- Defense Institute of International Legal Studies
- ICB ATTORNEY VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Personnel Notice: 01-21
Closing Date: March 24, 2021
Grade: GS-13
Type: Attorney (International/Military)
The Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS) is recruiting an attorney (international/military) position for legal institutional capacity building at Naval Station Newport, RI. DIILS is a joint agency activity under the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
DSCA's mission is to advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests by building the capacity of foreign security forces to respond to shared challenges. DSCA leads the broader U.S. Security Cooperation (SC) enterprise in its efforts to train, educate, advise, and equip foreign partners.
DIILS is the Defense SC resource for global professional legal Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) and legal education, training, and engagement with international military personnel and related civilians. DIILS develops and implements effective ICB initiatives, mobile education teams, resident courses, and other international and CONUS-based engagements to support national security strategy and defense strategy goals and objectives to enhance the Rule of Law among partner nations, including the development of equitable and accountable security and justice institutions, civilian control of the military, compliance with international human rights standards, and democracy.
The Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) attorney serves as the focal point within assigned region(s) for DIILS legal institutional capacity building (ICB) efforts consistent with the applicable law of the NDAA for 2020 § 1210, and Title 10 U.S.C., Ch. 16, § 332 and 333, on behalf of DIILS, DSCA, and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The ICB Attorney is responsible for programs to establish or enhance the capacity of security institutions of nations that are partners with the U.S. to maintain a system of military justice and operate in compliance with international laws and norms of national defense. The ICB attorney provides advisory services, develops, plans, implements, oversees, evaluates, and reports outcomes and results of legal ICB engagements, in coordination with other Defense Security Cooperation implementers, and consistent with U.S. national defense and foreign policy goals. Work performed directly impacts short-term and long-term U.S. foreign policy goals. The ICB attorney supports and works as part of a team led by the DIILS Operations Director.
Within regional focus areas, the ICB attorney establishes, enables, and/or strengthens the operational legal advisory capacity, military justice institutional capacity, and other legal capacities within the foreign government’s security establishment with engagement program design tailored to the legal system, and the military, operational, historical, social, cultural and political characteristics of the partner nation, and targeted to achieve DoD strategic and policy priorities.
The ICB attorney provides advisory services, and may provide training and instruction, and identifies experts to provide such for partner nation legal advisors and operators. The ICB attorney advises partner nation legal advisors to ensure that law of war and international humanitarian law principles and responsibilities, including military necessity, humanity, distinction, and proportionality, are taken into account during the partner nation’s planning process for all military operations, particularly combat operations. The ICB attorney coordinates with other security cooperation institutional capacity building implementers to provide the legal aspects of ICB support.
The ICB attorney coordinates with other DIILS elements to ensure planned rule of law capacity building efforts are integrated with and advance partner nation obligations of international human rights laws and norms, including mitigating civilian casualties. The ICB attorney develops and maintains, through research, networking, and education/conference attendance, expertise in rule of law matters relevant to DIILS programs and activities, and legal expertise in such areas as military operations law, international humanitarian law, human rights, military justice, border security, peacekeeping, combating corruption, anti-terrorism and countering narcotics and other trafficking.
The ICB attorney develops ICB program planning documents, integrated with the Institute for Security Governance (ISG) and other security cooperation implementers. The ICB attorney develops and produces legal advisory services, and designs tailored programs and activities, and assessment, monitoring, and evaluation frameworks. The ICB attorney engages in and oversees legal assessments of partner nation capacity, collects baseline data, identifies and analyzes organizational legal capacity gap areas, and develops plans for addressing such gaps, including developing SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) objectives, theories of change, and indicators of efficacy, utilizing qualitative and quantitative assessment techniques in accordance with Title 10, USC § 383, and DoD Instruction 5132.14 Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation Policy for the SC Enterprise.
In order to conceive, manage and assess a portfolio of complex legal capacity-building programs, this attorney must have a combination of legal and program design and management experience, and security cooperation, security sector reform and/or other comparable experience relevant to the mission of DIILS. Must possess the ability to develop international capacity building programs, projects, and activities, conduct project design and management of regional and bilateral legal capacity-building engagements, and evaluate and report on outcomes within the assigned geographic areas. Must demonstrate attention to detail, execute complex program planning, monitoring, assessing, and reporting, and the ability to effectively administer multiple simultaneous programs in several countries.
