Investigator 1/2/3 (02-1330)

Full Job Description

This position is open to Alaska Residents only. Please check our residency definition to determine if you qualify.

What You Will Be Doing

Investigators perform investigations on behalf of the Agency in criminal and civil cases of varying complexity, assist with trial preparation, and work with colleagues to maintain effective office operations.

Investigators are tasked with reviewing police reports, witness statements, and all manner of evidence in support of Agency attorneys.

You will conduct interviews of clients, witnesses, and forensic experts, prepare and serve subpoenas, collect evidence, and prepare reports.

Our Organization, Mission, and Culture

The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel in many types of cases and the Public Defender Agency is appointed by the Court to represent people who are unable to afford counsel on their own.

Investigators play an integral part of providing that representation and protecting our client’s rights.

Investigators are responsible for gathering and preparing evidence for use in trial and collaborate with attorneys to formulate defense strategies.

Their work is fundamental to the success of our Agency and our ability to serve the needs of our clients.

The Benefits of Joining Our Team

Investigators have the opportunity to utilize and acquire a wide range of investigative skills while working to improve outcomes for Agency clients. You will join a team of professionals, committed to public service and protecting the constitutional rights of all Alaskans.

Your first 12 months in the Agency are probationary and considered a training period, with formal and on-the-job training with your supervisor and your colleagues.

This is a flexibly staffed position which means that it can be filled at either the 1, 2, or 3 level, depending on the applicant's training and experience. If the position is filled at the lower level, the employee will be assigned increasingly complex cases to develop their skills and knowledge to perform at the higher level. Once the employee hired at the lower level demonstrates proficiency at the higher level and meets the minimum qualifications, they will be promoted to the higher range.

The Working Environment You Can Expect

The office is located in downtown Anchorage near the Nesbett and Boney courthouses. The hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM with an hour lunch at noon.

The position primarily supports trial attorneys within the Statewide section handling cases in multiple jurisdictions across Alaska, as such, this position travels frequently.

Requirements

Competency Based Minimum Qualifications Instructions

This job class uses competency based minimum qualifications.Please ensure your application (through work history, volunteer experience (duties summary), training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports how you have gained the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors (competencies) and that you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class.

Competency Description

The competency description(s) listed below have been designed to promote a common understanding of the essential elements of the job class.

They highlight the more general and customary knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), tasks, and behaviors used to describe the competency.

They typically list expectations, as opposed to specific tasks, and are to be used only as parameters and guidelines.

A competency’s description is not intended to exclusively define every KSA, task, and behavior needed to successfully meet the competency, but rather to provide the manager/agency with a broad reference of options as to how an applicant can meet the job expectation.

Investigator 1
Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in

• Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving: uses a logical, systematic, sequential approach to address problems or opportunities or manage a situation by drawing on one’s knowledge and experience base and calling on other references and resources as necessary.
• Attention to Detail: Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
• Integrity/Honesty: Contributes to maintaining the integrity of the organization; displays high standards of ethical conduct and understands the impact of violating these standards on an organization, self, and others; is trustworthy.
• Law: Knowledge of State and federal laws, including legal and court procedures, regulations, guidelines, precedents, admissibility of evidence, case preparation, and/or settlements for applicable areas of law practiced or supported
• Oral and Written Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral and written presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

Equivalent to those typically gained by:
Investigator 2
A completed Investigator Flex 1 Training Plan
OR
Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in

• Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving: uses a logical, systematic, sequential approach to address problems or opportunities or manage a situation by drawing on one’s knowledge and experience base and calling on other references and resources as necessary.
• Integrity/Honesty: Contributes to maintaining the integrity of the organization; displays high standards of ethical conduct and understands the impact of violating these standards on an organization, self, and others; is trustworthy.
• Interpersonal Skills: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.

Investigation: Knowledge of the guidelines, regulations, and procedures associated with investigation, including interviewing, evidence detection, locating, gathering, and handling, and drawing appropriate factual inferences and conclusions.

Provide oral or written reports of findings. Presenting evidence and providing testimony.

• Law: Knowledge of State and federal laws, including legal and court procedures, regulations, guidelines, precedents, admissibility of evidence, case preparation, and/or settlements for applicable areas of law practiced or supported.

Equivalent to those typically gained by:
Investigator 3
Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in

• Accountability: Holds self and others accountable for measurable high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results. Determines objectives, sets priorities, and delegates work. Accepts responsibility for own actions and decisions. Complies with established control systems and rules.
• Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving: uses a logical, systematic, sequential approach to address problems or opportunities or manage a situation by drawing on one’s knowledge and experience base and calling on other references and resources as necessary.
• Integrity/Honesty: Contributes to maintaining the integrity of the organization; displays high standards of ethical conduct and understands the impact of violating these standards on an organization, self, and others; is trustworthy.

