Supervisory Attorney Advisor (General)

Drug Enforcement Administration 路 Arlington, United States 路 Onsite 路 $169,279 - $197,200/year
Listed via USAJobs
Posted Nov 6, 2026 路 Apply by Nov 10
Recently checked

Last checked active on Nov 8, 2026.

Position Overview

Compensation: $169,279 - $197,200/year
Position: Senior
Type: Job
Employment: Full time
Practice Area: General Practice
Remote: No
Deadline: 3 days left

Job Description

Summary

These positions are located in the DEA, Office of Chief Counsel These positions' primary purpose is to be principal legal advisors to DEA's Administrator on all administrative, domestic and international criminal, civil, intelligence, regulatory, and asset forfeiture related issues raised by DEA's worldwide drug enforcement and intelligence efforts.

Duties

As a your typical work assignments may include: Works under the general supervision of the appropriate Deputy Chief Counsel or higher. Directs a professional, highly complex program segment and provides authoritative legal advice to Senior Executives within DEA on an extremely broad spectrum of legal areas. Exercises supervisory and/or managerial authorities and provides occupational specific technical and administrative direction over subordinate employees performing the work and functions of the organization. Provides legal advice on numerous matters including procedures, operational issues, administrative, and personnel issues in legal matters to ensure that DEA's interests are advanced and protected.

Qualifications

For more information on eligibility requirements see: DEA Employment Eligibility All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. All applicants must be an active member of a bar in good standing (any U.S. jurisdiction). Applicants applying for the GS-15 must have 4 or more years of post J.D. legal experience and meet the following specialized experience : 1) Providing legal advice on numerous matters including procedures, operational issues, administrative, and personnel issues in legal matters to ensure that DEA's interests are advanced and protected; 2) Responding to inquiries from the judicial, legislative and executive branches, officials and employees of DEA, other government agencies, private industry entities and/or the general public on matters of law, procedure, or on pending or potential litigation; and 3) Planning, organizing and directing section activities, and ensuring section employees comply with legal and regulatory requirements and meets agency or customer needs. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

A J.D. degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet these criteria, see www.ed.gov. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the 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. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: ww.naces.org/members.php.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents) and assessment questionnaire. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. The assessment questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions which provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question in 200-words or less.? You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and have not used a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot. Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) candidates must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for selection priority. Candidates are considered well qualified if their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) exceed the minimum qualifications described in the announcement. ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE: You may preview the https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13109368.

Required Documents

All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to our automated system by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Resume - must be no more than two pages in length; resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. Resume should include applicants' name, email address, phone number, relevant work/volunteer experience, education and training. Include the start and end dates (from month/year to month/year), work schedule (e.g. part or full-time), the number of hours per week worked/volunteered, job title and description of duties performed. Education/Certification/Licensure when relevant or required for position. See Guidance for Applicants on 2-Page Resume and visit the USAJOBS Help Center for more information. Transcripts, if applicable and you are qualifying based on education. See the Qualification and Education sections of this announcement for more information. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment. SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action): SF-50(s) must show the effective date, position title, series, grade, salary, tenure, competitive status, position occupied, full promotion potential, and name of agency. Multiple SF-50s may be needed to show all required information. Award SF-50s often do not show the required information. To verify the time in grade requirement, applicants must submit a SF-50 verifying the highest grade held for at least 52 weeks. Examples include, promotions with an effective date greater than one year, within grade increases demonstrating the highest grade held for at least 52 weeks or appointments/conversion of appointments with an effective date greater than one year. Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable. (e.g., reduction-in-force (RIF) separation notice, RIF separation SF-50 personnel action, certification of expected separation, etc.), most recent Performance Rating and more recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting current position, grade level, and duty location. Other Qualification documents (e.g. certificates, certifications, etc.), if applicable. See the Qualification section of this announcement for more information.

How to Apply

Prepare your application in USAJOBS During the application process you can review, edit, delete, and update your information. We'll automatically save your progress as you go, so you won't lose any changes. You have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement to complete the application process. STEP 1: Select the "Apply" button and follow the instructions to register or sign into USAJOBS. STEP 2: Submit your resume. Resume must not exceed two pages. Please see the Required Documents section for specific information that should be outlined in your resume. STEP 3: Complete the online assessment questions. STEP 4: Submit all required documentation applicable to you, as listed in the Required Documents section. Alternate Application Procedures: If applying online poses an extreme hardship, you may request alternate application procedures to submit your application package. Contact the Human Resources office listed on the announcement between the business hours of 8:15 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET at least 2 working days prior to the closing date of this announcement. The application package for alternate application procedures must be submitted and received in the Human Resources office no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the closing date of this announcement. Paper applications and information sent by mail will not be accepted.

What to Expect Next

Once the online application package is received, you will be notified through USAJOBS of your qualification status and referral or non-referral to the hiring official for further consideration. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. We will notify you by email the outcome after each of these steps has been completed. Your application status will be updated up to four times during the following hiring phases: After applications are received. After applications are assessed to determine qualifications. After candidates are referred to the hiring manager. If selected, candidates may receive additional notifications regarding the next steps in the hiring process. Your status will also be updated on your USAJOBS account throughout the process.

Additional Information

For reasonable accommodation at the Drug Enforcement Administration, please contact the Human Resources office listed in this announcement. Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If an applicant is currently, or has been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, applicants must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office listed in this announcement. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to similar positions in any Division/Office listed in this announcement. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions. If eligible, telework agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval.

Requirements

For more information on eligibility requirements see: DEA Employment Eligibility All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. All applicants must be an active member of a bar in good standing (any U.S. jurisdiction). Applicants applying for the GS-15 must have 4 or more years of post J.D. legal experience and meet the following specialized experience : 1) Providing legal advice on numerous matters including procedures, operational issues, administrative, and personnel issues in legal matters to ensure that DEA's interests are advanced and protected; 2) Responding to inquiries from the judicial, legislative and executive branches, officials and employees of DEA, other government agencies, private industry entities and/or the general public on matters of law, procedure, or on pending or potential litigation; and 3) Planning, organizing and directing section activities, and ensuring section employees comply with legal and regulatory requirements and meets agency or customer needs. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Compensation

$169,279 - $197,200/year

Practice Area

Position

Senior

Industry

Government

Application Deadline

November 10, 2026

Employment Type

Full time

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