25-01 Education Specialist

Vacancy Announcement

Education Specialist

Executive Education, Education Division

Federal Judicial Center

Washington, DC 20002-8003

The Federal Judicial Center (Center) is the federal courts' agency for research and continuing education. Congress established the Center in 1967 as a separate organization within the federal judicial system at the request of the Judicial Conference of the United States. A nine-member board, chaired by the Chief Justice of the United States, determines its basic policies. 

Within the Education Division (ED), the Center has an opening for an Education Specialist in the Executive Education (EE) group. The EE group provides leadership education (i.e., programs and other resources) for judiciary executives (i.e., chief judges, court unit executives, and deputy court unit executives) whose daily mission is to deliver equal justice under the law. This position requires occasional overnight travel (approximately 15-20 days per year). Advance notice is given when travel is required. Center employees receive reimbursement for all official business travel. 

Who We Are 

We are one of five groups within the Center’s Education Division, and our mission is to expand the leadership and managerial capacity of judiciary executives and executive teams by developing and connecting people and learning opportunities. We are a group of experienced professionals who have worked at the Center for an average of 13 years. 

Some of us are educators (i.e., education specialists/attorneys and an assistant division director) responsible for all aspects of educational programming, including needs assessment, design, development, and evaluation. We also teach and coach experienced judiciary executives and other subject matter experts to serve as program faculty to present and facilitate content delivery, so it resonates with our audiences. We also sometimes teach, present, and facilitate ourselves. Among the five educators, we have one certified coach and one attorney.

Some of us are program coordinators responsible for the administrative, financial, and logistical aspects of our educational programs. We work with IT staff, hotels, caterers, faculty, and participants, among others, to see that all programmatic details are handled effectively and efficiently. Currently we have two program coordinators.

We work together in various configurations within EE and with others in ED to execute our mission. We also consult an advisory committee comprised of judiciary executives on such issues as educational priorities, relevant topics, and experts for different audiences, and program execution and evaluation. For many of our educational programs, we work closely with planning committees, which consist of representatives of the target audience, to align needs to educational content. 

We are additionally guided by sets of leadership and managerial competencies tailored for our participants. Our programs and resources range from podcasts, webinars, and online resources to in-person multi-day skill-building seminars and conferences. We are an agile group with a fast-paced operational tempo serving busy, discerning, high-level customers. 

We value

• Balance–spending our time in ways that allow us to honor our other values
• Collaboration–working together on goals and shared purpose
• Excellence–producing consistently outstanding work by caring about what we do and putting forth our best effort
• Meaningful Work and Impact–we take time to reflect on how we can improve and how our work contributes to our mission
• Respect–consistent regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, traditions, and perspectives of others  

We believe people come to the Center and stay because the mission is vital to our nation, the work is challenging and meaningful, the clients are supportive, and the culture is positive.

Who You Are 

Our ideal candidate is an educator who has experience assessing learner needs, designing, developing, facilitating, and evaluating leadership educational programs in a variety of modalities (e.g., in-person, virtual, and blended) for high-level audiences. 

We seek a colleague equally adept at managing in-person large conferences and more intimate seminars who also has experience using education technology platforms (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.) to deliver virtual programs. You are a great candidate if you are an experienced program manager with demonstrated success managing educational programs and projects in a variety of formats for various audiences from start to finish. 

Our new colleague will ideally have experience coaching executive level professionals (i.e., has completed an International Coaching Federation (ICF)-certified coach training program and is actively working toward acquiring a coaching credential of Associate Certified Coach or better) from the ICF. 

We seek a dynamic colleague who values teamwork, is willing to share ideas and information, and is capable of having difficult conversations. A spirit of curiosity, a passion of learning, a desire to grow on the job, and a willingness to take measured risks are essential to success in the Executive Education team. For maximum success, you will have familiarity with the federal judiciary or be excited to learn about the Third Branch and the executives who lead it. 

Duties and Responsibilities 

• Design, develop, facilitate, execute, and evaluate in-person and virtual educational programs for judiciary executives based on (1) generally accepted principles of adult learning and (2) identified leadership competencies tailored for specific court audiences. 
• Assess leadership education and/or organizational development needs and recommend solutions to address those needs.  
• Select and train judiciary faculty in effective teaching and facilitation methods appropriate to an audience of highly educated and accomplished professionals. 
• Support faculty development, facilitate discussions, and occasionally present and/or teach content.
• Make curriculum and programmatic changes as required to address emerging and evolving priorities.
• Work in concert with a program coordinator responsible for all aspects of in-person programs (i.e., seminars and conferences), including site selection, preparation of funding and authorization documents, communication to faculty and participants, materials production, vendor engagement, technology support, and program evaluation. 
• Manage, in coordination with a program coordinator, all production elements of virtual programming, which potentially include conducting and giving feedback on pre-production walk-throughs and dress rehearsals, hosting the live or recorded content delivery, and handling any follow-up editing, evaluations, and communications. 
• Work collaboratively with subject-matter experts (SMEs) (e.g., judges, executives, advisory and planning committees, academics, and other consultants) to design, customize, and update leadership education programs and resources for judiciary audiences. 
• Collaborate and communicate with EE colleagues on group priorities and larger projects and work with other ED staff and leadership as needed.  

