Senior Counselor

Senior Counselor

Department: Department of Health and Human Services

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia, Salt Lake City, Utah, Seattle, Washington, Phoenix, Arizona, Los Angeles, California, San Francisco, California, Denver, Colorado, Washington, District of Columbia, Miami, Florida, Atlanta, Georgia, Chicago, Illinois, Indianapolis, Indiana, New Orleans, Louisiana, Boston, Massachusetts, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kansas City, Missouri, Albuquerque, New Mexico, New York, New York, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Portland, Oregon, Austin, Texas

Salary Range: $151661 - $228000 Per Year

Job Summary: This is a Senior Level attorney position in the Excepted Service. The Senior Counselor position is located in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG), Immediate Office. This position is located in the Washington D.C. Headquarters Office or any HHS OIG office in the United States. Location determined upon selection.

Major Duties:

• The Senior Counselor provides the Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG), and particularly the Immediate Office (IO), with policy, operational, and legal expertise and coordinates oversight development related to operational issues, such as appropriations, budget, contracting, and human resources issues. MAJOR DUTIES Reviews and analyzes legal, policy and operational documents, including proposed rules, regulations, correspondence, reports, opinions, including products submitted or forwarded to the Inspector General (IG) and Principal Deputy Inspector General (PDIG) on issues affecting OIG under the incumbent's purview, including but not limited to appropriations, budget, contracting, and human resources. Provides expert guidance on OIG contracting, including coordinating on the development of strategic contracting plans, ensuring compliance with contracting requirements (in coordination with components), and forming and advancing intra-agency communications and partnership development. Represents OIG in congressional matters, including engagement with congressional committees, Members of Congress, and their staffs. Responsibilities include providing technical assistance on legislation, providing recommendations to OIG and stakeholders on potential and existing legislation, providing strategic input and feedback on congressional outreach strategies, preparing OIG representatives for congressional interactions, preparing background materials for congressional audiences, briefing congressional audiences, and testifying before Congress. Provides advice and counsel on communications matters, including reviewing strategies, materials, and presentations to ensure accuracy, consistency, legal sufficiency, and completeness of OIG messaging and the preparedness of OIG representatives. Provides advice and counsel on appropriations and budget formulation, including legal research, development of strategic messaging and supporting materials, and forming and advancing intra-and inter-agency communications and partnership development.

Qualifications: Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin. Bar Membership: Currently an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. To qualify for this Senior Level position, you must have experience as an attorney advising agencies, individuals, or entities on matters concerning complex legal and policy analysis of appropriations, contracting, employment issues, health and human services programs, program integrity policies and legal authorities. In addition, highly qualified applicants will have sophisticated analytical skills, superior written and oral communications skills, good judgment, and experience in interacting with government and non-government officials. Finally, highly qualified applicants will have been responsible for planning, directing, and evaluating work, either in a managerial capacity or in another leadership role. This specialized experience includes leadership, direction, management and conduct of a full range of administrative and advisory services including directing the work of others as it pertains to matters of legal sufficiency. At this level, you would have typical responsibility for planning, directing, and evaluating work that included managing and/or supervising other managers not more than 25% of time. In addition, you must show that you possess the mandatory Technical Qualifications (TQs) related to this position within your resume - NOT TO EXCEED 2 PAGES. Resumes over the 2-page limit, will not be reviewed beyond page 2 or may be disqualified. Your resume should include examples of experience and accomplishments applicable to the below TQs. If your resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of these qualifications, you may not receive consideration for the position. There is NO requirement to prepare a narrative statement specifically addressing the TQs. TQ1: Demonstrated comprehensive knowledge of and expertise in the legal principles and technical subject matter related to Federal appropriations and budget, including the ability to interpret complex legal and policy issues, develop agency positions, and advise senior leadership on strategic, operational, and legal implications. TQ2: Demonstrated experience providing expert legal and policy advice on Federal operational matters-such as contracting, human resources, and agency administrative authorities-including resolving complex or precedent setting issues, coordinating with internal stakeholders, and shaping operational strategies that support the agency's mission. TQ3: Demonstrated experience building and sustaining coalitions with external stakeholders-including Congress and executive branch partners-such as by representing agency positions, negotiating on sensitive or high impact issues, and developing strategic approaches to engagement on appropriations, budget, and other mission critical matters. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., professional philanthropic, religious, 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. Note: This position is being filled using the excepted service, Schedule A, hiring authority, 5 CFR 213.3102(d).

How to Apply: To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section and submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your resume to be included with your application package. Your uploaded resume may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the "Include Personal Information" section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. It is applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and uploaded, (i.e., resume) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit:https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status. Faxed, emailed, and/or mailed application materials will not be accepted for this announcement.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-26