The Federal Judicial Center is the federal courts' agency for research and continuing education. A nine-member board, chaired by the Chief Justice of the United States, determines the Center’s basic policies.
The Education Division designs and develops curricula to impart and enhance critical competencies tailored for federal court of appeals, district, bankruptcy, and magistrate judges and for federal judicial branch employees, including persons serving in clerk of court, probation, and pretrial services offices. Subject areas for judges include substantive and procedural legal topics, case and calendar management, ethics, and leadership and management. Subject areas for other court personnel include selected technical skills, ethics, and leadership and management. The division delivers education through a variety of means including: in-person programs to which participants travel; in-person programs conducted in courthouses for local participants; audio-, video-, and web conferences; programs and materials delivered over the courts’ intranet; and in printed publications.
The Center’s Education Division has an opening for one or more education specialists to develop in-person and web-based continuing education programs for judges, court managers and support staff.
Duties and Responsibilities:
• Design and develop curricula, based on identified competencies tailored to specific types of judges and court staff.
• Implement, manage, and evaluate in-person and web-based continuing education programs for federal court judges and staff, integrating technology as appropriate. As used here, “web-based continuing education” means synchronous and stand alone asynchronous training and education programs delivered on the federal courts’ intranet.
• Work collaboratively with judges, senior managers, advisory groups, academics, and Center professional staff members to produce and maintain continuing education programs.
• Train and assist persons selected to serve as faculty at Center programs in effective teaching methods appropriate to an audience of highly-educated professionals.
• Monitor and, in consultation with the assistant division director, direct the work of assigned staff members.
Mandatory Qualifications:
• An advanced degree in education, instructional design, or a related field; or a bachelor’s degree and at least seven years experience in adult workplace education;
• Substantial experience with techniques of needs assessment and curriculum development;
• Substantial experience in developing in-person and web-based continuing education programs (as defined above) using instructional design expertise; and
• Excellent project-management, interpersonal, verbal, writing, presentation, and computer skills.
Desirable Qualifications:
• A Juris Doctor degree.
• Experience working in or with the federal or a state judiciary.
• Familiarity or experience with leadership and management program development or continuing legal education program development.
• Demonstrated expertise in planning, designing, and developing e-learning programs.
• Working knowledge of HTML, Adobe Dreamweaver, and Adobe Flash.
Salary and Benefits:
The starting salary is set at $113,574. For the successful candidate who is not currently a member of the Center staff, a higher starting salary, but not to exceed $119,253, may be considered based upon the successful candidate's current salary. The FJC uses a payband compensation system. This position falls in the Center's payband VI which has a salary range up to $179,322, although not all incumbents in payband VI positions can expect to reach the top of the range. For the successful internal candidate whose current salary is below the payband base of $113,574, that person’s salary will be brought up to the base. If the successful internal candidate’s current salary is above the base, his/her salary will be matched up to the top of payband VI.
A civil service rating is not required. The position does not carry the tenure rights of positions in the competitive civil service. Federal government benefits are applicable. An array of supplemental benefits are also offered including a transportation subsidy and a flexible benefit program allowing for pre-tax deductions for health insurance, health care, dependent care, and commuter expenses. The Center will consider flexible work arrangements for its employees including flextime and compressed schedules; partial telecommuting is also available on a case-by-case basis. The Federal Judicial Center is located in the Thurgood Marshall Building, conveniently situated to public transportation directly beside Union Station. The Marshall Building houses a child development center and a health fitness facility for its tenants.
All new employees with the Federal Judicial Center will be subject to an FBI/OPM background check. All hiring decisions are provisional based on a favorable outcome. Relatives of Center staff members may not be employed at the Center in any capacity.
Application Procedures:
Submit a cover letter describing your qualifications for the position and a resume that specifies dates of employment, salaries, and responsibilities for all related positions, and a sample lesson plan with supporting materials from an education or training program you have developed (all mandatory) to:
Federal Judicial Center
ATTN: Human Resources Office, Room 6-190
Announcement #15-01
Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building
One Columbus Circle, NE
Washington, DC 20002-8003
To receive full consideration for this position, applications must be received by close of business March 25, 2015; however, this vacancy will remain open until filled. Please refer to Announcement #15-01 on your application.
THE FEDERAL JUDICIAL CENTER IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER