General Counsel to the IG

The incumbent of this position serves as General Counsel to the Inspector General in the Office of General Counsel. The General Counsel provides legal counsel, services, and policy advice to the Inspector General (IG), Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Assistant Inspectors General (AIG) and staff of auditors, evaluators, inspectors, investigators, and administrators.

The incumbent serves as the General Counsel to the Inspector General and handles the substantial legal workload that supports audits, evaluations, inspections, investigations, and other critical Office of Inspector General (OIG) activities. The incumbent:

• Provides critical, expert, official legal and policy guidance on OIG activities that affect major Department and USAGM programs and OIG internal operations, including audit, evaluation, inspection, and investigative activities and on legislative, regulatory, and administrative matters.
• Interprets and provides legal and policy advice concerning the Inspector General Act of 1978, the Foreign Service Act, and other legislation of importance to OIG, the Department, and USAGM. 
• Provides counsel to the IG, DIG, and AIGs in meetings with high-level public and private-sector officials.
• Liaises with attorneys within the Department and USAGM, other Federal departments or agencies, or private counsel.
• Assists in developing and structuring OIG audits, evaluations, and inspections and participates in OIG audits, evaluations, and inspections, including drafting (if necessary) and reviewing legal content for OIG products. 
• Supervises, directs, and coordinates the work of attorneys and support staff in the Office of General Counsel.
• Analyzes legal issues affecting conclusions in audits, evaluations, investigations, and inspections. Such issues typically involve the interpretation and application of complex Federal statues, and substantive and procedural regulations in diversified Department and USAGM operations, including procurement, personnel, and administrative law.  Answers require interpretation of opinions rendered by Federal courts, the Comptroller General, the Department's Legal Adviser, the USAGM General Counsel, and other legal authorities.
• Collaborates with senior agency officials to assist in resolving audit, evaluation, and inspection recommendations.
• Formulates the General Counsel's policy to assist in resolving audit, evaluation, and inspection recommendations.
• Identifies and analyzes existing and proposed legislation and regulations, including Departmental directives of interest to the IG; coordinates the review of such items with OIG personnel; assesses their comments; formulates the IG's positions; advocates adoption of the OIG position with appropriate officials.
• Handles a wide variety of legal and policy issues involving OIG administrative operations, including travel, personnel, standards of conduct, and internal OIG policies and directives.
• Works with the OIG Whistleblower Ombudsman on all aspects of potential whistleblower matters brought to OIG through, for example, the OIG Hotline.
• Supervises the processing of Freedom of Information and Privacy Act requests, as well as other information and records access requests.
• Manages OIG’s internal grievance process and leads litigation involving OIG before any administrative forum.
• Assists in developing, structuring, and directing OIG fraud investigations relating to Departmental and USAGM contracts and programs. 
• Assesses information developed in the course of OIG investigations to determine whether there is a reasonable cause to believe there has been violation of Federal criminal or civil law. Also makes determinations about whether the evidence is legally sufficient to warrant a referral to the Department of Justice or other authorities for further investigation, criminal prosecution, or civil redress.
• Prepares material that becomes the OIG’s justification for criminal prosecutions and civil fraud suits by the Department of Justice.
• Reviews Reports of Investigation and formulates the IG's specific recommendations for criminal, civil, or administrative redress.
• Assists other Government attorneys in actual prosecutions, litigations, and administrative enforcement actions involving major OIG cases. 
• Ensures follow-up action by maintaining a close and continuing relationship with parties to whom criminal matters have been referred, including senior officials of the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorneys, and the FBI.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Overseas travel is required.