justice sector institutions and their law enforcement personnel. This assistance is administered in order to enable those institutions and their personnel to more effectively combat terrorism, organized crime, corruption, financial crimes and other types of crime, such as the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their means of delivery, as well as other forms of conventional proliferation in a manner consistent with the rule of law. The assistance is also administered to enable those institutions and their personnel to more effectively cooperate regionally and with the United States in combating such crime: http://www.justice.gov/criminal/opdat/.

RESPONSIBILITIES & OPPORTUNITIES: The RLA will work under the auspices of the U.S. Embassy in Cotonou, Benin and OPDAT in the implementation of the West Africa Cooperative Security Initiative (WACSI). He or she will develop capacity building programs and mentor justice sector personnel, with a focus on assisting one or more countries (Benin as well as Ghana and other Economic Commission of West Africa States) to combat transnational organized crime and corruption. The RLA will work closely with local prosecutors, investigators and others to implement this justice sector assistance program.

QUALIFICATIONS: Required qualifications: Interested applicants must be a current Assistant United States Attorney, Department of Justice Trial Attorney, or State Prosecutor. Applicants must also possess a J.D. degree, be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any State, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, and have at least four years post J.D. experience. Applicants must be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction). French fluency is required.

Preferred qualifications: The successful applicant must have the ability to function effectively in an international, multi-cultural environment; possess excellent interpersonal and management skills, communicate effectively orally and in writing; and possess extensive prosecution experience. Experience with criminal procedure codes of West African countries, investigation and prosecution practices in West African countries, and international training and development is preferred.

TRAVEL: Extensive international travel and other travel will be required.

SALARY INFORMATION: Current salary level and years of litigation experience will determine the appropriate salary at the time of appointment. Compensation will be at either the General Schedule GS-14 or GS-15 level. The exact salaries within these GS levels vary based on many factors including duty location and type of appointment. The Washington D.C. salary ranges for these levels during 2012 are: GS-14 $105,211 - $136,771 per annum; GS-15 $123,758 -$155,500 per annum. Base salary table and locality pay tables for all U.S. locations during 2012 can be found at: http://www.opm.gov/oca/10tables/indexGS.asp. 

The RLA will receive appropriate Post salary differentials and allowances. 

Please note: If the position is filled by detail there is no change to base pay.

LOCATION: This position will be located in Cotonou, Benin.

RELOCATION EXPENSES: Relocation expenses are authorized.

SUBMISSION PROCESS: Interested applicants must submit a cover letter (highlighting relevant experience), a detailed resume, and a current performance evaluation, if applicable to: 

U.S. Department of Justice/Criminal Division

Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development,

Assistance and Training (OPDAT)

1331 F Street, NW Suite 400

Washington, DC 20530

Attn: Ms. Laurel Glenn, Administrative Officer

Faxed or E-mailed submissions are also acceptable. Ms. Glenn's fax number is (202) 616-8429 and her E-mail address is Laurel.Glenn at usdoj.gov

DEADLINE DATE: Applications will be accepted until this position is filled.

INTERNET SITES: For information about the Criminal Division, see https://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/index.html

For other attorney vacancy announcements, see http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/experienced.html

DEPARTMENT POLICIES: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of color, race, religion, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability (physical or mental), age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a parent, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, on the basis of personal favoritism, or any non merit factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. 

It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the United States Attorneys' Offices. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, non-U.S. citizens may apply for employment with other organizations, but should be advised that appointments of non-U.S. citizens are extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 

There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of non-service-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that his or her retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that he/she was transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more). 