Career Opportunity

8142-Public Defender's Investigator

Recruitment: RTF0130146-01137034

Published: March 27, 2023

Accepting applications until: April 10, 2023

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

About:

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

IMPORTANT: Your application MUST include responses to the Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ) found HERE.

Applicants must complete the Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire prior to starting the online application process.  The application will not be reviewed without a completed MQ supplemental questionnaire.

Application Opening: March 27,2023
Application Deadline: April 10,2023 at 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.

The Public Defender's office aims to protect and defend the rights of our indigent clients through effective, vigorous, compassionate, and creative legal advocacy.

Salary Range: $101,348-$123,188 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:

• Conducts investigations of a wide variety of criminal cases to provide support for legal defense in fraud, homicide, other felonies and misdemeanor charges; reviews documents in criminal and juvenile cases and identifies, evaluates and collects information, data and evidence. Visits scenes, develops leads, contacts and sources of information, interviews witnesses, victims, law enforcement officials, representatives of agencies and other particulars to gather statements and information on events surrounding cases; this includes visiting and interviewing patients, mentally ill clients, doctors and members of the family; and serves subpoenas.
• Collects and evaluates physical and material evidence and discusses findings with attorneys to determine crime connection and admissibility in trial; takes photographs and measurements, locates witnesses, conducts background investigations and uncovers inconsistencies during the course of the investigation; testifies in court on matters regarding evidence and investigative findings.
• Maintains complete records of investigative activities; this includes the contacts made, findings of evidence, collected statements, description of scenes, analysis of cases and other information relevant to the defense; and prepares investigative reports.
• Performs related duties as required.

How to qualify

These minimum qualifications establish the education, training, experience, special skills and/or license(s) which are required for employment in the classification. Please note, additional qualifications (i.e., special conditions) may apply to a particular position and will be stated on the exam/job announcement.

One (1) year (2,000 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;

OR

Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.

AND

License and Certification:

Possession of a valid CA driver’s license.

Substitution:

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

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.

Nature of Work: Candidate must be willing to work a 40-hour week as determined by the department, on-call support and occasional weekend work is required. 

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:

Minimum Qualifications Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ) (Weight - Qualifying)

The purpose of the Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ) is to assess whether the applicant meets the minimum qualifications for the 8142 Public Defender's Investigator position. The minimum qualifications have been identified as critical for satisfactory performance in this classification. The information provided must be consistent with the information on your application and is subject to verification. The responses on the Minimum Qualifications Supplemental Questionnaire are mandatory for participation in this recruitment process.

Remote Multiple Choice Examination (Weight: 100%)

Candidates will be administered a remote multiple-choice test designed to measure knowledge, skills and/or abilities in job-related areas which may include but are not limited to: 

Knowledge of: applicable laws and legal techniques, principles and procedures used in conducting criminal defense investigations, and understanding and working with attorneys to understand the elements of and defenses to crimes as they relate to each particular case;

Ability or Skill to: review and analyze discovery in criminal and juvenile cases; identify, evaluate and collect information, data and evidence in the course of investigations; exercise discretion, independent judgment, critical thinking and problem solve in a timely and efficient manner; detect and uncover discrepancies and inconsistencies; prioritize work by planning and organizing multiple work assignment; work effectively and reliably in teams with attorneys, paralegals, other investigators, experts, and department support staff; establish rapport, and interact professionally; verbally communicate clearly and accurately with diverse groups of people, including clients, clients’ families, attorneys, department support staff, field contacts, institutional contacts, court personnel, law enforcement personnel, witnesses and the general public; communicate and express ideas in writing; use a working knowledge of vocabulary and grammar; prepare correspondence and reports in a clear understandable manner; promote, establish and maintain a cooperative relationship with individuals, groups, officials, representatives and general public; interact tactfully, courteously and diplomatically with others; work effectively in an objective and impartial manner; with cultural sensitivity to various groups of people.

Skill to: operate a motor vehicle and operate/ learn to operate computer equipment, electronic devices and investigation related equipment.

Department Selection Procedure:

The department may choose to implement additional position-specific screening mechanisms in order to determine candidates’ qualifications for this position. Only those candidates deemed best qualified will continue in the departmental selection process, which may consist of an oral interview and/or performance examination.

Applicants must possess a passing score on the Remote Multiple Choice Examination in order to be ranked on the final Score Report.

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 eighteen (18) 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.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights:

Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/ .

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is ‘abuse of discretion’ or ‘no rational basis’ for establishing the position description, the minimum qualifications and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director. Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

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: 8142- 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.