Director, Criminal Section

Summary

The Civil Rights Division (CRT or Division) is seeking an experienced attorney to serve as the Director, Criminal Section.

Duties

• As the Director of the Criminal Section, the successful candidate: Manages the Section, setting national federal civil rights prosecution priorities, and supervises an office of managers, trial attorneys, and professional administrative support staff. Coordinates and builds coalitions with law enforcement partners (FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Labor, Department of State, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and local agencies), United States Attorney Offices, and non-governmental groups. Manages national civil rights training program that provides civil rights skills trainings to thousands of law enforcement officers. Conducts, supervises, and reviews the enforcement of federal criminal civil rights and related statutes. Investigates and prosecutes persons for violations of federal criminal statutes, including civil rights violations under color of law, hate crimes, conspiracies, and related crimes such as obstruction, false statements, and immigration and visa crimes. Supervises preparation of each aspect of cases including the investigation, records analysis, drafting and filing of indictment and information, plea negotiations, trial, and sentencing of the case; timely directs strategy and planning. Consults and advises, sometimes on an emergency basis, with the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, and the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, reporting on the immediate status of civil rights matters involving criminal violations; advises and consults with the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights and Deputy Assistant Attorney Generals; coordinates with other litigation section chiefs and United States Attorneys; and functions or confers closely with the public (and their delegations), law enforcement agencies and boards, et al. Authorizes and supervises prosecution of cases by United States Attorneys, including filing of indictment and information, trial and appellate proceedings, post-trial collateral attacks on convictions, and the like. May be required to personally present evidence to the grand jury on cases of national and in some cases international importance. Personally may direct the preparation and trial of important cases.

Qualifications

***READ THIS JOB OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY. It contains detailed information required to ensure you are appropriately considered for the position.*** The application process for Senior Executive Service (SES) is RESUME-ONLY. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. Your resume file must be 5 MB or smaller. For best results, save and upload your resume as a PDF to preserve its formatting and page count. You may also upload files in GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, ODT, or Word (DOC or DOCX) formats. Do not upload PDF portfolios, as the system will not accept them. It is recommended that applicants use a clean, common font such as Lato, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open Sans, Source Sans Pro, Roboto, or Noto Sans. Set margins to 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point font for section titles and 10-point font for the main text. The Resume Builder can also support these recommendations and uses information from your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. **Note: If you are a current SES career appointee, a former SES member having reinstatement eligibility, or an OPM-certified graduate of an approved SES Candidate Development Program and have had their ECQs certified by OPM, you must provide a copy of your certificate. Possessing an SES certification does not remove the requirement to address the position's MTQs. You must submit the appropriate SF50 (showing SES status) or an OPM Qualifications Review Board certificate. We recommend that your resume emphasize your level of responsibilities, the scope and complexity of the programs managed, and your program accomplishments, including the results of your actions. You will be evaluated to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications required of the position and on the extent your application demonstrates that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of theDirector, Criminal Section. Be sure to give concrete examples of your experience and demonstrate the complexity of the knowledge you possess. Applicants must clearly demonstrate their leadership abilities by addressing the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) in their resume. Make sure your accomplishments clearly show how you meet each qualification. ECQS 1. COMMITMENT TO THE RULE OF LAW AND THE PRINCIPLES OF THE AMERICAN FOUNDING. Demonstrated knowledge of the American system of government, commitment to uphold the Constitution and the Rule of Law, and commitment to serve the American people. 2. DRIVING EFFICIENCY. Demonstrated ability to strategically and sufficiently manage resources, budget effectively, cut wasteful spending, and pursue efficiency through process and technological upgrades. 3. MERIT AND COMPETENCE. Demonstrated knowledge, ability and technical competence to effectively and reliably produce work that is of exceptional quality. 4. LEADING PEOPLE. Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a group toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals; To drive a high-performance, high-accountability culture. 5. ACHIEVING RESULTS. Demonstrated ability to achieve both individual and organizational results, and to align results to state goals from superiors. MTQs 1. Demonstrated executive experience leading complex criminal investigations and high-stakes litigation, including developing and directing trial strategies, evaluating complex and sensitive evidence, and exercising independent authority making charging decisions. Provides authoritative legal analysis and guidance on civil rights statutes. Experience advising, mentoring, and developing litigation attorneys; directing and coordinating federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners; and engaging senior internal and external stakeholders to advance sensitive, high-profile, and high-impact matters. Exercises exceptional judgment in navigating complex legal and operational considerations, ensures alignment with Department policies and legal requirements, and delivers timely, strategic, and mission-focused results. 2. Demonstrated experience managing a complex organization, a broad workforce, and challenging organizational issues while enforcing policies and law. 3. Demonstrated experience communicating effectively on complex technical issues through oral and written communication, including the ability to advocate successfully with diverse stakeholders, external partners and individuals or groups having differed and often conflicting interests, on matters related to the successful execution of a large-scale organization's mission, programs and projects.

Education

Applicants must possess a J.D. degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association and be a member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar. (Include in your resume the month and year in which you obtained your degree and the name of the College or University from which it was conferred/awarded.)

How to apply

To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Failure to submit a complete application (resume and all supporting documents) by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 09/16/2026 may result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration. Please follow all instructions carefully as missing application information will not be requested. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. If more than one resume is received, only the last resume submitted will be reviewed. Note: To check the status of your application or return to a previous or incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account: https://secure.login.gov/sign_up/enter_email select Application Status and click on the more information link under the application status for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete. Do not email or send hard copy resumes/applications to the Contact Information or Agency Information listed in this vacancy announcement. All resumes/applications received at the addresses listed in the Contact Information or Agency Information will be destroyed and will not be considered for this vacancy announcement. You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. If you are unable to apply online, you must request an alternative method to apply from the Human Resources Office. Please contact Civil Rights Division at [email protected].