Closing Date: 10th June, 2026
Description:
Summary:This position is located in the Office of the Secretary of State (S), Office of Civil Rights (S/OCR). S/OCR's mission is to manage the Secretary's equal employment opportunity (EEO) program to become a model EEO program. S/OCR does this through oversight of the EEO Process, management of the Anti-Harassment Program (AHP), educating employees about unlawful employment discrimination, facilitating resolution, and advocating change to overcome barriers that restrict EEO.
Duties:
Recognized as the expert advisor to a range of Department officials, as appropriate, on all legal and factual matters concerning complex and difficult matters of EEO law and regulations.
Requirements:
Conditions of Employment:
Qualifications:
Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements described below by the closing date of this announcement.
Applicants apply for this position must meet the following requirements to be eligible for further consideration:
Law Degree: Applicants must be a graduate of an accredited law school with a J.D. or LL.M.
Bar Membership: Applicants must be a current member of a bar in good standing in any state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Experience: Applicants must have at least four years of specialized experience with at least one year equivalent to the GS-14 level in the Federal Service, which provided you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position. The specialized experience must have been gained after admission to the bar.
Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:
There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-15 position.
Education:
See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements.
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: www.naces.org/members.php.
Additional Information:
Additional Information:
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Benefits:
- Serves as the Department’s representative for EEO and harassment discussions. Acts as legal counsel to the head of S/OCR and assesses EEO laws and regulations both domestically and internationally and for Department posts and Missions worldwide.
- Prepares complex proposals, responses to policy inquiries, letters, legal memoranda, and testimony. Drafts, negotiates, or examines agreements, memoranda of understanding or other legal documents related to EEO and harassment .
- Conducts EEO investigations in accordance with 29 C.F.R. 1614 and produces thorough reports of investigation (ROI). Ensures thorough legal review of all ROIs, investigative plans (IP), and all other relevant documentation.
- Mentors, trains, leads, and guides other counsel in research, analysis, and evaluation of complex and difficult legal questions that have an impact on S/OCR and the Department. Delivers formal training, presentations, and/or briefings.
Requirements:
Conditions of Employment:
- U.S. Citizenship is required.
- Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
- Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
- Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/
- Copy of license to practice law.
Qualifications:
Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements described below by the closing date of this announcement.
Applicants apply for this position must meet the following requirements to be eligible for further consideration:
Law Degree: Applicants must be a graduate of an accredited law school with a J.D. or LL.M.
Bar Membership: Applicants must be a current member of a bar in good standing in any state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Experience: Applicants must have at least four years of specialized experience with at least one year equivalent to the GS-14 level in the Federal Service, which provided you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position. The specialized experience must have been gained after admission to the bar.
Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:
- Experience with employment law, including Federal statutes, administrative regulations, and judicial decisions that pertain to areas of the employer/employee relationship; AND
- Experience defending against claims at the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), conducting investigations or negotiations, planning the approach, and developing the completed products.
Education:
See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements.
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: www.naces.org/members.php.
Additional Information:
- For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at OAA@state.gov.
- If eligible, situational telework agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval.
- Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other similar positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department for up to 240 days. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.
Additional Information:
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
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. Learn more about federal benefits. (https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/benefits?_gl=1*pi6sl5*_ga*NjQ0MjQ5MzQ5LjE3MjU1OTI5OTA.*_ga_CLZB1LJ1VZ*czE3Nzk5NTYxNTUkbzYkZzEkdDE3Nzk5NTYxNTYkajU5JGwwJGgw)
Review our benefits (https://careers.state.gov/work/benefits/cs/)
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.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of State considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor in the hiring process. For this announcement, all applicants will be reviewed to determine if they meet the qualifications for this position, specifically, the education and specialized experience requirements. Applicants will not be rated or ranked. All applicants that are verified to meet the required qualifications will be referred to the selecting official.
Your resume will be evaluated to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications required; and on the extent to which your application shows that you possess the knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position as defined below:
Your resume limited to two pages serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. 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). Your resume should include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week. For assistance with creating a resume, please click here. Resumes longer than two pages will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered further.
Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any supporting documentation by the closing date of this announcement. Your application package must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement for each grade level(s) for which you are applying.
You may preview questions (https://jobs.monstergovt.com/dos/vacancy/previewVacancyQuestions.hms?orgId=6&jnum=118684 for this vacancy.
Required Documents:
All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to "LegalJobs1@state.gov" by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Resume – your two-page resume or any other
Review our benefits (https://careers.state.gov/work/benefits/cs/)
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.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of State considers veterans' preference eligibility a positive factor in the hiring process. For this announcement, all applicants will be reviewed to determine if they meet the qualifications for this position, specifically, the education and specialized experience requirements. Applicants will not be rated or ranked. All applicants that are verified to meet the required qualifications will be referred to the selecting official.
Your resume will be evaluated to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications required; and on the extent to which your application shows that you possess the knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position as defined below:
- Ability to draft legal briefs, formulate legal arguments, perform legal research, and conduct administrative litigation in defense of the Department's position.
- Ability to orally present factual and legal arguments in formal hearings before administrative authorities as well as in meetings with Departmental senior management.
- Ability to negotiate settlement agreements with parties holding widely divergent objectives and points of view.
- Ability to draft clear legal arguments citing applicable laws, regulations, and precedents.
- Knowledge of employment law including Federal statutes, administrative regulations, and judicial decisions that pertain to areas of the employer/employee relationship such as employment discrimination and overtime regulations.
- Ability to provide guidance to less experienced colleagues.
Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any supporting documentation by the closing date of this announcement. Your application package must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement for each grade level(s) for which you are applying.
You may preview questions (https://jobs.monstergovt.com/dos/vacancy/previewVacancyQuestions.hms?orgId=6&jnum=118684 for this vacancy.
Required Documents:
All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to "LegalJobs1@state.gov" by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Resume – your two-page resume or any other
