Investigative Specialist

The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia

Washington, DC, USA

Published: 6/14/2022

Legal

Job Description

Pay Grade: AD-07/09 (equivalent to GS-07/09)

Minimum Annual Starting Salary: $53,105 (AD-7) to $64,957 (AD-9)

Full Performance Level: AD-12 (equivalent to GS-12)

Summary: The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDSDC) is interested in attracting the best talent for our organization. To be considered for this vacancy announcement, applicants should review the announcement in its entirety and follow the instructions within. Native Spanish-speaking candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. The ability to serve Spanish-speaking clients is a critical need within the Investigations Division. The ideal candidate will possess native fluency in Spanish and strong command of English, with the ability to translate and interpret as needed in legal settings. To learn more about PDSDC, please visit www.pdsdc.org.

Major Duties:

The incumbent works in concert with legal defense counsel to investigate allegations of suspected violations of criminal statutes and possible defenses to those allegations. An investigative specialist, under the supervision of the assigned attorney will:

Plan and conduct complete investigations of criminal cases as assigned. This is accomplished by conducting interviews with clients, witnesses, and community members, many of whom are monolingual Spanish speakers.
Translate Spanish-language witness statements, documents, or other evidence into English
Prepare detailed investigative reports in English.
Assist attorneys with trial preparation, including testimony support.
Locate and retrieve records (medical, employment, educational, etc) by contacting various sources for the purpose of obtaining facts, signed statements, etc.
Verify and corroborate all information obtained, analyzes findings, and presents findings in comprehensive reports in English and Spanish for use by attorneys.
Travel as needed for investigations overnight or multi-day.
Act as a Spanish floater OR Spanish-speaking Investigator on cases involving monolingual Spanish-speaking clients and witnesses.
Perform other related duties as assigned.

Educational Requirements:

Theelected candidate(s) must possess a bachelor’s degree in either of the following fields:

Criminal Justice Administration
Law
Criminology
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology
English
Journalism/Mass Communication
Any other related field

NOTE: Education must be from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/search.aspx. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by PDS.

Special Instructions For Foreign Education: Applicants who are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-…-forrecog.html

Qualifications:

The incumbent must demonstrate knowledge and/or experience of the following:

Ability to work with a team, including the ability to plan and schedule work, define and streamline processes, produce results;
Native Spanish fluency (written and spoken) OR The ability to fluently speak, write and read in Spanish. Native Spanish-speaking ability is strongly preferred;
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in both, Spanish and English (for report writing, witness interviews, and court testimony);
Strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities;
Demonstrated skill in building and maintaining effective relationships with other employees, customers, community members, and stakeholders e.g., attorneys, agency managers.

Highly Desirable Qualifications:

Additionally, the following knowledge, skills and abilities and/or experience are deemed highly desirable:

Experience working with Spanish-speaking populations or cases requiring Spanish fluency;
Training and/or internship experience in criminal defense investigations;
Training and/or experience in criminal defense mitigation;
The skills and ability to provide quantitative and qualitative analysis and assessment of data evidence;
Possess computing skills and proficiency in Adobe Acrobat Pro (PDF), Criminal Justice Database usage, researching Social Media content, criminal defense related data input/analysis and/or other related proprietary software;
Experience in organizing for and/or serving the homeless, incarcerated, underserved and/or immigrant communities;
The willingness to learn and utilize proprietary and evolving technology as related to investigations is also desirable.

Eligibility Requirements:

Eligibility required for the PDS Grade 7

All candidates must possess the above noted educational requirement and the above qualifications.

Eligibility required for the PDS Grade 9

Candidates who possess at least 1 year of continuous demonstrated experience of the following may receive consideration at the AD grade 9 level upon appointment- the candidate must have:
At least one year of specialized experience as a criminal defense staff investigator or criminal defense staff investigator or criminal defense investigative specialist (investigating felony level cases), including experience with word processing, criminal justice database usage, social media usage, data input, and criminal defense related data analysis.

Promotion Eligibility Requirements:

This position is advertised at the AD-7/9 grade level (equivalent to a GS-7/9), with a position full performance level at the AD-12 grade level (equivalent to the GS-12).

Promotion from the AD grade 9 to the AD grade 11 requires the following:

Candidate must possess the aforementioned educational requirement.
Must possess at least 2 years of exemplary performance at the AD grade 9 level.
Must have at least three years of specialized experience as a criminal defense staff investigator or criminal defense investigative specialist (investigating felony level cases), including experience with word processing, criminal justice database usage, social media usage, data input, and criminal defense related data analysis.