Mandatory Qualifications 

• A graduate degree in adult education, instructional design, law, management, leadership, one of the social sciences, one of the behavioral sciences, or a related field OR a bachelor’s degree and at least 5 years’ experience designing, developing, and executing educational programs for adults. 
• Substantial experience applying adult learning theory to curriculum design and content development. 
• Substantial experience managing all aspects of in-person educational programs. 
• Experience developing virtual education programs and resources (e.g., webinars, e-learning, podcasts). 
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including high emotional intelligence, with the ability to work collaboratively with others inside and outside the organization. 
• Excellent communication skills (e.g., writing, facilitating, coaching, public speaking, etc.).
• Excellent project- and time-management skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate with colleagues, individually and in teams. 

Desirable Qualifications 

• Experience developing leadership, management, legal, or judicial education programs and resources. 
• Experience working with high level organizational leaders as faculty, participants, and/or advisors. 
• Experience designing and implementing executive-level education. 
• Familiarity with principles and practices of organizational development and/or experience conducting organizational development interventions (e.g., change management; mission, vision, and values; strategic planning; succession planning; trust building; diversity, equity, and inclusion; etc.). 
• Familiarity with competency-based learning. 
• Experience evaluating educational programming for behavior and organizational change.
• Experience with programming or initiatives on diversity; respect; civility; engagement; public service; equal justice or the rule of law. 
• Experience working in or working with the federal or a state judiciary and/or an understanding of the constitutional basis, mission, organization, and independence of the federal judiciary. 
• Master of Laws, Juris Doctor, or Doctor of Juridical Science.
• An ICF-credentialed and experienced coach at the Associate Certified Coach (ACC) or, preferably, the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) level.  

Salary and Benefits 

The starting salary is set at $147,509 (includes 2024 D.C. locality). This position falls in the Center’s pay band 6, which has a salary range up to $223,836 (includes 2024 D.C. locality). For a successful candidate not currently a member of the Center staff, a higher starting salary, not to exceed $154,884 (includes 2024 D.C. locality) may be considered if the candidate furnishes proof that their current salary falls above the pay band 6 minimum salary of $147,509 (includes 2024 D.C. locality), in which case the Center would match that salary up to the starting salary limit of $154,884 (includes 2024 D.C. locality). This is the maximum starting salary, and it is non-negotiable. In addition, a successful candidate who does not live within the D.C. locality region or work at the official duty station in Washington, D.C., for 16 or more work hours per pay period will not receive D.C. region locality pay and will receive the locality pay of their place of primary residence (telework site). If the successful internal candidate’s salary falls above the range minimum, their salary will be matched up to their current salary. 

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 Building, conveniently situated to public transportation directly beside Union Station. The Marshall Building houses a child development center, a health fitness facility, and a cafeteria for its tenants. 

The 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. 

Application Procedures 

In a brief cover letter referring to Announcement #25-01, please summarize how you satisfy the qualifications listed above. Applications without the required cover letter or with cover letters that do not address the qualifications will not be considered. Along with the cover letter, please include a current resume that specifies dates of employment and responsibilities for all related positions. A cover letter and resume in a single combined PDF document is required. Name the file using your last name, first name, and the announcement number, as follows:  Lastname.Firstname.25-01.pdf. Any information provided in the transmittal email will not be considered part of the application.

All applications should be submitted by email to personnel@fjc.gov. 

When applying, please refer to Announcement #25-01. To assure full consideration, your application must be received by 11:59 p.m. on January 3, 2025. 

Key Requirements 

• You must be a United States Citizen, subject to the exceptions enumerated at https://www.uscourts.gov/careers/search-judiciary-jobs/citizenship-requirements-employment-judiciary. 
• Selectee must favorably complete a background investigation.
• Relatives of Center staff members may not be employed at the Center in any capacity.
• All requirements must be met for full consideration. 

The Federal Judicial Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to achieving a diverse workforce and an inclusive work culture. It strives to maintain a professional and collegial workplace in which everyone is valued and treated fairly and respectfully.