Duties
The ADD reports to the Deputy Director for the Education Division. This position requires occasional overnight travel (approximately 15-20 days per year), and advance notice is given when travel is required.
WHO WE ARE:
The PPSE group is composed of six people (including the ADD) and is one of five groups within the FJC Education Division (the others are Executive Education, Judicial & Legal Education, Multimedia Production, and Management and Professional Development Education). The division is a mix of educators, who serve as program managers responsible for program planning, design, development, and delivery, and program coordinators, who handle the administrative, financial, and logistical aspects of our programs. PPSE develops, delivers, and evaluates professional education programs for U.S. probation and pretrial services officers and their federal court system stakeholders. Our team members serve as trainers and facilitators alongside other faculty, such as U.S. probation and pretrial services officers, judges and court staff, and professors and other subject matter experts.
The PPSE mission guides our work:
We believe transformative education and training are essential to the administration of justice. We use proven instructional methods to inform, engage, and inspire the people we serve to reach individual and organizational excellence.
We consult with a probation and pretrial services education advisory committee comprised of U.S. probation and pretrial services officers in various roles. The committee suggests education needs and relevant topics, advises on priorities, assists with program execution, and helps to guide our efforts. Our programs include virtual workshops and webinars, multi-day in-person skill-building sessions, and regular coaching calls and follow-up. PPSE members respond to training requests from courts, probation offices, and other related organizations.
Our strengths as a group include:
- A passion to serve U.S. probation and pretrial services officers with relevant and meaningful education and resources
- A commitment to following the evidence to identify and meet our learners' needs, including understanding the nuances of their roles, the impact on the clients they serve, and the evolution of their professional development and growth
- Dedication to providing holistic programs tailored for our clients that lead to meaningful and lasting behavior change
- A strong sense of internal motivation and a predisposition toward action
- Adaptability
- Creativity
Collectively, we are a group of experienced professionals. Individually, we represent diverse backgrounds and viewpoints. The Center's current average employee tenure is almost 14 years. We believe people come here and stay because the mission is vital to our nation, the work is challenging and meaningful, the clients are engaged and supportive, and the culture is positive.
WHO YOU ARE:
We are looking for a visionary leader and exemplary manager to guide us into the future with a continued emphasis on excellence, innovation, and impartiality in our competency-based programming. The ideal candidate is comfortable in the roles of leader, manager, teacher, facilitator, diplomat, advisor, and problem-solver.
We seek a leader who can perform in the following ways:
- Support us in achieving our mission
- Assess how effectively we are meeting the educational needs of our constituents
- Collaborate with us to maintain our high standards for quality
- Enhance our operations to run as smoothly as possible
- Juggle responsibilities and help the group (individually and collectively) do the same
- Value and grow our skills and capacity (individually and collectively)
- Engage and exchange ideas with the team and amplify good ideas
- Collaborate with others in the FJC, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the federal courts, and various academic institutions
Requirements
Conditions of employment
KEY REQUIREMENTS:
The Federal Judicial Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to achieving a professional and collegial workplace in which everyone is valued and treated fairly and respectfully.
Qualifications
MANDATORY QUALIFICATIONS:
- Education
- An advanced degree in law, criminal justice, or a closely related social science or experience at a level that would substitute for such a degree is required.
