Assistant Director of Information Technology

Whether launching or continuing a career in public service, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California offers a unique and rewarding opportunity. With competitive salaries and benefits, plus the chance to work with colleagues committed to fulfilling the important mission of administering justice fairly, efficiently, and effectively, this is an ideal environment for those passionate about public service. This position, Assistant Director of Information Technology (IT), provides an excellent opportunity to advance a career in federal court service.

The Assistant Director of IT leads the IT Administration function and reports to the Director of IT. The primary responsibility of the position is project management: building and running the department's project management practice and moving the IT portfolio from approval to completion. The Assistant Director supervises the managers of the Operations, Infrastructure, Development and Applications, and CM/ECF divisions, serves as the second-level escalation point for those divisions, and acts on the Director's behalf in the Director's absence. Information Security and Training and Adoption report directly to the Director. The incumbent will be required to travel to Oakland, San Jose, and McKinleyville locations.

Representative Duties 

• Establish and maintain the department's project management practice, including project intake and sizing, documentation standards, status reporting, change control, and post-implementation review.
• Develop project plans, lead project teams, and apply sound project management methods with staff. Track schedule, scope, budget, and risk across the IT portfolio and report status to the Director.
• Coordinate multi-site projects that affect courtrooms, chambers, and Clerk's Office operations, including courtroom audiovisual and hybrid hearing upgrades, network and facilities work, and application releases.
• Support the Director's work on the IT Committee and with court leadership by preparing agendas, options papers, and decision records.
• Assist the Director in developing the IT spending plan and allocating it across the project portfolio. Prepare budget justifications and cost estimates for proposed initiatives.
• Manage vendor coordination, procurement follow-through, maintenance agreements, software licensing, and invoice processing in coordination with the Court's Finance and Procurement staff. Track funding approvals for appropriate and non-appropriated fund (NAF) projects.
• Work with division managers to draft and maintain IT policies, procedures, and standards. Assist in managing the IT Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), including annual testing and plan updates.
• Supervise the managers of the Operations, Infrastructure, Development and Applications, and CM/ECF divisions. Assign and review work, set priorities and deadlines, evaluate performance, and recommend personnel actions.
• Serve as the second-level escalation point for operational issues. Resolve cross-division conflicts in priorities and staffing so that issues reach the Director only when they require the Director's decision.
• Coach and develop managers and staff. Support cross-training so that each function has coverage across the four locations.
• Work with the Information Security Officer to confirm that projects meet national and local IT security requirements and that remediation work is scheduled and completed.
• Act for the Director of IT in the Director's absence, including in meetings with judges, the IT Committee, court unit executives, and management teams.
• Explain technical matters clearly, orally and in writing, to judges, chambers staff, Clerk's Office staff, the bar, and the public.
• Remain current on judiciary IT initiatives and national programs from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) and the Ninth Circuit.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in information technology, information systems, business, or a related field. In lieu of a degree, seven years of progressively responsible experience in IT across multiple disciplines.
• At least five years of progressively responsible technical, managerial, or professional experience, including at least three years supervising IT staff or managers.
• Experience managing remote or hybrid staff, including staff working across multiple locations.
• Demonstrated experience leading IT projects from intake through completion, including project plans, schedules, status reporting, and change control.
• Experience in two or more of the following IT leadership functions: strategic planning, annual budget planning and management, procurement and vendor management, and policy development.
• Working knowledge of enterprise IT environments, including Windows Active Directory, Microsoft 365, LAN/WAN networking, virtualized servers, and IT security practices.
• Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear briefing materials for executives and judges.

Preferred Qualifications

• Federal court IT experience or IT management experience in a court or legal environment.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification or equivalent, and experience with Agile or hybrid project management methods.
• Experience establishing a project management office or project management practice, including portfolio reporting to executive leadership or a governing committee.
• Experience with federal or public-sector procurement, contract routing, and review of cloud and FedRAMP-authorized vendors.
• Experience with courtroom audiovisual systems and hybrid hearing technology, including Zoom.
• Familiarity with NextGen CM/ECF, national judiciary applications, and AO IT security requirements.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The U.S. District Court is part of the federal Judicial branch of government and is independent of the Executive and Legislative branches. The court sets its own employment policies including remote work and performance management, while also valuing employees' individualism and continuing to strive towards a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace.

Compensation will be set based on experience and qualifications pursuant to the policies and guidelines set forth in the Court Personnel System (CPS).
 
 Judicial Branch employees are "at will” employees and are not subject to the employment regulations of competitive service. However, judiciary employees are entitled to benefits.

INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS

The Court reserves the right to modify the conditions of this job announcement, or to withdraw the announcement without prior written or other notice.

Conditions of Employment

• FBI fingerprint check and background investigation. Employment is provisional and contingent on satisfactory completion of the background investigation.
• Adherence to a code of conduct.
• Mandatory direct deposit of federal wages.
• The Court is not authorized to reimburse travel expenses for interviews or relocation.

Interviewing Non-Citizens and Making Offers of Future Employment: Non-citizens may be interviewed and considered for employment, but employment offers will only be made to individuals who qualify under one of the exceptions in 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3)(B). In most cases, this means that an offer of employment cannot be made unless the candidate is a lawful permanent resident who is seeking U.S. citizenship as explained below.

Under 8 U.S.C. §1324b (a)(3)(B), a lawful permanent resident seeking citizenship may not apply for citizenship until he or she has been a permanent resident for at least five years (three years if seeking naturalization as a spouse of a citizen), at which point he or she must apply for citizenship within six months of becoming eligible, and must complete the process within two years of applying (unless there is a delay caused by the processors of the application).

Equal Focused Employer

We value diversity and are committed to equity and inclusion in our workplace. The Court encourages applications from all qualified individuals and seeks a diverse pool of applicants in terms of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, disability, religion, and socio-economic circumstance.

The court provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please notify the Human Resources Unit of the Clerk's Office at 415-522-2147. 

Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Applicants must submit the following:

1. Cover Letter

2. Resume

3. Three professional references.

How to Apply

• Submit the online application, with the documents listed above, at https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/uscourtscand.
• Provide all work history from the past ten years.
• Submit attachments as a Microsoft Word (DOC) or Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files. Other formats are not accepted.

Applications are considered complete when the online application and all required attachments, in the appropriate format, are received by the Human Resources Unit.