EIGHTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Judicial Assistant

Brevard Circuit Court

JOB BULLETIN

Date:

October 11, 2019

Closing Date:

October 25, 2019

Position Title:

Circuit Judicial Assistant

Working Title:

Same

Position Number:

#09615 (1.00 FTE / 40 hrs a wk)

Job Location:

Titusville, Florida

Starting salary:

$3,081.72/monthly

Funding Source:

State of Florida

Summary of Position:

Highly responsible position serving at the pleasure of the presiding judge (Honorable Tesha Scolaro Ballou), handling the day-to-day operations and management of a circuit judicial office. Individual must exercise a high degree of initiative and independent judgment in performing complex legal clerical work related to the daily operations of the trial court rules and procedures (including civil, criminal, family, guardianship, juvenile and probate). Work is often of a sensitive and confidential nature. Position serves as first point of contact for the Judge, and has daily interaction with the assigned court staff, attorneys, general public, and other court-related agencies. The core responsibilities of this position include but are not limited to: 1) manage the judge’s calendar; 2) prepare correspondence; 3) monitor status of cases assigned to the judge; 3) work with assigned case managers to monitor time standards compliance issues associated with assigned cases; 4) maintain an efficient filing system; and 5) provide overall administrative support for judge/office. Successful candidate should possess excellent organizational, office management, communication, and interpersonal skills with emphasis on outstanding customer service.

Education & Experience Guidelines:

Graduation from a standard high school or an equivalency diploma issued by an authorized agency, and two years of college or vocational school education in paralegal, secretarial skills, computer operations or a closely related field. Four (4) years of related experience is essential. Additional, relevant experience may substitute for the recommended education, on a year-for-year basis, such as a legal secretary or paralegal assistant. Working knowledge of the court system, courtroom procedures, legal documents and legal terminology is highly desirable.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

Demonstrated proficiency operating a personal computer using basic computer skills in a Windows environment utilizing Microsoft Office Outlook and Word.
Knowledge of the Florida State Courts System and legal terminology, as well as court procedures for the trial court (civil, criminal, family, guardianship, juvenile and/or probate).
Maintains and/or coordinates schedules and calendars for Judge, which may include trial/hearing dates, various meetings, and/or judicial conferences. Associated work could include the posting/distribution of trial dockets, court calendars / schedules, and/or orders / notices.
Act as a judge’s liaison and representative for the purpose of greeting, assisting, and informing litigants, attorneys, law enforcement personnel, etc., as to the judicial procedure and policy for the office. Work effectively (with courtesy, tact and patience), as well as efficiently.
Ability to maintain effective working relationships with the Judiciary, court personnel, Clerk of Court personnel, outside agencies, legal professionals and the general public.
Ability to communicate ideas clearly, concisely and logically, both orally and in writing with a diverse group of people, as well as understand and follow oral and written instructions.
Must have excellent attention to detail, and exercise high degree of judgment and diplomacy, while maintaining integrity and confidentiality.
Ability to work independently with minimal direction and take appropriate initiative in order to resolve issue(s) and produce accurate work products.
Ability to efficiently organize, multi-task and prioritize work meeting assigned deadlines.
Position requires selected individual to be dependable, punctual and exercise professional discretion.

Desirable Qualifications:

Direct working knowledge of trial court rules and procedures including civil, criminal, family, guardianship, juvenile and probate. Proficiency working with the Clerk of Court’s public records system. Experience e-filing would be extremely beneficial.

Working Conditions:

Work is conducted in a structured court environment with repetitive tasks that require a high degree of accuracy. The employee has continuous face-to-face and phone contact with litigants and attorneys in a courthouse setting. Work involves significant standing, walking, sitting, talking and listening and reaching with hands and arms; must be able to lift up to 10 pounds.

Application Procedures and Closing Date:

Only complete and current State of Florida applications with any and all required supporting documentation will be considered. Resumes may be attached as supplemental documentation only and will not be accepted as a stand-alone document. Any submission for the above position that does not meet the listed requirements will be deemed incomplete and not eligible for further consideration, and as such will be returned to sender. In addition, applications received in the Court Administration office (address indicated below) after 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 25, 2019, will not be eligible for further consideration, and as such, will be returned to sender. Applications should be submitted to:

Eighteenth Judicial Circuit – Court Administration
Harry T. & Harriette V. Moore Justice Center
Attention: Human Resources (3rd Floor)
2825 Judge Fran Jamieson Way
Viera, Florida 32940, (321) 633-2171, ext. 3

All candidates selected to be interviewed will be contacted no later than November 8, 2019. If you are not contacted by this date, then you were not chosen to be interviewed and therefore, will receive no further communication from this office. Please be assured that your application received our full attention.

All information provided will be a public record and will be released upon request, unless exempt or confidential per Florida Statutes or Public Records Exemption rules.

Background Check:

As a condition of employment, the selected candidate will be subject to a criminal background/ fingerprint check, as well as an employment reference check.

Court Website:

Employment Opportunities – https://flcourts18.org/employment-opportunities/brevard-employment-opportunities/

EEO:

The Eighteenth Judicial Circuit is an equal opportunity employer that actively pursues and hires a diverse workforce. We do not discriminate on the basis of nor manifest by words or conduct, bias or prejudice based on race, color, religion, age (40 or older), sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), national origin, language, marital status, socioeconomic status, or disability or genetic information, which does not preclude performance of essential job functions, and reasonable accommodation(s) is provided, as necessary and judicious. If you are a person with a disability who needs an accommodation in order to participate in the application/selection process, you are entitled, at no cost to you, the provision of certain assistance. Please notify Court Administration at 321-633-2171, #3, prior to the application deadline. If you are hearing or voice impaired, please call through the Florida Relay Service (TDD) 1-800-955-8771.

