Administrative Specialist

The application deadline for this opening is March 12, 2024.
ABOUT FRANKLIN COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT The Franklin County Municipal Court is the largest and busiest municipal court in the State of Ohio.
The Court has fourteen judges in the General Division and one judge in the Environmental Division.
Judges preside over civil, criminal, and traffic cases and conduct both jury and court trials.
The Court’s jurisdiction includes traffic cases, misdemeanor criminal cases, and civil cases where the amount at issue is $15,000 or less.
The Environmental Division has exclusive jurisdiction to enforce local codes and regulations affecting real property, such as fire and building codes.
The geographic jurisdiction of the Court is all of Franklin County and those portions of the City of Columbus that extend beyond the boundaries of Franklin County.
Despite its jurisdiction and name, the Franklin County Municipal Court is the judicial branch of the City of Columbus government.
JOB PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW The Pretrial and Probation Services Department consists of approximately 100 employees.
The mission of Pretrial Services is to promote community safety and pretrial success through research-informed recommendations, and supervision services that maximize court appearance, remove barriers to fair and efficient justice, and promote harm reduction.
The mission of Probation Services is to promote community safety by reducing recidivism, changing offender behavior, and fostering accountability through the effective use of evidence-based practices.
Department functions include pretrial, investigations, and supervision services.
The supervision structures are determined by risk and need for all case types that the judges of the Court refer to.
The staff operates specialized caseloads including domestic violence, sexual offenses, soliciting, mental health, work release, and electronic monitoring.
The probation staff strives to stay current and relevant with the ongoing goal of being an evidence-based organization.
An Administrative Specialist is under the general direction of the Chief Probation Officer and the immediate direction of the Intake & Investigations Supervisor.
An Administrative Specialist primary role is to provide quality customer service to the public and provide efficient administrative service to the Court.
An Administrative Specialist role is essential for the department's daily operations and to bridge the gaps between the public and the Courts employees.
An Administrative Specialist is the first point of contact for Pretrial and Probation Services, which is the largest department in the Franklin County Municipal Court.
ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION • Promote, model, and abide by the Vision, Mission, policies, and procedures of the Probation Department • Maintain accurate, current, and thorough documentation and records.
• Contribute to a strong, supportive, and productive team environment.
• Assist in administrative functions that include coordinating and directing the public.
• Assist with the reporting, collection, and analysis of data.
• Maintain confidentiality of the Court and Probation Department information • Greet and interact with the public including Judges, attorneys, clients, and community partners.
• in a professional manner.
• Manage a large volume of inbound and outbound calls.
• Ability to identify customer needs, research issues, and provide solutions.
• Maintain sensitive and confidential information of the Court and Probation Department • Possess strong organizational skills.
• Ability to work well under pressure.
• Ability to check appointments in at the window or in the case management system kiosk and determine the course of action required to assist the client.
• Assist with answering and directing phone calls and questions from visitors.
• Maintain electronic and manual filing systems as well as administrative logs.
• Conduct reports and enter data in various Court Management Systems.
• Assist with receiving, sorting, and distributing the mail.
• Maintain an accurate inventory and order necessary office supplies.
• Conduct in-person and over-the-phone interviews and gather accurate information.
• Assist with creating and organizing case information for probation officers.
• Assign cases according to assignment protocols.
• Assist with case-related appointments and assessments for probation officers as needed.
• Run and interpret confidential criminal history records and reports.
• Complete defendant risk and needs screening tools as needed.
• Gather and interpret pertinent case-related information.
• Perform other tasks as assigned and may fulfill roles of other positions in other departments of the Court as needed.
QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS • High School diploma required.
• Proficiency in operating a personal computer and using, or being able to learn, Microsoft Office products such as Word, Outlook, and Excel, and the Court's case-management software.
• Ability to adapt, remain flexible, and open to change.
• Demonstrate dependability and reliability.
• Ability to maintain sensitive and confidential information.
• Excellent time management and ability to multi-task and prioritize work to perform effectively in a high-volume, fast-paced environment.
• Ability to appropriately receive and follow supervisory feedback, coaching, and direction.
• Strong organizational and communication skills • Must be reliable.
• Meet required eligibility and pass tests required to become certified to use Law Enforcement Automated Data Systems, National Crime Information Center, Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Interstate Identification Information Systems computer information systems.
• Pleasant personality, ability to deal with potentially difficult people, ability to interact and maintain effective working relationships with judges, employees, attorneys, litigants, law-enforcement officers, and others conducting business with the Court.
• Conscious of and sensitive to the diversity within the Court’s jurisdiction, and able to interact professionally with this diverse population of people from many different geographic, socioeconomic, religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds regularly.
• Professional appearance and demeanor, particularly a positive attitude appropriate for the position and the work environment as a representative of the Court • Demonstrate dependability, punctuality, and an excellent attendance record.
• Ability to work collaboratively and proactively identify needs within the team without prompting.
• Proficiency in the operation of office equipment such as a personal computer, keyboard, transcription equipment, multiline phones, scanner, copier, and fax machine PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS • One (1) year experience relating to probation, and parole, with demonstrated knowledge of legal terminology, pretrial and probation-related procedures, policies, trends and developments, and evidence-based practices in Community Corrections.
• One (1) year Court experience.
• Additional consideration will be given to individuals who are fluently bilingual in Spanish and English with a college-level vocabulary in both languages, the ability to communicate complex information in both English and Spanish, or who speak a language commonly used by people of Somalia for whom English is a second language or who are proficient in American Sign Language PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS • Position requires frequent sitting with intermittent periods of standing and/or walking.
• Must be able to occasionally lift up to 20 pounds.
BENEFITS The Franklin County Municipal Court offers an excellent benefits package that includes medical, prescription, vision, dental, and life insurance; short-term disability; generous vacation, sick and personal leave; 11 paid holidays; longevity service payments; sick-leave reciprocity; employee assistance and deferred-compensation programs; tuition reimbursement; and credit-union membership.
Court employees are members of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, which provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for public employees.
The Court pays the required employer 14 percent of the employee’s salary.
Court employees do not have Social Security taxes withheld from their paychecks because they are members of OPERS.
COURT EXPECTATIONS OF EMPLOYEE In completing the duties and responsibilities of the position, the Court expects the employee will adhere to all Court policies, guidelines, practices, and procedures; act as a role model both inside and outside the Court; perform duties as workload necessitates in a timely, accurate and thorough manner and be conscientious about meeting department productivity standards; and communicate regularly with the supervisor about department issues.
AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT Employees of the Court are at-will employees and serve at the pleasure of the Court; they are not in the classified civil service system and are not members of bargaining units.
The Court is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, religion, race, color, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability, military status, or genetic information.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYEE The Court is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, religion, race, color, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability, military status, or genetic information.