Program Manager - Office of Access to Justice & Court User Experience

Official Title: Program Manager Office of Access to Justice & Court User Experience

Pay Grade: Management

Salary Range: MGT Entry Level Pay $91,356.20 to Pay Range Maximum $134,792.32

Starting Pay: $91,356.20

Salary Notes: This position is designated as a Management. Starting Salary will be based on a review of qualifications and experience.

Departmental Mission Statement: The Office of Access, Diversity and Fairness (OADF) is led by the Chief Access, Diversity and Fairness Officer (CADFO) and is tasked with the overall responsibility for the Courts policies and practices related to access, fairness, diversity, equity, and inclusion. The following six departments report to and are supervised by the CADFO: the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Office of Access to Justice and Court User Experience; Office of Court Services and Law Libraries; Office of Language Access; Office of Transcription Services, and Office of Alternative/Online Dispute Resolution Programs. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential components of dignified and respectful treatment. The creation of the OADF reflects The Trial Courts commitment to ensuring that court-involved individuals, whether they are parties to a case, victims, attorneys, jurors, or court employees, are treated with dignity and respect, and are given the information necessary to understand and navigate court systems, policies, and practices.

The Office of Access to Justice and Court User Experience (A2J Office) supports the Trial Court and the communities it serves by acting as a court wide information source for A2J related needs. Through partnership and collaboration with the Trial Court and community stakeholders, the A2J office seeks to improve the experience for court users by implementing, assessing, and making improvements to programs and initiatives designed to enhance access to justice.

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE :

Notes:

• This posting will remain open until filled; however, preference will be given to candidates that applied during the initial 14 day posting period.

Position Summary: As a core member of the team in the Office of Access to Justice and Court User Experience (A2J Office), the Program Manager is responsible for supporting and advancing the A2J Offices efforts in improving court usability and access. This involves collaborating with various Trial Court Departments and other court actors as well as engaging with community stakeholders. The Program Manager also supports the overall mission and initiatives of the Office of Access to Justice and Court User Experience. This position will work closely with all Massachusetts Trial Court Departments, offices within the Executive Office of the Trial Court, and other internal and external stakeholders. This position will have a strong focus on supporting trial court forms-related matters that aim to improve accessibility and usability for court users.

The ideal candidate will be a strong project manager with a background working on complex projects with multiple stakeholders that will effectively advance access to justice and DEI goals within the Trial Court. This role requires excellent communication, collaboration, and project management skills, as well as technological skills and an understanding of tools to enhance project workflow and analysis.

Supervision Received: Receives assignments and supervision from the Director of Justice Initiatives and Court User Experience or their designee. Performs duties that advance OADF and Office of Access to Justice and Court User Experience organizational priorities, in accordance with all established best practices.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

Support the Statewide Manager of Justice Initiatives on Trial Court forms-related matters including:

o Implementing development workflows of forms and self-help materials with stakeholders.
o Participating in the development of forms and self-help materials that adhere to Trial Court brand guidelines and standards.
o Managing projects related to Trial Court forms and self-help materials.
o Conducting end-stage testing of forms and self-help materials for compliance with Trial Court standards and state and federal rules. Presenting results to internal forms management team and departmental forms content creators.
o Assisting Statewide Manager of Justice Initiatives in training court personnel on form development, digital accessibility, and other programmatic work.
o Participating in the development of court user testing tools and tools to improve collection of internal and external feedback.
o Tracking user testing results and internal and external feedback on forms and self-help materials and assisting in the development of processes to incorporate feedback.
o Creating and maintaining a digital asset inventory and tagging structure of forms and related materials.
o Assisting the Statewide Manager of Justice Initiatives with preparing and managing digital accessibility audits on forms and self-help materials. Analyzing results and preparing internal reports.
o Maintaining a forms developer SharePoint site, including user roles and permissions.
o Keeping apprised of current issues, policies, and technological changes in court forms and user experience and making recommendations.

Facilitate and participate in internal and external outreach to promote the use of Trial Court resources, build relationships, further A2J Office projects, and obtain court user experience feedback.
Analyze data, prepare, and present findings to stakeholders to ensure accessibility, inclusivity, and compliance with state and federal requirements.
Serve on committees, working groups, and initiatives to further the overall work of the A2J Office.
Travel throughout the Commonwealth to conduct site visits, and participate in meetings as needed
Participate in overall A2J Office initiatives and projects as needed.
Provide administrative support to the A2J Office as needed.
Performs related duties as required.

Job Competencies: All applicants must be able, through the interview process, to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following areas:

Ethics and Values Communicates and demonstrates the ethics and values of the Trial Court.

Mission Understands, upholds, and communicates the Trial Court missions.

Applied Knowledge Understands research, information services operations, specialized tools, applications, and software, with some understanding of the various court departments and divisions.

Problem Solving Ability to successfully address data issues, draw conclusions, and make recommendations.

Customer Service Conducts oneself in a courteous and professional manner towards both Trial Court employees and the public.

Performance Measurement Understands the value and importance of performance measures as a basis for both individual and departmental assessments.

Commitment to Diversity Promotes an environment of diversity through understanding, respect, and positive communication with persons of varied economic and cultural backgrounds.

Collaboration Works with others cooperatively, demonstrating a willingness to be a team player, and contributing to a work environment that focuses on shared departmental goals.

Continuous Learning Demonstrates a commitment to continuously improving himself or herself through professional development.

Minimum Requirements: These are the minimum requirements necessary to apply for the position of Program Manager within the A2J Office:

Education and Experience: Bachelors degree, and Five (5) years of professional experience involving project and/or business operations; Equivalent combinations of education and/or applicable experience may be substituted for satisfying the required minimum requirements.
Demonstrated commitment to protecting and promoting the rights of people who are representative of Trial Court employees and court users, including people with disabilities, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, people from immigrant communities, and/or people with low-income.
Demonstrated understanding of access to justice principles and their applicability to the experience of court users.
Experience and knowledge in the use of computers and software, including SharePoint, Power BI, Microsoft office suite, NVDA/JAWs and other assistive technologies, Adobe products, testing tools such as PAC. Familiarity with Adobe AEM or LiveCycle Designer preferred.
Understanding and ability to use project management software, collaboration tools, data management tools, and other relevant platforms.
Project management experience, including serving as a team lead.
Working knowledge of ADA compliance and practices, including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and related laws and regulations.
Working knowledge of the principles of plain language, readability, and accessibility.
Superior collaboration skills and the ability to work effectively with all levels of the organization.
Proven ability to produce high-quality written content and prepare presentations for a wide range of audiences.
Excellent communication skills and customer-service skills, with experience in explaining complex access to justice and DEI issues, or legal concepts and procedures, including a demonstrated ability to write professional correspondence, including email.
Demonstrated ability to collect and analyze information and data and make appropriate recommendations.
Ability to work efficiently, independently, and as part of a team.

Ability to travel throughout the Commonwealth.

Preferred Qualifications :
Bilingual and/or Multilingual ability in ASL, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Cabo Verdean Creole, Portuguese, Mandarin, Arabic strongly preferred.
Experience and knowledge of user experience design and workflows, strongly preferred.
Experience working in a legal or judicial environment (e.g., learning and development, training, or other diversity, equity, and inclusion-focused work within a judicial or legal environment).