Promotion from the AD grade 11 to the AD grade 12 requires the following:

Candidate must possess the aforementioned educational requirement.
Must possess at least 3 years of exemplary performance at the AD grade 11 level.
Must have at least six years of specialized experience as a criminal defense staff investigator or criminal defense investigative specialist (investigating felony level cases), including experience with word processing, criminal justice database usage, social media usage, data input, and criminal defense related data analysis.

Note: The incumbent may be promoted without further competition upon exemplary performance of the preceding grade level and with the required experience of each respective grade. All promotions are subject to final approval of the PDS Director.

Key Requirements:

Applicant must be a US Citizen or have current authorization to work in the United States.
Incumbent must have no convictions as defined in D.C. Code Sec. 14.305(b)(1) (Impeachment by evidence of conviction of crime)
Incumbent must have a valid U.S. driver’s license;
Incumbent must own or have ready-use of an insured, reliable, and privately-owned motor vehicle and must be insured as a driver for that vehicle (rental cars and car services are not acceptable substitutes);
All candidates are subject to a criminal background check.

How you will be evaluated:Your application package includes your cover letter, resume and requested supporting documentation. Please ensure your application package includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position, including your Spanish-speaking ability. Failure to provide sufficient evidence in your application package and requested supporting documents can result in a rejection of your application package.

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.

InterviewStructure:Those who are selected for interviews will be required to interview via Web- X, Skype, or some other communications platform. Note: PDS reserves the right to interview prior to the closing date.

Benefits:

PDS is funded by federal appropriations, and employees are entitled to participate in federal benefits plans, federal retirement systems, and the workers compensation program. Transferring federal employees will receive recognition of creditable federal service for leave accrual and retirement (if applicable) purposes. Benefits include:

Federal Employees Retirement Systems (retirement annuity)
Thrift Savings Plan (similar to a 401K program)
Federal Employees Health Benefits (health insurance)
Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (life insurance)
Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program
Flexible Spending Accounts (for health care and dependent care)
Employee Assistance Program
Parking Space (for Investigative Specialists)
Federal Occupational Health (access to health clinic and services)

Telework:This position requires on-site presence, both in the office and in the field, as necessary to meet the demands of the role. This position is eligible for telework in accordance with the organization’s policy.

How to Apply:

For consideration applicants must submit the required documents listed below. Failure to submit will result in an incomplete application. Please upload the required documents as one PDF attachment; multiple transcripts should also be uploaded to one PDF document as well.

Please ensure your application package includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position. Failure to provide sufficient evidence in your application package and requested supporting documents can result in a rejection of your application package. Your application package should include the following:

 A cover letter; please indicate if you are native Spanish-speaker and/or fluent in Spanish.

 A résumé with an email address, with current and previous employers, dates of employment, position status as full- or part-time, and position title and scope of duties.

 A list of three professional references with brief description on how each reference is able to attest to your skills/experience. Please include the name, email and telephone number and the relationship (i.e. Direct Supervisor, Indirect Supervisor, Mentor etc.)

For applicants with disabilities, this organization provides reasonable accommodations which will be decided on a case-by-case basis. To request a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or interview process, please email your request to the Office of Human Resources at HR@pdsdc.org.

Company DescriptionSummary:
The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDSDC) is interested in attracting the best talent for our organization. To be considered for this vacancy announcement, applicants should review the announcement in its entirety and follow the instructions within. To learn more about PDSDC, please visit www.pdsdc.org

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 for indigent individuals who are charged with criminal offenses in the District of Columbia and face a loss of liberty. The PDS staff consists of approximately 275 attorneys, social workers, investigative specialists, administrative, and technical employees who collaborate to advance the mission of the organization. By statue, PDS employees are entitled to participate in federal health insurance, life insurance and retirement plans, to include the Thrift Savings Plan. Employees with prior tenure at federal agencies will receive recognition of creditable federal service for leave accrual and retirement purposes.

Company Description

Summary:\r\nThe Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDSDC) is interested in attracting the best talent for our organization. To be considered for this vacancy announcement, applicants should review the announcement in its entirety and follow the instructions within. To learn more about PDSDC, please visit www.pdsdc.org\r\n\r\nThe 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 for indigent individuals who are charged with criminal offenses in the District of Columbia and face a loss of liberty. The PDS staff consists of approximately 275 attorneys, social workers, investigative specialists, administrative, and technical employees who collaborate to advance the mission of the organization. By statue, PDS employees are entitled to participate in federal health insurance, life insurance and retirement plans, to include the Thrift Savings Plan. Employees with prior tenure at federal agencies will receive recognition of creditable federal service for leave accrual and retirement purposes.\r\n