Attorney-Advisor (General)

Summary

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Office of Inspector General (OIG), is seeking a highly qualified Attorney-Advisor to provide expert legal counsel on complex and sensitive matters. The incumbent will report to a Supervisory Attorney- Advisor and support OIG programs by delivering timely advice, ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and advancing the OIG's mission to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.

Duties

• As an Attorney-Advisor, you will be responsible for: Providing authoritative guidance legal advice and services relating to audits, evaluations, investigations, and other products from SBA-OIG components. Providing expert legal advice and guidance on complex cases or legal issues in one or more fields, including civil, criminal, and administrative law and procedure; ethics law; appropriations law; procurement law; legislative affairs; information disclosure law (FOIA/Privacy Act); and employment and labor law. Serving as a principal legal advisor on a full range of SBA-OIG programs, operations, policies, and legal interpretations, ensuring legal sufficiency and consistency with applicable laws, regulations, and OIG objectives. Providing legal advice to executive and senior leadership and representing or supporting the OIG in presenting legal positions before administrative or judicial bodies, congressional staff, or other external entities, as appropriate. Resolving complex factual and legal issues by conducting comprehensive legal analysis, developing innovative legal strategies, preparing authoritative legal opinions and recommendations, and advising leadership on matters with significant organizational or government-wide impact. The incumbent is expected to work independently in formulating legal advice and work products.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position, your resume must demonstrate sufficient specialized experience to perform the duties of this position. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities, as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to submit a thorough resume that directly relates to this position. Specialized Experience Statement GS-12: Applicants must possess a J.D., LL.B., and/or LL.M professional law degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school, be an active member of the bar in good standing (any jurisdiction), meet the GS-11 requirements, and possess at least 1 year of professional legal experience after admission to the bar at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-11 level including activities such as: (1) conducting legal research of policies, regulations, and/or compliance questions, including researching legal precedent; (2) drafting briefs, motions, or other legal documents; and (3) making oral presentations of legal research/analysis, OR received a Scientiae Juris Doctor degree (Doctor of Juridical Science degree). GS-13: Applicants must possess at least 3 years of professional experience after admission to the bar, including at least ONE YEAR of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the GS-12 level in the Federal service or non-Federal service in the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act; ethics, whistleblower matters or legislative affairs and experience in ONE of the following legal areas: criminal or administrative investigations and procedure, federal grants or acquisitions, audits, or appropriations law. GS-14: Applicants must possess at least 4 years of professional experience after admission to the bar, including at least ONE YEAR of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the GS-13 level in the Federal or non-Federal service in the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act; ethics, whistleblower matters or legislative affairs and experience advising on TWO of the following legal areas: criminal, civil or administrative investigations and procedure, federal grants or acquisitions, audits, or appropriations law. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. 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. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. All qualification requirements must be met by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on 09/14/2026.

Education

You must meet the minimum basic educational requirements for Attorney Advisor positions. Education requirements include: a professional law degree J.D., LL.B., and/or LL.M.

How to apply

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions will affect your rating. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience your rating may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities. Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. 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. To begin the application process, 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 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. 4. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email notification. 5. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements 6. Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account. To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account. There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account at https://www.usajobs.gov/ All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/