- Experience
- Some combination of seven years of teaching, designing, and hosting educational programming
- Knowledge of and demonstrated commitment to applying the principles of adult education to create engaging, useful, lasting learning experiences
- Minimum of three years in a supervisory capacity
- Skills
- Excellence in managing projects, people, and resources
- Exceptional emotional intelligence, collaboration, and interpersonal skills
- Strong writing and public speaking skills
- Values
- Integrity, honesty, impartiality, discretion
- Respect, diversity in its many forms, fairness, inclusion, collaboration, and collegiality
- Growth, feedback, clarity, openness, and transparency
- Excellence, curiosity, and innovation
- Wellness and resilience at the organizational and individual levels
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS:
In addition to the mandatory qualifications, you're a strong candidate for this position if you possess a collection of some of the knowledge, skills, experience, and characteristics listed below. The list represents a range of possible qualifications, not a checklist that must be met. A strong candidate for this position can demonstrate proficiency in some combination of these areas:
- Management Ability
- Ability to work cooperatively, collaboratively, and respectfully with people inside and outside the organization
- Experience recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and providing training and professional development opportunities
- Experience managing a team with multiple direct reports in on-site and remote environments
- Experience developing, mentoring, and coaching group members
- Experience assessing and improving the quality and utility of educational programs and resources, the processes for creating them, and the performance of faculty and staff who deliver them
- Experience accomplishing goals within budget constraints and/or budget uncertainty
- Ability to set clear goals and guide the team to excel
- Experience building collaboration to boost productivity and success
- Diplomatic skills to successfully navigate internal and external relationships
- Organizational Culture
- Experience working in the courts or familiarity with the workings of the judiciary, preferably at the federal level doing probation and pretrial services work
- Experience working in law, the courts, or law enforcement (e.g., as a U.S. probation or pretrial services officer, defender, prosecutor, investigator, law enforcement agent/officer, etc.), preferably at the federal level
- Experience coordinating and collaborating with judicial branch agencies, professional associations, and other stakeholders to advance continuing education goals for a shared professional audience
- Success working in a hierarchical environment where smart, talented high achievers serve other smart, talented high achievers
- Experience organizing and facilitating problem-solving and decision-making meetings
- Education Acumen
- A degree or certificate in adult education, instructional design, or similar
- Substantial experience developing and implementing training needs assessments using a variety of methods
- Skill in using a competency-based curriculum to design and deliver education
- Experience with and commitment to applying the principles of adult education to create engaging, useful, lasting learning in both in-person and virtual environments
- Experience measuring learning transfer for training programs in both the short and long term
- Proficiency with educational technology used to design, develop, deliver, and assess training
- Experience leveraging high- and low-tech tools to enhance and streamline processes, services, and programs
- Ability to balance pedagogical needs, financial and staff constraints, and other relevant considerations to determine the optimal delivery method for content
- Ability to think creatively about adult education in the judiciary context and support experimentation with new approaches
- Experience with performing the logistics, planning, execution, and project management aspects of in-person and online training
Education
An advanced degree in law, criminal justice, or a closely related social science or experience at a level that would substitute for such a degree is required.
Additional information
SALARY AND BENEFITS:
The starting salary is set at $152,291 (includes 2026 D.C. locality). This position falls in the Center's pay band 6, which has a salary range up to $229,908. For a successful candidate not currently a member of the Center's staff, a higher starting salary not to exceed $182,749 (includes 2026 D.C. locality) may be considered if the candidate furnished proof that their current salary falls above the pay band 6 minimum salary of $152,291 (includes 2026 D.C. locality), in which case the Center would match that salary up to the starting salary limit of $182,749. This is the maximum starting salary, and it is non-negotiable. If the successful internal candidate's salary falls above the range minimum, that salary will be matched up to their current salary.
The Federal Judicial Center offers a range of telework and flexible work schedule options based on the employee's position categorization. When business needs arise, all Center employees are required to work at the official duty station in Washington, D.C., or at a temporary duty station. The Center does not pay for relocation expenses; however, Center employees receive reimbursement for all official business travel.
This position does not carry the tenure rights of positions in the competitive civil service.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Federal government benefits are applicable. An array of supplemental benefits is also offered, including a transportation subsidy and a flexible benefit program allowing for pre-tax deductions for health insurance, health care, dependent care, and commuter expenses. The Center is in the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building (TMFJB), conveniently situated to public transportation directly beside Union Station. The TMFJB houses a child development center, a health fitness facility, and a cafeteria for its tenants.