Chief Investigator, Public Defender's Office

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION. The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the last day for filing. Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires will only be accepted on-line.

THE DEPARTMENT

The Alameda County Public Defender's Office provides the highest quality of indigent criminal defense by vigorously advocating for the rights of individuals facing criminal charges in adult and juvenile court. Our mission is to zealously protect and defend the rights of clients through compassionate and inspired legal representation of the highest quality, in pursuit of a fair and unbiased system of justice for all. The Alameda County Office is one of the oldest Public Defender offices in the nation, chartered in 1927 by Earl Warren who later became Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Today, our team of more than 100 attorneys, 18 investigators and 40 support staff handle approximately 40,000 cases per year providing innovative, holistic defense services for Alameda County residents. In 2012, the office was named the "Best Law Firm" in the East Bay by the Alameda County Bar Association.

For additional info, please visit: http://www.acgov.org/defender/.

THE POSITION

Under direction of the Public Defender or Chief Assistant Public Defender, supervises the Investigation Division, plans, organizes and directs the investigative activities of the Public Defender's Office; establishes and maintains policies and standards for the Investigation Division, coordinates and advises all investigators in pretrial, pre-sentence, and post-conviction case investigations; and performs related work as required.   

For additional information on the position, please visit: Chief Investigator, Public Defender's Office.

Education:  

Possession of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.  

AND  

EITHER I  

Experience:  

The equivalent of two (2) years of recent full-time experience in the class of Senior Investigator, Public Defender’s Office in the Alameda County classified service.  

OR II  

Experience:  

The equivalent of six (6) years’ full time experience in the class of Public Defender Investigator III in the Alameda County classified service. One (1) year of cumulative experience must have been in a supervisory or administrative capacity or experience assigning cases and providing coordination and guidance.

OR III  

Experience:  

The equivalent of twelve (12) years’ recent full-time experience as a criminal field investigator in California preparing criminal cases for trial which must have included all of the following:  1) five (5) years of full-time field work experience in criminal defense investigations, including investigation on serious and violent felonies and one capital case investigation through penalty phase; and 2) the equivalent of three (3) years administrative and supervisory responsibility.

License:  

Possession of a current and clear California Motor Vehicle Operator's license.  

Physical Requirements:  

Hearing must be normal.  

Using both eyes, must have far vision of at least 20/100 without glasses, correctable to 20/20 with glasses. Must be free from color blindness and permanent abnormality in either eye.  

Must be able to squat, kneel, and twist; using accepted body mechanics for lifting heavy objects; must be able to lift 55 pounds.

Special Requirements:  

Willingness to work irregular hours as individual investigations demand.  

Must be at least 21 years of age.  

Must provide fingerprints for purposes of search of local, state, and national fingerprint files to disclose any criminal record.  

Any criminal record may result in disqualification.  

NOTE:    The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:.  

Knowledge of:

• Interviewing, interrogation, and investigative techniques and procedures.
• Practices and methods employed in criminal detection and criminal investigation.
• The elements of criminal offenses under California law.
• Laws of arrest, search and seizure case law, and rules of evidence.
• Laws relating to the service of subpoenas and the treatment of witnesses.
• Skip tracing techniques.
• Holistic defense and promoting client centered representation.
• Criminal procedures relevant to felony, misdemeanor, juvenile, and jury matters.
• The purposes and organization of the Public Defender’s Office.
• Judicial processes relevant to felony, misdemeanor, juvenile, and jury matters.
• Modern office practice Window-based computers including word processing software.
• Techniques employed in diagramming and making demonstrative evidence to be presented in court.
• Principles of public administration and personnel management.  

Ability to:

• Recognize, collect, gather, and preserve evidence.
• Be objective in fact finding.
• Evaluate evidence for a particular criminal offense.
• Determine priorities and importance of various types of evidence.
• Relate easily to, and gain the confidence of, many varied personalities.
• Adapt to many different environments.
• Recognize potentially hostile situations.
• Interview effectively and analytically.
• Evaluate the credibility of persons interviewed.
• Keep accurate records.
• Prepare articulate written reports and documents, concise or lengthy, as needed.
• Use laptop, personal computers, and word processing software.
• Learn computer programs, databases, and access Internet resources.
• Use measuring devices.
• Draw diagrams to scale.
• Use film and digital photographic equipment.
• Prepare demonstrative evidence for use in court, such as diagrams, charts, and photographs.
• Use computer presentations software.
• Manage time efficiently with frequent interruptions.
• Maintain a congenial attitude under stressful conditions.
• Maintain ethical and harmonious relationships with law enforcement and other governmental agencies.
• Maintain high professional standards and observe ethics of defense investigation.
• Maintain supervisorial structure and control of branch office investigative function.
• Train, supervise, and direct subordinate investigators.
• Gather, record, and report statistical data.
• Prepare annual reports.
• Implement efficient administrative controls.
• Implement policies and standards.
• Work harmoniously and cooperatively with the Public Defender and Chief Assistant.

The examination will consist of the following steps:

1. A review of candidates' application to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process.
2. A review of the supplemental questionnaire to determine the best qualified.
3. An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidates' final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

Candidates must attain a qualifying rating on each portion of this recruitment.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED EXAMINATION STEPS.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN

*If designated as a combined oral examination/hiring interview, in addition to establishing an eligibility list, the oral interviews may serve as the final selection interview for vacancies in this classification.

***WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN***

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

• Medical – HMO & PPO Plans
• Dental – HMO & PPO Plans
• Vision or Vision Reimbursement
• Share the Savings
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees)
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance 
• County Allowance Credit
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
• Short-Term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Floating Holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Management Paid Leave**
• Catastrophic Sick Leave
• Group Auto/Home Insurance
• Pet Insurance
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1^st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Notices will be sent from Noreply@jobaps.com . Please add @jobaps.com and Noreply@jobaps.com as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the 'My applications' button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box Noreply@jobaps.com are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the bulletin for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Tracy Gonzalez, Human Resources Analyst
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
510-272-5085; Email: Tracy.Gonzalez@acgov.org
www.acgov.org/hrs

Disaster Service Worker

All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law.  Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect.  Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

Equal Employment Opportunity 

Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve, and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.