PUBLIC DEFENDER SERVICE FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
PDS-2023-52
OFFICE MANAGER, TRIAL DIVISION
PDS-0318- 9 (GS-0318-9 Equivalent)
Opening Date: September 28, 2023 Closing Date: October 20, 2023
Office of Human Resources
633 Indiana Ave, NW
Washington, DC. 20004
Number of Openings: 01
$64,957 - $84,441
Position Information: Full Time (Permanent)
PDS Overview: The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS) is a federally funded, independent organization governed by an eleven-member Board of Trustees. PDS provides legal representation to individuals who are facing a loss of liberty in criminal, delinquency, and mental health cases in the local District of Columbia justice system but who are financially unable to obtain adequate representation. PDS’s staff consists of approximately 250 attorneys, social workers, investigators, administrative, and technical staff. Most employees work at the main office at 633 Indiana Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. District of Columbia residency is not a requirement for employment. PDS is funded by federal appropriations, and all employees are entitled to participate in certain federal benefit plans: health and life insurance, federal retirement, and the Thrift Savings Plan. PDS recognizes creditable federal service for leave accrual and retirement purposes.
Employment at the Public Defender Service is at will and is neither federal nor District of Columbia government employment.
Division Description: This position is located in the Trial Division of the Public Defender Service (PDS) for the District of Columbia. Trial Division attorneys represent adults charged with felony and misdemeanor offenses and juveniles charged with serious acts of delinquency. Trial Division attorneys are appointed to handle cases by a panel of judges on the D.C. Superior Court and, once assigned, represent the client at every stage of the case.
Work Schedule: This is a full-time permanent position. Currently, trial division staff are required to work in-office at least three days a week and may work remotely only up to two days a week. Absent unusual circumstances, certain duties must be performed in person.
Position Description: This position performs program and administrative assistance work to assist the Trial Chief, Deputy Trial Chief, Training Director, the Special Counsel to the Director for Forensics, and Trial Division attorneys. The office manager communicates with supervising attorneys, trial attorneys, staff attorneys of other PDS divisions, the IT Division (IT), the Budget and Finance Division (OBF), the HR Division (HR), and other PDS support staff to meet division needs. Some tasks require familiarity with legal matters and the ability to work independently and to prioritize, manage, and plan work carefully to meet court deadlines. The position also requires interaction with the District of Columbia Superior Court, the Court Reporting Division of the Superior Court for the District of Columbia, the Office of the United States Attorney for D.C. (USAO), the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), the D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC), the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and PDS clients and their families.
Major Duties:
1. Serve as the main focal point for the Trial Division concerning all administrative operational issues, including assisting new hires to the Division with office assignments and access to databases managing the Zip Car account available only for first-year attorneys; arranging logistics for all divisions trainings and meetings, managing division databases, keeping division trial stats, distributing mail received by divisions staff, arranging travel, and timekeeping.
2. Assist the Trial Chief and Deputy Trial Chief with carrying out their functions. Assist the Training Director and other staff with preparing files, copying, and distributing training and conference materials.
3. Assist other PDS divisions as needed by PDS, including serving as backup timekeeper for other divisions as assigned.
4. Schedule and coordinate phone calls and video visits between Trial attorneys and their clients detained in the DOC or BOP. Send standard correspondence to clients in the BOP after they have been sentenced and be a consistent point of contact.
5. Coordinate with the DOC to have experts retained by PDS to have access to specific clients for testing, examinations, and other services
6. Manage all aspects of electronic orders of transcripts from the Court Reporting Division made by division attorneys and coordinate transcription services with contracted transcription servicer at the request of division attorneys.
7. Arrange travel for experts and other witnesses including airfare and hotel accommodations.
8. Perform notary services for agency attorneys and investigators. Candidates who are not certified notaries will have the notary public training and certification paid for by PDS.
Required Qualifications: High school degree or GED and at least one year of work experience. Prior experience doing administrative assistance work preferable. Having a strong attention to detail, excellent customer service skills, and proactive approach to the work is a must. We are especially interested in candidates with a demonstrated commitment to public interest or public service work.
How you will be evaluated: Your application package includes your résumé and required supporting documents. Please ensure your résumé includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your résumé may result in a rejection of your application package.
How to apply: You must provide a complete application package which includes: (1) a cover letter and resume; (2) a list of three references that include name, address, telephone number, and a statement of how each reference is able to evaluate your skills to HR Specialist Brigette Carrington, Office of Human Resources, Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, Job Announcement PDS#2023-52, 633 Indiana Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004 as MS Word or PDF document attachments to the following email address: [email protected] vacancy announcement # and title of the vacancy MUST APPEAR on the subject line of the email.
All application materials become property of PDS and will not be returned. For questions or concerns regarding this vacancy announcement, please contact HR Specialist Brigette Carrington at (202) 824-2237 or via the email address listed above.
Rating: Your application package will be rated and ranked among other applicants based on your
experience, education, training, and awards relevant to the duties of this position. Your rating can be
lowered if your application package is not supported by the requested documents.
Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application package will be referred to a hiring manager for consideration, at which time you may be invited to participate in a selection interview.
Interview Structure: “Those who are selected for interviews will be required to interview in person. However, applicants who are not local to the DMV area may be allowed to interview virtually.