The Office of the Legal Adviser (L) at U.S. Department of State seeks an Attorney-Adviser to provide legal advice and administration of Federal acquisition contracts; defense of bid protests at the GAO and assist the Court of Federal Claims; drafting and interpreting Federal acquisition laws, regulations and policies. This position is in the Excepted Service and appointments are made without regard to the requirements of the Competitive Service by laws, Executive order, or OPM regulations.
GS-13, 14, and 15 All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Applicants apply for this position must meet the following requirements to be eligible for further consideration: If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your law school transcript with your application. 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. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-13-Experience: Applicants must have at least two years of specialized experience with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 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 federal contract law. There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-13 position. GS-14-Experience: Applicants must have at least three years of specialized experience with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 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 federal contract law. • Experience with federal procurement and acquisition law and practice. There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-14 position. GS-15- 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 federal contract law. • Experience with federal procurement and acquisition law and practice. • Experience with defense of bid protests at the Government Accountability Office or the Court of Federal Claims. There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-15 position.
Work assignments may include: • Provide legal policy guidance, counsel, and assistance to the Office of Acquisitions, Bureau of Information Resource Management, Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, and other Departmental programs and offices relative to all phases of the procurement process, including solicitation packages, justifications to conduct other than full and open competitions, sealed bidding, requests for proposal, and other contract award documents; regarding contract administration matters, including modification of existing contracts, terminations, special clauses, progress payments, deviations subsequent to contract and contractor management; and with respect to various procurement and contract law-related issues, including novation agreements, indemnification, and Buy American matters. • Review solicitation and award documents and makes final, independent determinations regarding their compliance with all laws and regulations, including statutes, Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Department of State Acquisition Regulations (DOSAR) and judicial and administrative precedent, including Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) decisions. • Participate in the conduct of major acquisitions, including review of acquisition strategy and plans, source selection evaluation plans, the review of evaluation findings and reports, competitive range determinations and award recommendations and supporting documentation. • Represent the Department in pre-award and post-award protests at the GAO and liaise with Department of Justice (DOJ) counsel on protests at the Court of Federal Claims (COFC). • Render legal opinions in matters of contractual rights and obligations based upon statutes, regulations, court and administrative board decisions, common law, decisions of the Comptroller General and DOS policy directives; confer with Government and Contractor personnel regarding controversial and sensitive matters that might become the subject of future disputes and litigation; and draft necessary legal documents, and develop conclusions and recommendations. At the GS-14 level, the incumbent performs the same duties as outlined above; however, the scope and complexity of assignments are increased, and the incumbent receives less supervision than the GS-13.