E-Verify:

Federal law requires all employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States. The Eighteenth Judicial Circuit participates in the U.S. Government’s Electronic Employment Verification Program (E-Verify) to assist in this required verification process for all state-funded positions. E-Verify is a program that electronically confirms an employee’s eligibility to work in the United States after completion of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9) upon hire within the first 3 days of employment.

Drug-Free:

It is an objective of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit to achieve a drug-free work place. Any applicant for employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing court service for the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, and the trust placed in our organization by the public.

At-Will Employment:

Pursuant to 110.205(2)(c) of the Florida Statutes, employment with the State Courts System is not covered under the Career Service System and all employees of the State Systems serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority and do not attain tenure rights, i.e., employees can be terminated with or without cause by the Court.

WE ARE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. WE DO NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, RELIGION, COLOR, SEX, AGE, NATIONAL ORIGIN, OR DISABILITY. IF YOU NEED AN ACCOMMODATION IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS, PLEASE CALL THE CONTACT PERSON AT THE NUMBER INDICATED ABOVE. PERSONS USING A TDD MAY CALL CONTACT PERSON THROUGH THE FLORIDA RELAY SERVICE (TDD) 1-800-955-8771.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Florida State Courts System
Class Specification

Class Title: Judicial Assistant – Circuit Court

Class Code: 8320

Pay Grade 15

General Description

The essential function of the position within the organization is to provide responsible administrative, secretarial and clerical support to the assigned circuit court judge’s office. The position is responsible for administrative, secretarial and clerical tasks of high responsibility. The position works independently under general supervision according to some procedures; developing work methods and sequences.

Examples of Work Performed

(Note: The examples of work as listed in this class specification are not necessarily descriptive of any one position in the class. The omission of specific statements does not preclude management from assigning specific duties not listed herein if such duties are a logical assignment to the position.)

Prepares and maintains the judge’s court and professional calendar; schedules and coordinates motions, hearings and conferences; assists attorneys with procedures on filing motions and hearing dates.

Provides organizational support for the judge’s caseload, including preparing orders, docketing jury instructions and a list of pending cases; ordering jurors; and coordinating in-house services, such as interpreters; reviews case files for accuracy, format compliance and completeness prior to submitting files to the judge.

Screens telephone calls and visitors to the judge’s office; provides information, resolves issues, directs caller/visitor to proper personnel or agency, or takes messages.

Composes and/or edits correspondence, memoranda, directives, notices, orders, e-mails, and other documents observing strict confidentiality.

Prepares yearly financial disclosure forms; makes travel arrangements and processes travel vouchers.

Researches information on hearing dates for other agencies; prepares notices of hearings for cases put on the calendar by the judge.

Interacts with attorneys and litigants and their family members to resolve problems such as scheduling conflicts or other case-related issues.

Performs routine clerical tasks such as reviewing, distributing and responding to incoming mail, performing data entry, ordering office supplies, maintaining files/records, faxing or photocopying.

May conduct limited case law research using an electronic database such as Lexus-Nexus.

Schedules trials; maintains trial dockets, continuances and trial orders.

Competencies

Data Responsibility:

Refers to information, knowledge, and conceptions obtained by observation, investigation, interpretation, visualization, and mental creation. Data are intangible and include numbers, words, symbols, ideas, concepts, and oral verbalizations.

Compiles, examines, or evaluates data or information and possibly recommends action based on results.

People Responsibility:

Refers to individuals who have contact with or are influenced by the position.

Gives information, guidance, or assistance to people who directly facilitate task accomplishment; may give instructions or assignments to helpers or assistants.

Assets Responsibility:

Refers to the responsibility for achieving economies or preventing loss within the organization.

Requires minimum responsibility for only small quantities of low cost items or supplies where opportunities for achieving economies or preventing loss are negligible.

Mathematical Requirements:

Deals with quantities, magnitudes, and forms and their relationships and attributes by the use of numbers and symbols.

Uses addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; may compute ratios, rates, and percents.

Communications Requirements:

Involves the ability to read, write, and speak.

Reads journals and manuals; composes specialized reports and business letters using proper format and grammar; speaks to groups of coworkers and people outside the organization.

Complexity of Work:

Addresses the analysis, initiative, ingenuity, creativity, and concentration required by the position and the presence of any unusual pressures.

Performs coordinating work involving guidelines and rules with constant problem solving; requires continuous, close attention for accurate results or frequent exposure to unusual pressure.

Impact of Decisions:

Refers to consequences such as damage to property, loss of data or property, exposure of the organization to legal liability, or injury or death to individuals.

Makes decisions with moderate impact – affects those in work unit.

Equipment Usage:

Refers to inanimate objects such as substances, materials, machines, tools, equipment, work aids, or products. A thing is tangible and has shape, form, and other physical characteristics.

Handles machines, tools, equipment, or work aids involving some latitude for judgment regarding attainment of standard or in selecting appropriate items, such as computers, peripherals, or software programs such as word processing.

Education and Experience Guidelines

Education:

Refers to job specific training and education that is recommended for entry into the position. Additional relevant experience may substitute for the recommended educational level on a year-for-year basis.

High school diploma or GED, and two years of college or vocational school education in paralegal, secretarial skills, computer operations or a closely related field.

Experience:

Refers to the amount of related work experience that is recommended for entry into the position that would result in reasonable expectation that the person can perform the required tasks. Additional relevant education may substitute for the recommended experience on a year-for-year basis, excluding supervisory experience.

Four years of related experience.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations Required:

Refers to professional, state, or federal licenses, certifications, or registrations required to enter the position.

None