The ICB attorney must possess a high level of ability to provide senior-level legal capacity analysis, judgment, and incisive and coherent legal and rule of law advice, for purposes of recommending, planning and implementing proposed legal reforms to foreign nations. In particular, the ICB attorney must possess substantive knowledge of the law of armed conflict; international human rights and fundamental freedoms; and civilian control of the military.
The ICB attorney must be highly skilled in personal delivery of legal and rule of law advice and possess interpersonal skills in senior meeting discussions, workshops and symposia environments. In addition, the ICB attorney must be prepared to provide guidance through direction and by example to subject matter experts external to DIILS.
This attorney must be adept at cross-cultural communication in the context of effective organization and delivery of DIILS programs, and must have the maturity, adaptability, and resilience to function within complex, challenging and uncertain environments.
Expert proficiency in legal research, including computer-assisted research using software and the internet. Must have expert communication capacity (both orally and in writing) and exceptional organizational and administrative skills.
Domestic and international travel (not to exceed 50%) will be required, which may include developing countries with limited medical facilities and particular security concerns. Receiving immunizations and taking prophylactic medication (such as for malaria) as recommended by the Center for Disease Control may be required.
This vacancy will be filled at the GS-13 level of the General Schedule, which currently has a pay range of $102,601 to $133,382 (which includes a locality adjustment for the Newport, RI area).
To be considered for the GS-13 level, the successful candidate must demonstrate a minimum of five years of professional legal experience after admission to the bar in the field of law; at least one year of which was at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS‐12 level.
Applicants will be evaluated on: (1) the depth, breadth and quality of their relevant, successful legal experience; (2) analytical, oral, and written communication skills; and (3) interpersonal skills, including the ability to work independently and as part of a team. Experience in the areas of practice identified above, and within DoD, is a positive factor.
The candidate must be a U.S. citizen, have graduated from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, and be an active member in good standing of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), be admitted to practice before a state or federal court, and be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance.
This position has been identified as a Testing-Designated position and any individual tentatively selected that does not currently occupy a Testing-Designated position will be required to submit to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment.
Only complete applications will be considered. Applicants should submit a résumé showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment and duties performed; two recent performance appraisals, if available; and the names, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses of at least three (3) references who may be contacted. All applicants must provide a complete copy of their law school transcripts including class rank, and evidence of active membership in good standing in the bar of a state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Acceptable evidence may be a copy of your bar card or letter from the bar. Applicants currently serving on active duty may apply under this announcement but are subject to eligibility requirements of the Veterans Opportunity to Work Act (VOW). Active duty personnel MUST submit a statement of service printed on command letterhead and signed by the command. The statement of service MUST provide the branch, rate/rank, all dates of service, the expected date of discharge and anticipated character of service (Honorable, General, etc.). Please note: you will be ineligible for consideration if your statement of service is not submitted with your application or it shows an expected discharge or release date greater than 120 days after being submitted with your application. Former military personnel provide a copy of the most recently issued Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD 214.
Electronic submission of applications is preferred. Materials should be sent to Mrs. Lisa Clay at lisa.j.clay.civ@mail.mil. Applicants submitting by U.S. mail or other delivery services are strongly encouraged to consider using expedited services, such as USPS Express Mail. Send applications to:
Defense Institute of International Legal Studies
Attn: Mrs. L. Clay, Executive Assistant
441 Elliot Ave
Newport, RI 02841-1531
Complete applications must be received by midnight, Wednesday, March 24, 2021 to be considered.
Relocation expenses. You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Recruitment incentives may be authorized.
You may be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
DIILS IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION EMPLOYER
All hiring and advancement at DIILS is based on merit without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, political affiliation or marital status.
DIILS provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should inform the individual identified in the personnel notice. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
VETERAN’S PREFERENCE IN HIRING
Applicants eligible for Veterans’ Preference must specifically claim such eligibility in their cover letter, identify the basis for the claim, and include supporting documentation (e.g., DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other supporting documentation) with their submission. Applicants who do not claim and do not provide adequate supporting documentation for Veterans’ Preference will not receive the positive factor consideration.
DoD attorney positions are in the excepted service, not the competitive civil service. There is no formal rating system for applying veterans’ preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, DoD considers veterans’ preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. If you are eligible for veterans’ preference in hiring, you are encouraged to include that information in your application along with the supporting documentation. Not all veterans are eligible for veterans’ preference. To find out if you are, you may visit the Department of Labor Veterans’ Preference Advisor at http://www.dol.gov/elaws/vets/vetpref/vetspref.htm or the Office of Personnel Management’s Feds Hire Vets site at https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx.