Compliance Architect (JO#6527) (Judicial Council of California)

JOB TITLE: Compliance Architect 
LOCATION: San Francisco or Sacramento, CA
JOB OPENING #: 6527

OVERVIEW
The Judicial Council of California is accepting applications for the position of Compliance Architect for the Facilities Services office.

Under the direction of the Architecture & Engineering Supervisor for Qualify Assurance, the Compliance Architect will perform architectural design review, code and standards review, and options analysis in the areas of architectural systems for judicial branch facilities. Incumbent will assist facility management staff in the more complex facility maintenance activities including: 1) accessibility reviews and guidance for accessible design, 2) occupancy change analysis and egress plan development, and 3) other related technical support.

The Compliance Architect will work directly with regulatory agencies such as Division of the State Architect (DSA), Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC), and Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to explain the Judicial Council’s approach to code compliance in designs for new capital projects, facility modifications projects, and correction of code violations in existing court facilities. The architect license is required to provide credible authority as the incumbent negotiates with the regulatory agencies and to validate incumbent’s decisions that may affect the safety and security of court facility occupants.

May oversee contractors and subcontractors during design and construction and may perform evaluations of “as-built” conditions to assure compliance with plans, specifications, regulations, and applicable standards.

The Judicial Council
The Judicial Council of California is the policy setting body for the state court system and has constitutionally conferred statewide rule-making authority. This authority includes developing, advocating for, and allocating the judicial branch budget. A majority of Council members are California state justices and judges; however, the Council also includes lawyers, legislators, and court administrators.

By enhancing its role as a leadership, knowledge, and service resource for the judicial branch, the Judicial Council’s staff organization seeks to continue to evolve as one of California’s most dynamic public service entities, focused on improving access to justice for all Californians by innovating and responding to the changing needs of the courts and the public. As a government body charged with improving the statewide administration of justice, the Judicial Council has multiple offices with diverse responsibilities relating to court policy and operations. As employees of the council, every member of staff should view and approach their work as one Judicial Council with a public service mission that is greater than the sum of its parts.

The Judicial Council strives for work life balance and includes substantial vacation and holiday time. In addition, we offer an excellent benefits package including pension, medical, dental and vision coverage, flexible spending, up to $130 per month reimbursement for qualifying mass transit costs, and retirement savings plans. In Sacramento, the office is located minutes from downtown, just north of Discovery Park. The San Francisco office is only a 7-minute walk from the Civic Center BART station.

The Judicial Council offers hybrid work arrangements for many positions. The successful candidate will be expected to work in-person at the Judicial Council’s San Francisco or Sacramento office at least two days a week, based on their office leader’s direction, and reside in the areas surrounding these locations.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Ensures technical effectiveness and code compliance for the facilities maintenance program:
  
  • Performs architectural reviews for codes and standards compliance for capital and facility modification projects.
  • Applies best practices and maintenance management measures including the review and update of standards on a routine basis. Ensures compliance with regulatory laws.
  •  Implements procedures to ensure correct scoping of facility modification projects.
  • Performs architectural reviews.
• Assists in management of the Post Occupancy Evaluation Program:
  
  • Participates in selection, hiring, and retention of qualified firms for conducting post occupancy evaluation of recently constructed capital outlay projects.
  • Manages communication with the Court and Facilities Operations unit for gathering user group and maintenance staff input.
  • Manages POE firm report generation, comment collection, and backcheck process.
  • Manages creation of final report and presentation.
• Assists Project Management and Facility Operations teams with facility modification and capital projects:
  
  • Assists in the commissioning of capital projects.
  • Assists in the post occupancy evaluation of capital projects.
  • Participates in design review meetings for facility modification projects.
  • Checks application of green building principles and LEED requirements on capital projects. Participates in LEED meetings. Tracks progress on targeted credits during design and construction.
• Assists in development of Facilities Standards:
  
  • Creates database of lessons learned for new courthouse projects and facility modifications.
  • Develops and updates schedule of activities for updating Standards on a triennial cycle.
  • Works with program manager for knowledge sharing.
  • Gathers comments and responds to comments from external technical consultants. Manages work of graphics team to incorporate changes and prepares materials for meetings.
• Assists with development of RFQs, RFPs, scoring and contract execution for architects and structural engineers:
  
  • Assists in drafting the technical scope-of-work descriptions for RFQs/RFPs.
  • Reviews contracts, amendments, and change orders for verification of technical support of these documents.
  • Interacts with contracts group as needed to answer technical questions about contracts, amendments, and change orders.
• Provides codes and standards guidance to capital outlay projects:
  
  • Establishes contracts of peer reviews for all capital outlay projects. Tracks progress of activities.
  • Leads design review meetings for external peer review firms and internal JCC reviewers across all units.
  • Assures compliance to Quality Management Procedure.
  • Conducts consultant evaluations at the completion of the projects.
• Provides Code and Standards expertise to Facilities staff across all units:
  
  • Provides guidance to Project Managers and Facilities Operations staff for accessible design.
  • Provides technical guidance on architectural and structural design.
  • Performs egress calculations for facility modification projects.
• Under the directions of the Architectural and Engineering Supervisor, coordinates with external AHJs:
  
  • Attends meetings with external AHJs to confirm compliance with AHJ requirements in plans.
  • Communicates with OSFM field deputies and plan reviewers, DSA plan reviewers and BSCC plan reviewers during the design phase.
  • Coordinates plan changes with the designer of record, reviews RFIs and submittals for compliance during design and construction.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Bachelor’s degree in architecture, architectural engineering, or a directly related field, and five (5) years of professional architectural experience. An additional four years of professional experience as noted above may substitute for the bachelor’s degree. Or, additional directly related experience and/or education may be substituted on a year-for-year basis.

LICENSING AND CERTIFICATIONS

• Valid professional architect license issued by the state of California.
• Valid LEED Green Associate or LEED Accredited Professional accreditation.
• Valid driver’s license as assigned.

OTHER
Please note, if you are selected for hire, verification of employment eligibility or authorization to work in the United States will be required.

PAYMENT & BENEFITS
$11,474.00 - $14,361.00 per month

Please note due to statewide fiscal conditions, the posted salary range is subject to a 3% reduction. In exchange for this reduction, judicial branch employees accrue an additional 5 hours of paid personal leave per month through June 30, 2027.

Some highlights of our benefits package include:

• Health/Dental/Vision benefits program
• 14 paid holidays per calendar year
• Choice of Annual Leave or Sick/Vacation Leave
• 1 personal holiday per year
• Up to $130 per month reimbursement for qualifying commuting costs
• CalPERS Retirement Plan
• 401(k) and 457 deferred compensation plans
• Employee Assistance Program
• Basic Life and AD&D Insurance
• Flex Elect Program
• Pretax Parking
• Long Term Disability Program (employee paid/optional)
• Group Legal Plan (employee paid/optional)

The Judicial Council of California Is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS
To better assess the qualifications of each applicant, please respond to the following questions:

1. Do you have a valid professional architect license issued by the state of California?
2. Do you have a valid LEED Green Associate or LEED Accredited Professional accreditation? If not, can you commit to achieving this accreditation within 6 months upon hire?
3. Do you have a valid California’s driver’s license?
4. Describe your professional work experience as a licensed architect.