Investigator, Mental Health Team

NEIGHBORHOOD DEFENDER SERVICE

POSITION AVAILABLE: Investigator Mental Health Team (San Marcos TX)

Neighborhood Defender Services Hays County Criminal Defense Team is a nonprofit client-centered collaborative holistic public defense office created to provide criminal defense representation and related services to residents of Hays County Texas. The office opened in January 2023.

Clients are represented by teams composed of lawyers investigators social workers client advocates and team administrators. NDS adheres to a client-centered approach to

representation that emphasizes a heightened responsiveness to clients needs prior to arrest while a case is pending and after the case concludes.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Embrace NDS philosophy of clientcentered communitybased holistic representation and commitment to excellence by providing vigorous representation with energy and enthusiasm to clients.

2. Work as part of the interdisciplinary team including attorneys and other non-attorney advocates to determine case strategy.

3. Conduct the teams investigative work including:

• Identifying locating and interviewing witnesses;
• Visiting photographing and diagramming locations;
• Obtaining documents reports and other materials from a variety of sources;
• Preparing investigative reports and trial exhibits;
• Reviewing discovery video and documents received from the prosecution;
• Visiting courthouses and retrieve documentation;
• Creating forensic copies of data sources including hard drives portable storage media tablets smart phones and cloud data;
• Interpreting call detail records and generate cell tower maps;
• Performing video photo and audio forensics;
• Conducting examinations of digital evidence and prepare reports and/or exhibits for use in court.

4. Provide administrative support for representation of clients

5. Maintain the integrity of NDS computer databases which includes providing training and support to team members.

6. Photocopy maintain case files assist with word processing and typing and assembling documents.

7. Download organize and maintain discovery received on clients cases.

8. Assist in obtaining necessary court documents for clients cases including transcripts and court files.

9. Assist with facilitating team members visits and communication with clients.

10. Testify at trial

11. Document investigative work in the case management system.

12. Respond quickly and communicate clearly with clients their families and case workers

QUALIFICATIONS: The ideal candidate will bring:

1. A demonstrated commitment to criminal justice indigent defense racial equity and social justice issues and a substantive understanding of the biases impacting our clients.

2. An ability to quickly build relationships with people of varying identities income levels races and ethnicities.

3. A high level of organization and administrative skills to handle a high caseload and multi- task in a very fast-paced environment.

4. Must possess excellent interpersonal analytical writing and communication skills

5. Energy enthusiasm and ingenuity to gather and develop information from a broad spectrum of sources ranging from community residents to county state and federal agencies

6. An ability to work cooperatively in a team

7. Must possess substantial experience (at least three years) of conducting a wide variety of investigations and/or direct services with clients involved in the criminal legal and/or child welfare systems

8. Must possess the ability and readiness to quickly learn and use various industry relevant computer software including mobile forensic tools such as Cellebrite or Axiom

9. Knowledge and experience with the following operating systems: Windows Macintosh Linux or UNIX iOS and Android

10. Knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word Excel Outlook Teams Access) and a basic knowledge of computer usage in a network environment.

11. Knowledge of Adobe Pro and related Adobe products

12. Apply knowledge and experience with forensically sound evidence-gathering and handling procedures to retrieve handle analyze and preserve such data in accordance with those standards utilizing write-blocking technology.

13. Must be familiar with chain-of-custody requirements necessary for the admissibility of evidence in court and competent to fulfill those requirements

14. Must possess experience working in an interdisciplinary setting

15.Must be comfortable in a court and/or jail environment

16. License preferred but not required

17. Must possess a bachelors degree or higher

18. Spanish language fluency is highly preferred.

Compensation: Compensation is commensurate with directly relevant work experience and is in adherence to the NDS compensation scale. Exceptional benefits package includes full medical and dental for employee and family retirement life and AD&D insurance paid vacation holiday and sick time. This is a full-time non-exempt position.

Salary Ranges

1-5 Years $55282.69 - $59777.22

6 - 11 Years $60900.85 - $66014.42

The salary benefits and employment policies relevant to this position are governed by the CBA between NDS and the NDS Union part of ALAA UAW 2325.

How to Apply: Interviews are being held on a rolling basis and application will be accepted until the position is filled. Interested applicants should apply on the NDS careers portal at

For more information about NDS please visit our website at .

Dont meet every single requirement Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At NDS we are dedicated to building a diverse inclusive and authentic workplace so if youre excited about this role but your experience doesnt align perfectly with every qualification in the job description we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Neighborhood Defender Service is committed to creating a diverse environment that reflects the community we serve. NDS is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race religion gender gender identity or expression sexual orientation national origin genetics disability age or veteran status. NDS values and specifically seeks applicants who are people with incarcerated loved ones formerly incarcerated people people of color women queer transgender gender nonconforming and gender fluid people.