Duties

Summary

This position is in the Program Operations Division (POD) of the Defender Services Office (DSO) ( https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/defender-services ). The mission of DSO is to ensure that the right to counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, the Criminal Justice Act (CJA), 18 U.S.C. § 3006A, and other statutory mandates is enforced on behalf of those who cannot afford to retain counsel.
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Responsibilities

The incumbent will participate in a wide variety of defender and Criminal Justice Act (CJA) panel operations initiatives, to include, but not limited to: assessments of CJA programs around the country, overseeing the planning and execution of conferences and training programs, and supervising a diverse portfolio of operational issues related to federal public defender organizations, including human resources, space and facilities, procurement, and budgetary matters.

POD is responsible for 1) formulating, justifying, and executing the Defender Services appropriation, including developing and implementing individual federal defender organization (FDO) budgets and managing CJA panel attorney requirements; 2) developing, implementing, and evaluating FDO financial and administrative policies, as well as conducting FDO organizational reviews and evaluating the operation of CJA private attorney panels; 3) providing fiscal and administrative support to FDOs; and 4) providing counsel, advice, and assistance to the Committee on Defender Services of the Judicial Conference of the United States (JCUS), other JCUS entities, and court and AO executives.

The incumbent will assist in the implementation of national policy. Duties include, but are not limited to:

Providing expert day-to-day direction to and supervision of program operations staff. This includes technical and administrative guidance, as well as coaching and mentoring.

Providing supervision, training, and professional development for personnel assigned to the branch, including but not limited to permanent and temporary duty attorney advisors, management analysts, program analysts, and interns.

Serving on a management team representing POD and acting as chief of POD when the chief is unavailable.

Overseeing the protocols, standards, and management of the CJA review program, which involves periodic inspection and evaluation of each federal judicial district court's plan for and implementation of the CJA and applicable policies of the Judicial Conference of the United States, including an examination of the management and administrative operations of the CJA panel attorney program and federal defender organization in each district.

Establishing and managing both short- and long-term goals for the branch and integrating work with broader program objectives.

Conducting long-range planning, developing, collaborating, and overseeing, implementation and evaluation of the federal defender and CJA panel review program, to include review protocols and guidance memorandums.

Conducting national program reviews of narrow topics of importance when needed for highly sensitive situations that require higher-level problem identification and follow up.

Managing the annual review revision, execution, and periodic amendments of the grant agreements between the AO and 17 not for profit community defender organizations (CDOs), and oversee, monitor, and provide appropriate training or other follow up to the annual independent audit of each CDO.

Assisting POD staff members by providing interpretation, analysis, advice, and recommendations on policies and procedures.

Analyzing data, monitoring trends, and making recommendations for improvement of national programs.

Developing and managing improvement initiatives to facilitate cost containment while improving services and implementing new Judiciary policies and programs.

Serving on or leading the efforts of various committees, meetings, and working groups and preparing and presenting, orally and in writing, briefings and documents to AO senior management, federal defenders, court executives, and judges.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
00

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

All information is subject to verification. Applicants are advised that false answers or omissions of information on application materials or inability to meet the following conditions may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.

Selection for this position is contingent upon completion of OF-306, Declaration of Federal Employment during the pre-employment process and proof of U.S. citizenship for competitive status positions or conversion to a competitive status position with the Administrative Office of the US Courts. In instances where non-citizens are considered for hire into temporary or any other position with non competitive status or when it is confirmed by the AO's Human Resources Office that there are no qualified U.S. citizens for a competitive status position (unless prohibited by a law or statue), non-citizens must provide proof of authorization to work in the United States and proof of entitlement to receive compensation. Additional information on the employment of non-citizens can be found at http://ww.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens . For a list of documents that may be used to provide proof of citizenship or authorization to work in the United States, please refer to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification .

All new AO employees will be required to complete a FBI fingerprint-based national criminal database and records check and pass a public trust suitability check.

All new AO employees must identify a financial institution for direct deposit of pay before appointment.

You will be required to serve a trial period if selected for a first-time appointment to the Federal government, transferring from another Federal agency, or serving as a first-time supervisor. Failure to successfully complete the trial period may result in termination of employment.

If appointed to a temporary position, management may have the discretion of converting the position to permanent depending upon funding and staffing allocation.

Relocation expenses may be provided, but only if authorized by the Director of the AO.

Qualifications

Applicants must have demonstrated experience as listed below. This requirement is according to the AO Classification, Compensation, and Recruitment Systems which include interpretive guidance and reference to the OPM Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions.

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience which is in or directly related to the line of work of this position. Specialized experience is demonstrated experience implementing national policies and providing administrative guidance for national programs.

Bar Membership: Applicants must currently be an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a federal court of general jurisdiction. Applicants are responsible for citing minimum qualifications such as J.D. and bar membership information (institution name, state(s) for bar, and dates) on their respective resumes. Failure to supply details will constitute an incomplete application. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Post J.D. Experience: Applicants must also possess at least three years of post J.D. experience.

Education

Applicants must possess a law degree (J.D.) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/ .

Additional information

The AO is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

We will review your resume and supporting documentation and compare this information to your responses on the occupational questionnaire to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for this job. If you meet the minimum qualifications for this job, we will evaluate your application package, to assess the quality, depth, and complexity of your accomplishments, experience, and education as they relate to the requirements listed in this vacancy announcement.

You should be aware that your ratings are subject to evaluation and verification. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume and/or narrative responses, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Failure to submit the mandatory narrative responses will result in not receiving full consideration and/or rating credit. Deliberate attempts to falsify information may be grounds for not selecting you, withdrawing an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

For this job announcement the following documents and/or information are required:

• Resume - Any written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications.
• Citizenship - Include country of citizenship on resume.
• Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) - All applicants outside of the AO must submit a copy of your latest SF-50 to verify current or former Federal employment status.
• Veterans Preference documentation - Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214), if applicable Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) and an official statement, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from a branch of the Armed Forces, certifying to the veteran's present receipt of compensation.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.