Summary
This position is located in a regional civil rights office Washington, DC, Denver, CO, Seattle, WA, Atlanta, GA, Kansas City, MO. The office operates under the jurisdiction of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Acts of 1975, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act.
Duties
APPLICATION LIMIT: This is an open continuous announcement with cutoff dates. Applications will be referred based on receipt of application and established cutoff dates as follows: 1st cutoff date: 08/26/2026 2nd cutoff date: 09/09/2026 3rd cutoff date: 09/23/2026 Last cutoff date: 09/28/2026 This is an Excepted Service position. The job will be filled by alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive civil service. Applicants selected for an excepted service position are subject to a one-year trial period. Join our Team! The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is looking for the best and brightest to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the nation. As a General Attorney (Civil Right), GS-0905-13, you will be responsible for: Ensuring that complaints and proactive enforcement activities are processed in accordance with the Assistant Secretary's directives, regulations, policies, case law and conform to established case-processing procedures. Ensures that appropriate remedies are obtained. Conducting legal research and provides legal and policy advice to team members on matters of considerable complexity relating to the investigation, negotiation, resolution of complaints, and compliance reviews Preparing and presenting training to team members on complex issues, complex statutory and regulatory standards, changes in case law, new policy decisions, investigatory techniques, negotiation skills and other case development issues Providing legal advice in the development of technical assistance materials (i.e., responses to recipient inquiries) and reviews such materials to ensure conformity with established legal and policy standards. Provides technical assistance to stakeholders As a General Attorney (Civil Right), GS-0905-12, you will be responsible for: Making civil rights compliance determinations and ensuring that complaints and proactive enforcement activities are processed in accordance with the Assistant Secretary's directives, regulations, policies, case law and conform to established case-processing procedures. Ensures that appropriate remedies are obtained. Participating in all aspects of complaint and proactive enforcement investigations including on-site investigations. Duties include: evaluating complaints; planning investigations; determining legal issues; determining investigation and legal strategy; conducting legal research; collecting/analyzing/interpreting investigation data/information and conducting necessary interviews; implementing approaches to organizing and conducting evaluation, planning, investigation, resolution and/or enforcement activities. Drafting letters (e.g., dismissal letters, notification letters, data requests, letters of finding) and other documents (e.g., statements of the case, legal memoranda, resolution agreements). As a General Attorney (Civil Right), GS-0905-11, you will be responsible for: Evaluating complaints; planning investigations; determining legal issues; determining investigation and legal strategy; conducting legal research; providing legal/policy advice; collecting/analyzing/interpreting investigation data/information and conducting necessary interviews; Implementing approaches to organizing and conducting evaluation, planning, investigation, resolution and/or enforcement activities; drafting letters (e.g., dismissal letters, notification letters, data requests, letters of finding) and other documents (e.g. statements of the case, legal memoranda, resolution agreements) Conducting legal research and provides legal advice to team members on matters of routine complexity relating to the investigation, negotiation, resolution of complaints and compliance reviews and directed investigations and the monitoring of corrective action agreements.
Requirements
Condition of Employment: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a probationary period or trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: - your performance and conduct; - the needs and interests of the agency; - whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and - whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period OR trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Key Requirements: Must be a US Citizen. Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service. Must be determined suitable for federal employment. Relocation expenses will not be paid. You may be subject to serve a one-year trial period. You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement. 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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.
Education
You may meet the minimum qualification of this position by meeting the following education options. GS-11 1. Second professional law degree (LL.M.) which requires one full year of graduate study; OR 2. The applicant's record shows superior law student work or activities. GS-12 and GS-13 Education cannot be substituted for experience for this position and grade level. Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet 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. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must submit a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, please click Foreign Education.
How you will be evaluated
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: 1. Click the Apply Online button. 2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. 3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. 4. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. 5. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. 6. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. 7. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. 8. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. For more general information, system requirements, reasonable accommodation information, and to request assistance regarding the USA Hire Assessments, review the following resources: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_Assessments To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.