Administrative Investigator

Travis County

  • Austin, TX
  • $58,113 per year
  • Training
  • Part-time
  • 2 months ago
Job SummaryAre you looking for career opportunities that provide top-notch benefits including paid vacation and sick leave, parental leave, outstanding health, vision, and dental insurance, a free health clinic for you and your dependents, a generous retirement plan, and much more? Then bring your talents to Travis County!Performs professional duties in investigation of allegations of suspected violations of criminal statutes and possible legal defenses to and mitigation against those allegations and use their findings to provide information to help guide the course and outcome of client representation. The Travis County District Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit was recently awarded a grant to review over 100 murder convictions to determine whether or not the conviction was based on an unreliable confession. The grant came about due to the Unit's work on another old case from the 1990s. The TCDA recently discovered that a previous investigation into Austin Police Department Homicide Unit uncovered a pattern and practice of coercing false confessions during the late 1980s and early 1990s. This grant position will be reviewing past homicide cases from that era and working in partnership with the Texas Innocence Project to determine whether there have been wrongful convictions as a result of false or coerced confessions.The grant is for an attorney, investigator, and office specialist.This is a grant-funded position ending on September 30, 2025, with possibility of renewal. This grant position will work in partnership with our current CIU staff.Previous post-conviction, CIU, or innocence work preferred. Previous defense work litigating false confessions or knowledge of the current state of the law on false confessions preferred. The Travis County Conviction Integrity Unit, under District Attorney Garza has litigated a number of wrongful convictions over the last three years, including: , , and . The CIU is committed to ensuring that justice is served for all of Travis County.Distinguishing CharacteristicsThis job is in the Court Services job family. It is distinguished from the Investigator job in that it does not require TCOLE certification. Requires working irregular hours and/or occasionally traveling out of town/state and stay overnight as individual investigations demand.Duties and Responsibilities
  • Plans and conducts complete investigations of criminal allegations and circumstances of clients lived experiences. Identifies, evaluates and collects information, data and evidence. Visits scenes, develops leads, contacts and sources of information and interviews clients. Locates and interviews witnesses, complainants, family members, law enforcement officials, representatives of agencies and others across a wide variety of settings to gather statements and information on events surrounding allegations and/or relevant mitigating circumstances. Serves subpoenas, takes photographs and measurements; and collects and evaluates physical and testimonial evidence.
  • Presents orally and in writing findings of investigation and discusses and consults with attorney and other members of the defense team. Maintains complete and accurate records of investigative activities. Prepares written reports and statements. Draws diagrams to scale. Prepares demonstrative evidence for use in proceedings related to allegations such as diagrams, charts, and photographs.
  • Appears as a witness in proceedings related to the criminal allegations to present facts and information discovered during investigation, including facts and information relevant to legal defenses to and mitigation against the allegations.
  • All other duties as required.
Minimum RequirementsEducation and Experience:
Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Criminal Justice, Forensics, Sociology, Political Science, Psychology, Journalism, History or related field. Verifiable training or work/internship experience (cumulative minimum of 300 hours) performing investigative duties or intensive research in the field of law, media/journalism, public health/welfare, human/civil rights, education, social sciences, public policy/government/community development or related field.OR,
Four years of verifiable experience as a licensed investigator or licensed administrative investigator. Experience must include performing investigative work in connection with administrative, juvenile petitions, criminal and/or civil crimes, complaints and/or violations.OR,
Any combination of education and experience that has been achieved and is equivalent to the stated education and experience and required knowledge, skills, and abilities sufficient to successfully perform the duties and responsibilities of this job.Licenses, Registrations, Certifications, or Special Requirements:
Valid driver's license.
Must be at least 21 years of age.Preferred:
Ability to fluently speak and write in Spanish.
Mission-aligned experience (work or lived) engaging people/communities directly impacted by the criminal/immigration/indigent civil legal systems.Knowledge of:
  • Departmental purpose and mission.
  • Interviewing and investigative techniques and procedures.
  • Elements of criminal/civil offenses and legal defenses.
  • General rules of evidence.
  • Laws and practices relating to the service of subpoenas and the treatment of witnesses.
  • Ethical standards.
Skill in:
  • Critical analysis and evaluation.
  • Clear written and oral communication.
  • Basic data analysis.
  • General computing, word processing, and data entry.
  • Use of measuring devices and/or film/digital photographic equipment.
  • Organization and time management.
