Role Responsibilities

The Court and Justice Services Division is looking for motivated, hardworking, and reliable individuals to join their team as Officers of the Court! Success in this role requires a strong sense of integrity, the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, and a passion for helping Albertans navigate the court system. We are currently creating a pool of qualified professionals for this highly respected role in the justice system.

These roles are in Wetaskiwin, AB in the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench. To learn more about these two levels of court please visit the links below:

Court of King’s Bench: https://albertacourts.ca/qb/areas-of-law

• Criminal 
• Civil 
• Family 
• Divorce 
• Wills & Estates / Bankruptcy  

Alberta Court of Justice:  Alberta Court of Justice (albertacourts.ca)

• Traffic
• Civil 
• Criminal
• Family and Youth 

As a Judicial Clerk, you will represent the administration of court in a responsible and professional manner that reflects the fair and equitable delivery of justice in Alberta. The shifting priorities between the courtroom and assisting the public and lawyers at the counter provides diversity on a daily basis. 

Role Responsibilities continued
In this essential role, you will professionally represent the court administration, ensuring fair and equitable justice delivery. Your duties will involve a mix of courtroom, counter, and office tasks, including:

• Managing administrative processes in civil and criminal court proceedings
• Maintaining court records and decorum, operating the digital recording system
• Handling exhibits, liaising with judiciary, lawyers, police, and the public
• Filing documents in line with Alberta Rules of Court and relevant statutes
• Assisting the public and legal community both in-person and over the phone
• Performing data entry, court order processing, and general office duties
• Acting as a non-presiding Justice of the Peace, conducting bail releases
• Performing Commissioner of Oaths duties after passing a required test
• Managing databases and facilitating appearances, both in-person and online.

 
Travel to circuit court locations is a requirement of this role in regional locations. This may require travel in inclement weather. To view the location of regional base and circuit points please visit https://www.albertacourts.ca/pc/court-practice-and-schedules/locations-map

To view videos and learn more about becoming a Judicial Clerk and how you can support Alberta’s justice system please visit https://www.alberta.ca/become-a-judicial-clerk.

Please click on this link to view the job description for this position.

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.
 
The link below will assist you with understanding competencies: https://www.alberta.ca/assets/documents/psc-alberta-public-service-competency-model.pdf.
 

The successful candidate will demonstrate the following competencies:
 
Build Collaborative Environments: Leads and contributes to the conditions and environments that allow people to work collaboratively and productively to achieve outcomes.
 
Develop Networks: Proactively building networks, connecting, and building trust in relationships with different stakeholders.
 
Creative Problem Solving: Ability to assess options and implications in new ways to achieve outcomes and solutions.
 
Systems Thinking: The work done within the APS is part of a larger integrated and inter-related environment. It is important to know that work done in one part of the APS impacts a variety of other groups/projects inside and outside the APS. Systems Thinking allows us to keep broader impacts and connections in mind.

Agility: Ability to anticipate, assess, and readily adapt to changing priorities, manage resilience in times of uncertainty and effectively work in a changing environment.
 
Other Relevant Attributes: Capability for public speaking; ability to navigate high-volume, fast-paced workloads; capacity to manage tight and coinciding timelines.

Qualifications

JC: A high school diploma plus a minimum of six months of workplace experience.

Sr. JC: A high school diploma plus a minimum of two years of related experience, including 18 months of directly related experience as a Judicial Clerk, as well as the successful completion of the departmental para-legal program. 

Only candidates possessing Judicial Clerk experience may be considered at the higher classification level and salary.   

Equivalency:  Related experience or education considered on the basis of one year of experience for one year of education or one year of education for one year of experience.

Related experience that will be considered is as follows:

• Experience as a Court or Counter Clerk 
• Experience in an administrative role working in a Courthouse. 
• Experience working in a legal environment in roles such as a Paralegal, Legal Assistant or Administrative Support 
• Experience in office administration. 
• Experience in administrative support. 
• Experience working in a customer service role where you had to de-escalate situations. For example, with an airline, banks, hospitals, schools or as a first responder.
• Experience handling cash or accepting payments in roles such as a cashier or clerk.

Assets and Preferences will be considered as follows: 

• Experience as a Judicial Clerk or Legal Assistant/Paralegal is preferred. 
• A Legal Assistant or Paralegal Certificate or Diploma is considered an asset.
• Experience with Civil and Sheriff Entry System (CASES), the Justice On-Line Information Network (JOIN), or with the digital recording system (FTR) are assets.  
• Experience handling cash or accepting payment from clients as a cashier, or at a counter at a registry or bank will be considered an asset. 
• Experience using cloud-based conferencing technology will be considered an asset (for example Cisco based platforms, Microsoft 365, etc.). 
• Experience working for at least six months in a bi-lingual customer service or administrative role will be considered an asset.
• Experience using digital or cloud-based filing systems.
• Five or more years of experience working in a customer service role.  

This position may require the successful candidate to obtain a Non-Presiding Justice of the Peace appointment. Canadian citizenship is required in order to obtain a Non-Presiding Justice of the Peace appointment. A Commissioner for Oath appointment may also be required.

If you are considered for a bilingual Judicial Clerk position a French language proficiency test will be administered at the time of the interview to assess the candidate’s ability to speak, read and write fluently.

Candidates may be tested to confirm proficiency and accuracy with basic keyboarding skills. A minimum 35 words per minute typing speed is required.

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification. 
Refer to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-minimum-recruitment-standards.

Notes

Hours of Work: 

Full time Judicial Clerk positions work 36.25 hours per week, Monday to Friday. Overtime is often required with little or no notice as courts may run late. 
 
Travel: 
A valid Driver’s License (class 5) with no restrictions and a reliable vehicle are required for travel to circuit Court locations in our regional offices. A driver’s abstract may be required. This may require travel in inclement weather.

Other Job Requirements: 
This position requires extended periods of sitting and/or standing and the ability to lift files/exhibits up to 25 lbs.
 
Final candidates for this position will be asked to undergo security screening.

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in.

Other Information: 
If you completed a practicum placement with Court and Justice Services, please document on your resume and include your practicum supervisor/manager as part of your reference when requested.
 
Internal candidates are encouraged to discuss the option of a temporary assignment with their current supervisor. 

Links and information on what the GoA has to offer to prospective employees.

• Working for the Alberta Public Service - https://www.alberta.ca/advantages-working-for-alberta-public-service.aspx
• Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) - https://www.pspp.ca
• Alberta Public Service Benefit Information - https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-benefits
• Professional learning and development - https://www.alberta.ca/professional-development-support-directive
• Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool – https://researchapscareers.alberta.ca
• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance
• Leadership and mentorship programs