Deputy CIO for E-Courts Information Technology Department - Massachusetts Trial Court

The Massachusetts Trial Court (MTC) is seeking a technology leader to drive the transformation of the state's judicial system into a fully electronic and digitally integrated environment. As the Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) for E-Courts...

Title: Deputy CIO for E-Courts Information Technology Department

Pay Grade: SM2

Starting Pay: $115,943.04

Departmental Mission Statement: The Trial Court is committed to:

• fair and impartial administration of justice;
• protection of constitutional and statutory rights and liberties;
• equal access to justice for all in a safe and dignified environment with policies and practices that strengthen and support diversity, equity, and inclusion;
• efficient, effective, and accountable resolution of disputes;
• prompt and courteous service to the public by committed and dedicated professionals
utilizing best practices in a manner that inspires public trust and confidence.

MISSION STATEMENT OF THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT:

Enhance access to justice through the effective use of technology. Partner with Judges and all Court Staff to use technology to speed the delivery of justice. Build a culture that values transparency, collaboration, inclusivity, and continuous improvement.

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/judicial-information-services-department

Notes: This position reports to the Chief Information Officer or their designee and has supervisory responsibility over technical staff and may have supervisory responsibility over non-technical staff.

Position Summary: This senior level management and technical position is responsible for leading and directing all components of the Massachusetts Trial Court’s E-Courts Program, an end-to-end electronic court case processing system in a digital environment. Through the centralized, coordinated management of the Massachusetts Trial Court E-Court Program, the DCIO for E-Courts collaborates with the E-Court Program Leadership Team in leading the development, implementation, maintenance, and ongoing success of this fully electronic court case processing system. The DCIO works to reduce and/or eliminate paper processes and decrease case processing time, while increasing information management efficiency, accuracy, and constituent service levels by leveraging technology for electronic court case filing, access to electronic court records, and uniform work processes.

The ideal candidate for this position must be able to align multiple aspects of the Massachusetts Trial Court E-Court initiative through best practice project management, systems analysis, business analysis, application software configuration, and successful interfaces between court case management systems and other internal automated systems, as well as interfaces with external business partner automated systems. With a focus on access to justice, the individual in this position will lead the Massachusetts Trial Court E-Court Program with competence, confidence, and professionalism while optimizing resources, costs, schedules, and services to the court users.

Supervision Received: 

Duties: Leads and directs all technical and non-technical components of the Massachusetts Trial Court E-Court Program in consultation with the Massachusetts Trial Court E-Court Leadership Team to leverage the use of technology and uniform work processes for improved and sustained efficiency and efficacy of court functions and operations, primarily through electronic court case filing and access to electronic court records. Leadership and direction includes but is not limited to:

Engaging leadership from the 7 Trial Court Departments, Massachusetts Probation Service, Jury Commissioner, and the Office of Court Management (OCM) to make policy and procedural decisions about electronic court records and electronic filing including but not limited to digital signatures, privacy and public access, and document management and retention;

Supervising the Deputy E-Courts Manager, and other assigned staff;

Providing direction and guidance on all E-Court Program related project plans (technical and court process); establishing critical path dependencies and deadlines for project plans; identifying and securing required resources for each project phase;

Assisting with vendor contracts and with requests for proposals (RFPs);

Addressing priorities and escalating issues with vendors;

Overseeing business process reengineering efforts and requirements gathering and documentation;

Directing user acceptance testing, documentation, and quality assurance;

Analyzing and interpreting data and statistics for accurate reporting and to make systems, software, policy, and procedural recommendations;

Facilitating E-Court Program related meetings and trainings for judges, court personnel, lawyers, and public users;

Advancing standardization of uniform electronic records and electronic filing policies and procedures;

Communicating and meeting with internal and external stakeholders to keep them informed about E-Court Program updates and initiatives;

Developing, implementing and maintaining electronic filing pathways for lawyers and non-lawyers for all case types as well as party and public access to court records modules;

Developing, implementing and maintaining the court staff case management systems necessary for electronically filed cases;

Developing, implementing and maintaining a judicial bench software application for maximum efficiency and integration for judges as they view and rule upon electronically filed cases; supports ongoing training and assistance to judges who use the application;

Assisting with the development and delivery of E-Court Program related training for judges, court personnel, lawyers, and public users in collaboration with the E-Court Leadership Team and its designees;

Communicating, collaborating with, and providing information to judges, lawyers, government leadership, legislators, and other key constituents invested in and impacted by the Massachusetts Trial Court E-Court Program; prepares reports and white papers as necessary; testifies at legislative hearings as assigned;

Works with the IT management team to monitor and maintain budgetary, technical, personnel, and other components related to the Massachusetts Trial Court E-Court Program; and

Performs other related duties as required.

Job Competencies: 

Minimum Requirements: These are the minimum requirements necessary to apply for the position of DCIO for E-Courts:

Bachelor’s degree in the field of computer science, business management, or other applicable field of study and (7) Seven years of experience as a computer programmer, systems analyst, business analyst and/or project manager; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Required experience as the lead manager for the development, configuration, and support of at least (2) Two large scale projects, including:

- the supervision of programmers and/or analysts;
- applying project planning tools;
- configuration and support of commercial off-the-shelf software or custom built large scale IT environments;


Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Certification in project management is highly desirable;

Knowledge of project management principles and theory;

Familiarity with ITIL service models and commitment to positive user experience in design and delivery of technology services;

Knowledge and understanding of court case management systems, electronic case initiation, electronic filing of documents, and electronic case transaction processing;

Knowledge of modern electronic concepts in information technology such as web applications, cloud computing, and data warehouse reporting; and knowledge of application interfaces and data exchange concepts;

Understanding of the information management needs of judges, clerks of court, court administrators/managers, legislative leaders, private and public agencies, and citizens;

Knowledge of the principles and practices of electronic payment systems, accounting, audit trails, and finance;

Knowledge of the current and emerging computer server operating environments, networking environments, hardware and software trends, relational database, data warehouse, case management systems, and system interfaces;

Demonstrated leadership skills with proven success in strategic planning and project implementation;

Strong interpersonal skills required to manage a complex program involving diverse constituencies;

Ability to prepare reports and to present facts clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, for both small and large groups;

Strong critical thinking, problem-solving, business process analysis, and systems analysis skills;

Ability to lead business process analysis and redesign of court operating practices, procedures, forms, and case flows by applying Lean Management concepts or other similarly accepted industry standard management efficiency theory;

Ability to develop business requirements documents, flow charts, diagrams, statistical models, and graphical representations of business processes, business operations, and other statistical analysis and trend analysis;

Ability to interpret process interfaces with other courts, state agencies, and all other external stakeholder partners during definition, design, development, testing, documentation, quality assurance, and implementation of business processes;

Ability to develop and execute test plans in an effort to validate that IT systems perform business functions accurately and according to business requirements and design; ability to coordinate assigned user staff in related testing tasks;

Ability to retrieve, analyze, and interpret data, policies, and procedures to arrive at logical conclusions or recommendations.

Ability to negotiate and resolve conflicts and to establish and maintain harmonious and productive working relationships with judges, administrators, and other court employees; ability to compromise and attain consensus from groups of staff with differing opinions and objectives.

Ability to build and maintain team commitment; and

Ability to travel to court locations throughout the state.