Administrative Clerk

Overview of the Position The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York is a mission driven workplace that values professional growth and exceptional public service. Whether you are beginning your journey in public service or advancing an established career, the court offers a rewarding environment, benefits, and a schedule that supports work life balance. Candidates who wish to grow professionally within a court environment are strongly encouraged to apply. This position is located in the Clerk’s Office of the U.S. District Courthouse in White Plains, New York. The incumbent selected to fill this position will report to the Assistant to the Clerk and provide clerical and administrative assistance to the White Plains Record Room, Pro Se Intake Unit, and Finance Unit at the White Plains District Court. This is a unique position that spans multiple units within the Court. In the White Plains Record Room, the incumbent will be responsible for retrieving, sorting, scanning, copying, and filing documents, as well as receiving, screening, documenting, and distributing mail. For the Pro Se Intake Unit, the primary duties will involve answering routine inquiries via email, telephone, and in person, accepting documents from pro se litigants for filing, performing preparation of mailings/service packages, along with performing data entry in multiple systems. In the Finance Unit, the focus will be on processing financial transactions, maintaining required records, and ensuring strict accuracy while adhering to relevant policies, regulations, protocols, and internal controls. This position involves heavy public contact and requires considerable tact and patience. This list of responsibilities is not exhaustive and may include additional duties as assigned. This position will require occasional travel to the 500 Pearl Street Court House. This position is ineligible for telework. Duties and Responsibilities: The incumbent selected to fill this position will: Operate a variety of copying, scanning, and records equipment. Answer and route incoming calls. Assist the public in use of computerized databases. Provide basic information to public, bar, and the court. Process prisoner form requests. Ensure data quality. Sort, classify, and file case records. Maintain integrity of the filing system by such means as monitoring proper access to records and maintaining timely and accurate filing of documents. Retrieve files and make copies of records for court personnel, attorneys, and others. Certify court documents. Create and process new case files. Open and close cases in the case management system, based on required documents and/or entries. Assist with entry of various other case documents on the docket. Check for prior or prohibited filing. Monitor for release of exhibits and sealed documents. Verify and issue summons. Verify attorney’s authority to practice. Inform customers of required fees. Receive payments and issue receipts. Secure funds in cash register. Reconcile receipts and post to the appropriate fund/case account. Scan, copy, file, pickup, sort, and process mail. Process e-mail received from electronic filers. Receive and stamp incoming documents. Maintain court files. Perform other duties as assigned. Qualifications To be considered for a CL 24, applicants must be a high school graduate, or equivalent and must have at least one year of specialized experience. The position requires excellent written and oral communication skills, strong interpersonal skills, computer literacy and knowledge of legal terminology. The incumbent must be punctual and maintain good time and attendance. *Specialized work experience attained in other governmental and private sector positions may be creditable, but that experience must be evaluated to determine whether the level of experience is equivalent to work at the specified CL. All internal applicants requesting review of work experience outside the federal judiciary as part of the qualification process, please contact Human Resources. Internal applicants who are permanent employees must be in their current position for one year to apply. Preferred Qualifications: A college degree, high proficiency in Microsoft Excel, and Acrobat Adobe; knowledge of legal terminology are all highly desirable qualifications. General Experience Court Operations: Knowledge of or the ability to learn court operations, functions, and organizational structure. Basic understanding of court documents. Ability to use the court automated case management system in order to obtain or research information needed to perform duties. IT and Automation: Knowledge and skill in the use of automated equipment including MS Outlook, Word and Excel applications. The applicant is expected to use multiple web-based applications and maintain judiciary privacy and security requirements. Judgment and Ethics: Ability to consistently demonstrate sound ethics and judgment, maintain court confidentiality and security requirements, and comply with the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees. Written and Oral Communication: Must have excellent interpersonal skills and be able to effectively communicate (orally and in writing) to individuals and groups to provide financial information and reports in understandable format. Ability to interact professionally with a wide variety of stakeholders, providing exceptional customer service and resolving difficulties while complying with regulations, rules, and procedures. Ability to provide and exchange accurate and timely information with individuals within and outside the court. Finance: Some knowledge of accounting practices, procedures, internal controls, and separation of duties. Some knowledge of financial accounts and how to use automated systems to perform day‐to‐day activities. Must be able to maintain complete and highly accurate records and files. Skill and accuracy in working with numerical calculations. Excellent organization skills, the ability to respond to requests on short notice, and the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines. Must exercise flexibility. Specialized Experience Progressively responsible clerical or administrative experience requiring the regular and recurring application of clerical procedures that demonstrate the ability to apply a body of rules, regulations, directives, or laws and involve the routine use of specialized terminology and automated software and equipment for word processing, data entry or report generation. Such experience is commonly encountered in law firms, legal counsel offices, banking and credit firms, educational institutions, social service organizations, insurance companies, real estate and title offices, and corporate headquarters or human resources/payroll operations. Employee Benefits 11 Paid Holidays Group Life Insurance Retirement Benefits Plan (FERS) Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Flexible Spending Accounts Transit Subsidy Program (pursuant to eligibility requirements) On-site fitness center Employee assistance Program (EAP) Mandatory enrollment in electronic funds transfer (EFT) for net pay Multiple positions may be filled from this vacancy,Starting salary for non-federal employees: $52,678-$65,855 depending on work experience qualifications. Conditions of Employment: Applicants must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents seeking U.S. citizenship. In order to be compensated with appropriated funds for a position within the continental United States, applicants must be: (2) Lawful permanent resident (i.e., green card holder) who is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. §1324b(a)(3)(B). Note:Some noncitizen applicants who are permanent residents may not yet be eligible to apply for citizenship at the time they begin. Such individuals may still lawfully be employed if they provide an affidavit indicating that they intend to apply for citizenship when they become eligible to do so. Employees of the U.S. District Court are not included in the government’s Civil Service classification and are at-will employees. All employees, interns and volunteers are required to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees available for public review on the USCourts.gov website. The successful candidate for this position is subject to a Background check investigation for sensitive clearance. This position is subject to mandatory electronic funds transfer for payment of net pay. *All internal applicants will receive an email confirming receipt of their application. If confirmation is not received within two days after the vacancy closes, please contact Human Resources. The Southern District of New York values diversity and is committed to inclusion in the workplace. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals and seek a diverse pool of applicants. The Southern District of New York is devoted to providing an environment that supports internal career development and advancement. Application Info To be considered for this position, please submit your: Resume detailing your education and work experience. A cover letter. The cover letter must indicate the position for which you are applying, including the vacancy number, and identify how your education and/or experience relate to the duties and responsibilities of the position. Only applications submitted via email will be accepted. It is preferred for the applications to be submitted in a single PDF document, and for candidates to include the vacancy number and position title in the subject field of the email containing the application. Applications submitted as zip files, cloud files and/or links will not be accepted. Applications that do not conform to the above procedures will not be considered. Only candidates selected for the testing process will be contacted. The federal Judiciary is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. #J-18808-Ljbffr