  • Socially and culturally competent interaction with people from a wide variety of backgrounds, professions, and cultures, including people from marginalized communities.
Ability to:
  • Recognize, collect, gather, and preserve evidence, including taking witness statements.
  • Be objective in fact finding.
  • Evaluate and analyze evidence, including forensic or scientific evidence, against elements of criminal offenses and legal defenses.
  • Determine priorities and importance of various types of evidence.
  • Quickly and consistently exercise sound judgment.
  • Adapt to many different environments.
  • Communicate effectively across lines of difference with others.
  • Keep accurate records.
  • Prepare written reports and documents of varying lengths.
  • Navigate databases and access Internet resources.
Work Environment & Other InformationPhysical requirements include the ability to lift/carry up to 50 pounds occasionally, visual acuity, speech and hearing, hand and eye coordination and manual dexterity necessary to operate a computer and office equipment. Subject to standing, walking, sitting, repetitive motion, reaching, climbing stairs, driving, bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, pushing, pulling, balancing, client/customer contact, squatting to perform the essential functions.Travis County employees play an important role in business continuity. As such, employees can be assigned to business continuity efforts outside of normal job functions.This job description is intended to be generic in nature. It is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. The essential duties, functions and responsibilities and overtime eligibility may vary based on the specific tasks assigned to the position.Work Hours: 8 AM - 5 PM; Monday through Friday.Location: 416 W. 11th Street, Austin, Texas 78701Department: District AttorneyCriminal Background Check, Education, and Employment History Check Required.Benefits
Employment at Travis County comes with a full array of benefits. We offer comprehensive health insurance, a no-cost, on-site Health and Wellness clinic, longevity pay, paid vacations, sick time and personal holidays, not to mention an industry competitive salary structure and a friendly, stable work environment.FY2023 Travis County Benefit GuideIn this valuable you will find benefit summaries, eligibility requirements, costs, contact numbers and addresses as well as other general information on the benefits available to Travis County Employees and Retirees.Credit Union
Employees may join the Travis County Credit Union which offers low-interest loans, savings plans through payroll deduction, safe deposit boxes and other benefits.Deferred Compensation
Employees may enroll in a tax- free sheltered investment plan through payroll deduction.Direct Deposit
Employees may sign up for direct bank deposit.Employee Assistance Program
Travis County provides a confidential counseling and referral service free of charge to county employees and their family.Employee Organizations
Membership in the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Union is available through payroll deduction.Employee Health & Wellness Clinic
Employees may access the clinic for a variety of wellness program and health care services with no co-pay, no deductible and no co-insurance costs.Holidays
An average of eleven paid holidays are designated by the Travis County Commissioners Court at the beginning of each fiscal year.Longevity
Longevity pay is paid for each year completed after three years of continuous service. Peace Officers in a law enforcement activity, whose job requires state peace officer certification, receive pay after one year of certification.Parking
A limited number of assigned parking spaces are available to employees in the Courthouse Complex.Personal Holidays
Regular, full-time employees are eligible for up to three paid personal holidays each calendar year. Part-time employees shall be granted personal holidays on a prorated basis. New employees earn personal holidays for the calendar year in which he/she begins employment, based on the month in which employment begins:January - March3 personal holidaysApril - June2 personal holidays
July - September1 personal holidayOctober - DecemberNone
New employees are eligible to take personal holidays after 90 days of employment.Retirement
Travis County is a member of the Texas County & District Retirement System with mandatory participation by certain classes of employees. Matching of two hundred twenty-five (225%) and a seven percent (7%) of the gross salary is deducted each pay period. An employee is fully vested after eight years of service. Benefits are prorated for part-time employees.Sick Leave
Regular employees earn sick leave at a rate of eight hours per month with unlimited accrual during employment. Part-time employees earn sick leave on a pro-rated basis.Parental Leave
Each Full-time Paid Parental Leave Eligible (PPL) Employee is entitled to a total of 320 hours of Paid Parental Leave in a 12 month period. Paid Parental Leave for Part-time PPL Eligible Employees is prorated based on the number of hours that they are regularly scheduled to work.Tuition Refund
Certain classes of full-time employees may receive reimbursement for fees associated with pre-approved, job related course work completed satisfactorily.Vacation
Based on years of county service, regular, full-time employees earn vacation time at the following rates:0 to 5 years4.0 hours per pay period6 to 10 years4.5 hours per pay period11 to 15 years5.0 hours per pay period16 to 20 years5.5 hours per pay period21 plus years6.0 hours per pay period
Part-time employees earn vacation leave on a pro-rated basis.Workers' Compensation
The county provides all employees workers' compensation coverage with benefits in accordance with state statute, if the employee sustains an injury out of, or in the course of work.

Travis County