Investigation: Knowledge of the guidelines, regulations, and procedures associated with investigation, including interviewing, evidence detection, locating, gathering, and handling, and drawing appropriate factual inferences and conclusions.

Provide oral or written reports of findings. Presenting evidence and providing testimony.

• Law: Knowledge of State and federal laws, including legal and court procedures, regulations, guidelines, precedents, admissibility of evidence, case preparation, and/or settlements for applicable areas of law practiced or supported.

Equivalent to those typically gained by:Definitions:
“Competencies” means a combination of interrelated knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors that enable a person to act effectively in a job or situation.

“Typically gained by” means the prevalent, usual method of gaining the competencies expected for entry into the job.

“Training” and “education” in this guidance are synonyms for the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through instruction. It includes instruction through
formal and informal methods (such as classroom, on-line, self-study, and on-the-job), from accredited and unaccredited sources, and long-duration (such as a post-secondary degree) and short-duration (such as a seminar) programs.

“Progressively responsible” means indicating growth and/or advancement in complexity, difficulty, or level of responsibility.

Special Note:
Some positions in this class may require eligibility for commission as a Special Officer with the State of Alaska as a condition of hire.

Some positions require applicants pass a background investigation, which includes a criminal record check for conviction of felony or misdemeanor crimes, as a prerequisite to employment.

Some positions require incumbents possess an Alaska driver's license and operate a motor vehicle.

Qualifications

Please read the below information carefully. This applies to your application submission.

THIS RECRUITMENT IS FOR ALASKA RESIDENTS ONLY

Please be sure to check our residency definition to determine if you qualify.

At time of interview, please be prepared to provide:

• College transcripts (if using education to meet the minimum qualifications)
• Three professional references, two who have had supervisory experience over you, including current email and/or daytime phone number

ACOMS Clearance

Due to the nature of the work of the Public Defender Agency and access to ACOMS at the workplace, the individual who is selected for this position will be required to pass a background investigation and may be re-fingerprinted. Full disclosure of ALL past criminal convictions (both misdemeanor and felony including suspended impositions of sentence) at the time of application is required. Convictions may lead to disqualification due to the requirements necessary to access these systems.

EDUCATION If post-secondary education is required to meet the minimum qualifications, you must fill in the Education section of the application.

If you have not obtained a degree, please indicate the number of units completed.

Copies of transcripts are required to verify educational credentials if used to meet the minimum qualifications for a position.

Transcripts can be attached at the time of application or within 48 hours of the close of this recruitment to the contact person listed below.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above requirements, if applicable.

If utilizing this education you must show that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S.

education programs; or an accredited U.S.

state university reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas applicable to the curricula at the state university.

It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying.

WORK EXPERIENCE If using work experience not already documented in your application, also provide the employer’s name, your job title, dates of employment, and whether full-or part-time.

Applications will be reviewed to determine if the responses are supported and minimum qualifications are clearly met.

If they are not, the applicant may not advance to the interview and selection phase of the recruitment.

NOTE: Attaching a resume or curriculum vitae is not an alternative to filling out the application in its entirety.

Noting "see resume or CV" or any similar response on any portion of your application may lead to a determination your application is incomplete and removal from consideration for this job posting.

APPLICATION NOTICE You can ONLY apply for this position through the Workplace Alaska website or via hardcopy application.

If you accessed this recruitment bulletin through a job search portal such as AlaskaJobs or any other database, you MUST use a Workplace Alaska online or hardcopy application to successfully apply.

Instructions on how to apply with Workplace Alaska may be found on the Workplace Alaska "How to Apply" webpage, found here: http://doa.alaska.gov/dop/workplace/help/

EEO STATEMENT

The State of Alaska complies with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Individuals with disabilities, who require accommodation, auxiliary aides or services, or alternative communication formats, please call 1-800-587-0430 or (907) 465-4095 in Juneau or TTY: Alaska Relay 711 or 1-800-770-8973 or correspond with the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations at: P.O.

Box 110201, Juneau, AK 99811-0201. The State of Alaska is an equal opportunity employer.

NOTICE

If you choose to be contacted by email, please ensure your email address is correct on your application and that the spam filter will permit email from the ‘govermentjobs.com’ domains.

For information on allowing emails from the ‘governmentjobs.com’ domains, visit the Lost Password Help page located at https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword.

WORKPLACE ALASKA APPLICATION QUESTIONS & ASSISTANCE

Questions regarding application submission or system operation errors should be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 1-800-587-0430 (toll free) or (907) 465-4095 if you are located in the Juneau area. Requests for information may also be emailed to recruitment.services@alaska.gov.

For applicant password assistance please visit: https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword

Additional Information

Gina Robinson

Head of Investigations

gina.robinson@alaska.gov