Office Specialist I

Yakima County•Yakima County Courthouse, WA

1d•$21 - $27•Onsite

About The Position

This position is responsible for performing specialized support services both in and outside of the courtroom for the County Clerk. Duties include: Jury management pursuant to state law, Court rules and guidelines and the for the coordination, professional and cordial communication and dissemination of information to many different entities either by speech, or written communication; facilitating jury selection, and preparing Clerk paperwork and calendars for use in Court. A Keyboarding test will be administered at time of interview.

Requirements

High School Diploma or GED PLUS three (3) years general office experience; OR an equivalent combination of education and experience which provides the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the essential duties of the job.
Successful completion of a general employment verification.
Keyboarding exercise of 35 WPM.
Knowledge to efficiently use MS Word, MS Excel, MS Outlook, MapQuest or Google Maps.
Knowledge of databases software programs
Knowledge of electronic folder creation, file saving, file naming in multiple software program such as Windows, and other Microsoft Office products.
English Grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Files and records maintenance techniques (paper and electronic).
Customer service techniques; Knowledge of how to use cordial professional etiquette and communication.
General knowledge of the U.S. court practices
Clear communication practices to include written documentation and giving verbal instructions.
Principles and methods associated with public/personal information dissemination.
General professional office practices and procedures.
Basic knowledge of roles and responsibilities of multiple departments and members in the legal system.
Working knowledge and demonstrated ability to efficiently use MS Word, MS Excel, MS Outlook, MapQuest or GoogleMaps.
Demonstrated skills and ability performing data entry including creation of spreadsheets.
Skill in reading, interpreting and understanding needs or requests in the English language.
Ability to alphabetize information.
Ability and skill to perform public speaking to groups from 30 to 200 people.
Ability to professional and cordial communicate with people with differing opinions and social economical backgrounds.
Ability to apply laws, rules and guidelines to determine resolutions to requests.
Ability to defuse, hostile behaviors.
Ability to identify and mitigate needs, defuse hostility, hazards or security risks in processing juror requests or outbursts – either in person or on the phone.
Ability to critically think independently to determine appropriate recommendations or referrals to manager.
Ability to make responsible decisions.
Ability to ‘cold call’ individuals -who may be reluctant communicators- to assist with, or offer scheduling options, or to request additional -sometimes personal- information from them.
Ability to provide, adhere to, and maintain confidentiality and professional practices.
Proven ability to work independently, completing varying workload based on set timelines.
Ability to gather and present information (written, electronically and verbally).
Practiced and proven skills in organization, prioritization and time management.
Ability to work within pre-established organization practices and methods.
Ability to work with frequent and unscheduled interruptions.
Ability to meet deadlines ahead of schedule.
Proven ability to establish effective working relationships with co-workers, other department personnel and the general public.
Ability to coordinate, negotiate and communicate time off requests with other staff members, who must cover these duties in your absence.
Ability to deal with difficult or hostile persons / personalities.
Ability to maintain and project a professional demeanor at all times.

Nice To Haves

Experience related to the law and justice field, such as legal secretary, paralegal or civil or criminal justice work is preferred.
AA in Criminal Justice / Legal Assistant is preferred and may substitute for experience.
Experience working with maintaining complex filing systems both electronic and paper
Computer data entry experience preferred.
Bilingual English/Spanish is preferred.

Responsibilities

Annually perform the annual ‘data load’ which consists of preparing and obtaining signed court orders, communication and coordination with the jury software vendor, local Technical Services Department and co-workers.
Prepare and disseminate the new yearly calendar with all the Jury Terms highlighted.
Update Jury Terms in jury software for new year.
Update Jury Sessions and mileage rates in jury software.
Provides input for assessment or reassessment as issues related to compliance are identified, as well as needed updates to forms or procedures.
Electronically summons prospective jurors.
Compile electronic files for archival of each of the recurring summoning processes.
Prepares duplicate forms for lost summons, receives and organizes documents and electronic files from the summoning process for archival purposes.
Electronically prepare, disseminate and archive various reports and completed trial jury lists.
Provides case management functions for juror appearances related to jury trials.
Electronically process daily attendance record of jurors in jury software and Excel software.
Records nightly outgoing phone message to include: juror reporting instructions / times / locations / safety reminders.
Ensures the legal eligibility for Jury service of individuals summoned, in accordance with State Laws.
Ensures documentation is received which supports excusal from, or rescheduling of, jury service based on established local Court policies.
Makes personal inquiries either by phone, in person or by mail, as to prospective juror qualifications, requests for excusal or rescheduling; verifies civil rights status through criminal history; inquire about non-answered required questions related to juror qualifications.
Processes requests for excusal or rescheduling.
Verifies round trip mileage, performs accurate typing for data entry of mileages, address and name corrections.
Professionally and cordially communicates the findings to the Court(s) and prospective jurors informing them of their request status, role and responsibilities.
Performs discretionary decisions to eliminate jurors based on review and interpretation of recommended judicial guidelines.
Maintains, organizes and provides day-to-day liaison functions on behalf of County Clerk, Courts and jurors in compliance with Washington State Law.
Physically performs in-person juror check-in at various courtroom locations, accounts for attendance and conducts public oration of first day welcome / juror video summary to groups ranging in size from 30-150 people.
Electronically assigns prospective jurors to specific cases or Court levels.
Generate by printing, Case Reports: Juror Alphabetical List, Juror Random List, Case Cover Sheet, and financial Case Reimbursement Sheet.
Daily updates jury software with juror activity, case assignment(s) and case status.
Electronically ends juror ‘service’.
Electronically re-populates software files for beginning ‘service’ dates / terms.
Communicate professionally, cordially and with tack to relay information and instructions to prospective jurors of what to anticipate, appropriate behavior and/or general instructions / guidelines.
Multiple times a month, updates jury software for terms and juror payroll purposes.
Process Jury Payroll Bi-monthly and disseminate electronic copies to other departments.
Processing incoming responses to Jury Summons to include electronic data entry of: round trip mileage, phone numbers, name changes, service assignments.
Organize and process in accordance with the established work-flow returned Jury Summons’ and any attachments which may include sensitive personal data.
Prepare additional Juror Notices (post cards) seeing additional information or notifying of jury duty status.
Ensure accuracy of attendance by comparing to In-Court Clerk’s count and print daily financial ‘case reimbursement sheets’ for each day Jurors are reporting in.
Shred outdated records pursuant to archival standards set by the State.
Performs other duties as assigned.

Benefits

Health Care Benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, Basic Life and Basic LTD)
Retirement Benefits
Paid Vacation
Paid Holidays
Paid Sick Leave
Medical, Dental, Prescription and Vision Coverage
Basic Life and Long-Term Disability Insurance Coverage
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Health Reimbursement Account (HRA- VEBA)
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
Voluntary Benefits – vision, term life, critical illness, disability and other insurance plans
Washington State Retirement Plan (DRS)
457 Deferred Compensation Program (DCP)