Career Opportunity

8143-Senior Public Defender's Investigator

Recruitment: RTF0116848-01148768

Published: February 08, 2023

Accepting applications until: February 24, 2023

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A.

Application Opening: February 8, 2023
Application Deadline: February 24, 2023 by 11:59pm

The Public Defender’s office provides legal representation to persons charged with a crime in San Francisco who do not have the financial means to retain their own counsel. Each year, the office serves approximately 20,000 people. The San Francisco Public Defender’s office is a nationally recognized model of public defense. The Public Defender provides legal staffing for each of the misdemeanor and felony preliminary hearing and trial courts, the Mental Health and Youth Defender Unit divisions, the Community Justice Center, Domestic Violence Court, Behavioral Health Court, Veterans’ Justice Court, Drug Court, Intensive Supervision court, Parole Court, Young Adult Court, and Extradition.

Salary Range: $110,110 - $133,874 Compensation

Role description

Appointment Type: Permanent Civil Service (PCS)

Under supervision, this position in the Public Defender’s Office is responsible for but not limited to:

• Supervises investigators performing investigative work on criminal cases under the jurisdiction of the Public Defender's Office; advises and assists investigators with difficult and complex investigative assignments.
• Assists defense attorneys by participating in special investigations connected with serious criminal cases before the superior and municipal courts; gathers and preserves evidence.
• Reviews policies and procedures with the public defender and informs members of the investigative staff of any changes in policies and procedures.
• Participates in investigations involving mental health and juvenile division; may visit medical personnel, members of families and witnesses connected with a case, as needed.
• Serves subpoenas when required.
• May prepare diagrams and photographs of the scene of the crime; obtains medical records from the Coroner, hospitals and other sources, and business records as necessary.
• Maintains records on all investigations; this includes the contacts made, findings of evidence, collected statements, description of scenes, analysis of cases and other information relevant to the defense; prepares investigative reports.
• In absence of unit supervisor, performs administrative work in the unit; assigns cases.
• Performs related duties as required.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications:

Applicants must fully meet the minimum qualifications by the final filing deadline unless otherwise stated:

1. Three (3) years (6,000 hours) of verifiable experience as a public defender's investigator, a licensed private investigator, or experience performing investigative work in a professional field, such as law, social justice, media/journalism, public health/welfare, human/civil rights, education, social sciences, public policy, or non-profit work; AND possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university;

OR

2. Four (4) years (8,000 hours) of verifiable experience as a public defender’s investigator, a licensed private investigator, or experience performing investigative work in a professional field, such as law, social justice, media/journalism, public health/welfare, human/civil rights, education, social sciences, public policy, or non-profit work.

AND

3. Possession of a valid CA driver’s license

Substitution:

One (1) year (2,000 hours) of verifiable investigator training may substitute for one (1) year of the required experience.

Desirable Qualifications:

The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

• Bilingual Spanish, or Cantonese speaking
• Excellent oral and written communication
• Experience working in the adult or juvenile criminal justice system
• High Degree of initiative in resolving problems
• Team player with a vision, passion and commitment to social justice.
• Has a high degree of personal and professional ethics.
• Is energetic, creative, and solution oriented.
• Is fair, unbiased, compassionate, and a good listener.
• Is committed to continuous quality improvement and a high level of customer service
• Is strategically orientated and can anticipate issues and problems.
• Is calm under pressure, resilient, and has a good sense of humor

Working Conditions: Must be able to work full time and travel throughout San Francisco and the surrounding cities on a daily basis to conduct visits at varied times of the day.   Essential duties require the following physical skills and work environment: requires considerable amount of climbing stairs and walking.

Verification of Experience and/or Education

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at http://sfdhr.org/index.aspx?page=456

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Selection Procedures:

After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:

1. Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ) completed online (Qualifying)
2. Supplemental Essay Exam (100%)

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ): (Weight: Qualifying)

This MQSQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications (MQ) for this position. The MQSQ will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.

Supplemental Essay Exam: (Weight: 100%)

Qualified candidates will be prompted to complete a Supplemental Essay Exam after the closing of this filing period. Applicants will be given a deadline to return the Supplemental Essay Exam. The Supplemental Essay Exam is designed to measure knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in job-related areas which have been identified as critical for positions in class 8143- Senior Public Defender’s Investigator. 

Failure to complete these steps by the established deadlines will result in disqualification. All applicants’ responses to the Supplemental Questionnaire are subject to verification.

A passing score on the Supplemental Essay Exam must be achieved in order to be placed/ranked on the Eligible List. Candidates will be placed on the eligible list in rank order according to their final score.

Eligible List/Score Report:

A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created, and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission. 

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be twelve (12) months, and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director. Certification: The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of Ten Scores (RO10). Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

What else should I know?

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams [required for Combined, Promotive, Entrance
• (CPE) Exams only]
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please email PUBDEF.HR@sfgov.org

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/ and begin the application process.

• Select the Announcement: 8143- Senior Public Defender’s Investigator
• Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen

Official Public Health Order-Shelter in Place: In line with the Official Public Health Order to slow the spread of CIVD-19, “shelter-in-place” has been issued for all San Francisco residents that is expected to be in effect until further notice. As a result, Department of Human Resources (DHR)’s office (located at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103) is currently closed to the general public. If you have any questions, please feel free to email the Exam Analyst listed at the end of this job ad.

Applicants may be contacted by email bout this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-t0-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Exam Analyst information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact us at PUBDEF.HR@sfgov.org

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.