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Final salary offers are dependent upon candidate qualifications.

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 340,000 students in 600+ schools and employing nearly 36,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career and civic life. In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability and integrity. Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership and continuous learning.

The Office of Administrative Hearing's (OAH) mission is to ensure effective administration of employee grievances, collective-bargaining provisions, Board policies and rules, and employee discipline to facilitate compliance with statutory and contractual requirements. The OAH’s main duties include presiding over discipline/discharge hearings, processing disciplinary decisions, and investigating and adjusting grievances filed by labor unions. The OAH also houses the Criminal Background Committee, which is responsible for reviewing the criminal background histories of applicants.

Job Summary:

The Senior Legal Secretary will join the Law Department’s Labor and Employee Discipline Unit, which represents the District in all phases of administrative hearings and labor arbitrations as well as provides advice to high-level District clients on labor and discipline matters. Reporting to the Executive Director of Administrative Hearings and working closely with the Senior Assistant General Counsels and Assistant General Counsels, the Senior Legal Secretary will serve a central role to ensure the Labor and Employee Discipline unit is equipped to operate efficiently by providing high level secretarial and administrative support. This full-time non-exempt position, that will be paid for time worked on an hourly basis.

The Senior Legal Secretary will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Performing responsible secretarial work, general data compliance, and administrative duties for assigned attorneys but may include duties for the General Counsel, Managing Deputy General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, Senior Assistant General Counsel, and Assistant General Counsel in the Law Department;
• Inputting data and maintaining databases regarding open and closed files, including pulling and organizing monthly and quarterly reports and pulling, reviewing, and analyzing reports as requested;
• Supporting the District’s Discipline Committee compliance, including scheduling cases for meetings, keeping the weekly agenda, and ensuring compliance; 
• Reviewing investigatory reports to redact certain confidential information;
• Drafting and mailing tailored compliance letters to employees, victims, and state agencies, such as the Illinois State Board of Education;
• Other duties as assigned.

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Senior Legal Secretary must possess the following qualifications:

Education Required:

• High school diploma or GED equivalent 
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, preferred  
• Legal Secretary Certification or Paralegal Certification from an American Bar Association approved program preferred

Experience Required:

• Minimum of five (5) years of legal secretarial, administrative, or legal assistant experience handling transactional matters in a high-volume, fast-paced environment, required  
• Experience supervising the work ofadministrative support staff, providing guidance, support, and training, required 
• In-house and law firm experience, preferred  
• Labor relations experience, preferred  

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to maintain confidentiality; This position is of a confidential nature and has regular access to Law Department and other CPS Departments’ confidential files, data and information, including confidential student and employee information.
• Exceptional attention to detail with the ability to maintain accuracy while balancing multiple time sensitive priorities 
• Excellent organizational skills; demonstrated ability to organize and prioritize work in a dynamic, complex, fast paced environment to meet and manage competing deadlines 
• Ability to operate with a sense of urgency to accomplish goals and objectives while maintaining professionalism and customer service focus.
• Able to take ownership of, and independently manage tasks, timelines and systems, following tasks through to completion with little or no follow up; knows when to ask questions
• Execution and solution oriented, creative problem solver with ability to define problems, analyze and outline valid conclusions and action steps to meet defined goals and deadlines
• Clear, effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills (speaking, writing, listening)
• Strong systems skills and desire for continued growth and learning; Ability to use an array of technology and tools, including data tools, functional spreadsheets (excel, Google sheets), presentations, Word and Google Suite, and others, including, but not limited to Kronos and Lawtrac 
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to interact positively and professionally at all times with team members, other law department staff, executive offices, internal clients and external partners. 
• Superior typing and data entry skills 
• Working knowledge of legal terminology and court procedures

Physical Requirements

Sedentary Work: exerting up to ten pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time, but may involve walking or standing for brief periods of time.

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency -Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions; however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.