Details
 

02/04/2020

Position Available: Official Court Reporter

United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
February 3, 2020
Vacancy Announcement Number - 20-03

Official Court Reporter - Certified Realtime Reporter (Full-Time Permanent)
Duty Station – Cincinnati Courthouse – 100 East Fifth Street – one vacancy

Salary & Appointment Level:  Dependent upon qualifications and experience
Level 3 - $93,568 (CRR)
Level 4 - $97,822 (CRR & RMR)
*Level 5 - $102,075 (current Federal Judiciary Court Reporters hired before 10/11/2009 only)
Plus, Authorized Transcript Fees
Appointment Level 3 has future promotion potential to Level 4 without further advertisement

Closing Date for receipt of application packets: Monday, February 24, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.

Qualified applicants must submit an applicant packet which includes: a letter of interest, a current/detailed resume, an Application for Judicial Branch Federal Employment (form AO 78, available on the court website), and a copy of the merit certificate and realtime certificate. The Continuing Education Transcript Report is not an accepted substitution for copies of the certificates of merit and realtime. 

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio is seeking applicants for an Official Court Reporter – Certified Realtime Reporter position. Official Court Reporters report directly to the Operations Manager and to the District Judge to whom the court reporter is primarily assigned. Official Court Reporters serve the Court en banc and not a particular Judge. However, it is the Court’s objective to have one Official Court Reporter assigned primarily to the work for each district judge. Official Court Reporters must adhere to the requirements of the Judicial Conference of the United States, and the Court Reporter’s Manual published by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. This position involves attending and recording verbatim reporting of proceedings, completing record-keeping forms, documenting the information contained in reports, as well as maintaining and safeguarding records until their disposition according to the statutory requirements and Judicial Conference policy.

ABOUT THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO: The Southern District of Ohio covers a broad geographic area encompassing forty-eight urban and rural counties from just north of Columbus south to the Ohio River. The District is comprised of over 260 individuals including twenty-five Judicial Officers, as well as Chambers staff, Clerk’s Office staff, U.S. Probation Office’s staff and U.S. Pretrial Services Office’s staff, located in the Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton Courthouses.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Technical and functional support duties will include: • Attending and recording verbatim reporting of proceedings held before the U.S. District Judges and Magistrate Judges and for the transcription of those proceedings upon request. • Ability to read back all or any portions of the court record, to perform well under pressure, to produce transcripts within strict time limitations, and to work as part of a team of reporters for the Judges of the Court. • Knowledge, skill and ability to produce accurate, simultaneous realtime transcription utilizing computer-aided translation. • Familiarity with and adherence to all requirements of the Court Reporter Management Plan for the District. • Determine billing and formats which comply with the Judicial Conference requirements. • Delivering and/or mailing prepared official transcripts. • Certifying and filing the original transcripts with the Clerk of Court. • Maintain accurate and legible records which are subject to audits. • Preparation and filing of all Administrative Office reports. • Responding timely to official correspondence. Compliance with all administrative duties assigned by his or her manager and the Court. • Responsible for providing and maintaining his or her own court compatible equipment and software, e.g. computer, a display writer, cable, realtime software. • Occasional travel within the District. • Work hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or at any time outside normal working hours as determined by the Court as stated in the Court Reporter Management Plan for the District.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered for this position: • Must be certified as having passed the National Court Reporters Associations Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR) examination, or successful completion of an equivalent examination. Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications in order to be considered for the position. • Candidate must possess at least four years of court reporting experience as a freelance reporter or as a court reporter, or a combination thereof, and must have passed the Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) Examination administered by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) or passed an equivalent qualifying examination such as the Certified Shorthand Reporter (CSR) Examination administered by NCRA, USCRA or DRA. • Skilled in the use of Computer-Aided Transcription (CAT). • Applicants must be capable of providing realtime reporting and will be expected to provide transcripts and/or realtime feed for Judges upon request, without charge. • Preference will be given to applicants holding a Certificate of Merit from the NCRA. • High school graduate or equivalent.

The successful applicant must have excellent communication, writing and interpersonal skills with the ability to work with others and have the ability to learn new technologies. The incumbent must be able to multitask, be highly self-motivated and proactive, and possess tact and good judgment. The ability to maintain confidentiality is essential.

Level 3 – Must have successfully completed the Certified Realtime Reporter exam offered by the NCRA or an equivalent exam.

Level 4 – Must possess a Registered Merit Reporter Certificate from the NCRA in addition to the requirement of Level 3.

*Level 5 – Federal Judiciary Court Reporters hired before and continuously employed since 10/11/2009, must have ten years of service in the federal courts in addition to the requirement Level 4.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: The successful candidate has experience in most of the following software applications currently utilized by the Court: Microsoft Office (Word & Excel), Adobe Acrobat, and Internet Explorer/Mozilla Firefox.

BENEFITS: Please review the extensive federal benefits on the United States Courts website here.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:  Visit the U.S. Courts website for citizenship requirements. Positions with the United States Courts are considered “at will” and are not subject to the employment regulations of competitive service. Positions in the Federal Judiciary are excepted service appointments, are considered “at will” and can be terminated with or without cause.

The applicant selected will be subject to an FBI background check and continued employment contingent upon favorable suitability determination. A negative finding from the background check may result in termination of employment. Employees are subject to the Judicial Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees.

All information provided by applicants is subject to verification. Applicants are advised that false statements or omission(s) of information on any application materials may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment or dismissal after being employed.

The Federal Financial Management Reform Act requires direct deposit of federal wages.

HOW TO APPLY: Qualified applicants should upload their documents using our HR Employment Application System found by clicking here.   Note: This system will not let you continue without uploading all documents. If you fail to provide these documents, your application package may be considered incomplete and may not be considered any further.

Travel and relocation expenses will not be reimbursed.

The District reserves the right to amend or withdraw any announcement without written notice to applicants. The District reserves the right to conduct interviews at any time prior to or after the closing date for receipt of applications. Only applicants selected to receive an interview will be notified by phone or e-mail.

In the event a position becomes vacant in a similar classification, within a reasonable time from the original announcement, the Clerk of Court may elect to select the next top-rated candidate from those who applied for the initial announcement without re-posting the position. This job announcement may involve filling more than one position described herein.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Values Diversity in the workplace.

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