Director of Forensic Services

  • Job Code: U8763
  • Pay Grade:UH
  • Pay Scale:$98,187.61-$160,121.33 Annually
  • Exempt:Yes

Overview

Perform forensic operational and strategic managerial duties for both the Identification and Crime Scene areas within the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Provide complex services to include responsibility for planning, budgeting, coordinating, and supervising subordinate managers/supervisors and other assigned staff.

Duties & Responsibilities

Note: Depending on assigned responsibilities, employees may perform some or all of the duties below.

  • Manage complex forensic operations and interact in a leadership role with forensic professionals who serve in subordinate capacities.

  • Direct major programs (e.g., LODIS, NIBIN) to achieve broad organizational goals and objectives.

  • Respond to major crime scenes at any hour of the day or night in order to provide guidance, direction and oversight to crime scene investigators. These scenes will typically involve death investigations where the investigators can expect to work with bloody scenes, decomposition, and other obstacles.

  • Create and maintain budgets, to include the justification of budgets and subsequent fund monitoring and expenditures.

  • Motivate personnel, develop short and long range plans for the bureau, resolve disciplinary issues, interact effectively with other agency members in leadership roles, evaluate and pursue appropriate technology, assess existing practices and policies and make necessary changes.

  • Perform other related duties as required.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

  • Extensive knowledge of the principles and practices of management.

  • Extensive knowledge of the functions, services, procedures, and regulations of the area to which assigned.

  • Extensive knowledge of basic fingerprint Classifications Systems (Henry, National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS)).

  • Considerable knowledge of the principles, practices, methods, and procedures used in crime scene investigation, forensic ballistics, and law enforcement investigation procedures as they relate to DNA analysis.

  • Considerable knowledge of the principles, practices, methods, and procedures used in fingerprint identification and preservation and advanced latent print identification techniques.

  • Considerable knowledge of chemical analysis techniques in print identification and crime scene investigation.

  • Considerable knowledge of state statutes pertaining to Criminal Registrants, expunging and sealing records, privacy laws, and the dissemination of public information.

  • Considerable knowledge of federal, state, and county criminal laws and ordinances pertaining to the collection and use of physical evidence.

  • Considerable knowledge of various computer systems used in the searching and identification of fingerprints.

  • Considerable knowledge of alphabetic and numeric filing systems.

  • Considerable knowledge of photography practices and techniques.

  • Considerable knowledge of procedures and policies established for the entry of DNA from swabs into the LODIS database as well as the extraction of analysis results from communication from LODIS.

  • Considerable knowledge of court proceedings and testimony.

  • Skill in the application of supervisory techniques.

  • Ability to keep up with the current/emerging technology in the forensic sciences and criminology fields.

  • Ability to establish objectives and strategies, identify required resources, and develop plans to carry out work.

  • Ability to plan, organize, and supervise the work of others.

  • Ability to analyze data and present ideas and information effectively, both orally and in writing.

  • Ability to use considerable initiative, think independently, and exercise sound judgment.

  • Ability to establish operation or program objectives and strategies for a functional or operational area.

  • Ability to analyze and report upon operating conditions and problems.

  • Ability to take a long-term view and recognize opportunities to help the organization accomplish its objectives.

  • Ability to handle confidential information.

  • Ability to use a computer and related software.


Minimum Education & Experience

  • A bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution of higher education in a criminal justice, forensics, natural science, or closely related field.

  • Ten years of progressively responsible experience in law enforcement forensics as a crime scene investigator and/or latent print examiner.

  • Three years of experience as a manager in a law enforcement crime scene and/or latent print section.

Additional Job Requirements

  • Attendance at the specified Sheriff's Office work location is required.

  • Depending on assignment, employees may be required to possess a valid Florida Driver License at time of employment. Driving history will be thoroughly reviewed and may be grounds for disqualification.

  • No visible tattoos on face. Tattoos on hands, neck, or arms must be covered with white, black, or neutral colored covering.

  • No illegal drug sale within lifetime.

  • No illegal drug use within the past 36 months. No marijuana use within the last 12 months.

  • No felony convictions within lifetime.

  • No misdemeanor convictions involving perjury, false statement, or domestic violence within lifetime.

  • No dishonorable discharge from any branch of the United States Armed Forces, the United States Coast Guard, National Guard, or Reserve Forces.

  • Successful completion of a background investigation including criminal, reference, employment, and neighborhood checks; polygraph; medical evaluation; and drug screening.

  • Live within Hillsborough County or within Citrus, Hardee, Hernando, Lake, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, or Sumter County as long as the residence is located within the 60-mile parameter of Falkenburg Road Jail at the time of appointment/employment (certified only).

  • In the event of an emergency or disaster, may be required to respond promptly to duties and responsibilities as assigned by management chain, Division/District Commander, or the Sheriff (or their designee). Such assignments may be for before, during or after the emergency/disaster.

The duties and responsibilities on this job description represent the essential functions that an employee must be able to satisfactorily perform with or without reasonable accommodations. Reasonable accommodations shall be made upon request to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue agency hardship. The Sheriff’s Office retains the right to change or assign other duties to this job as necessary.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Certification as a Latent Print Examiner with the International Association for Identification.

  • Certification as a Senior Crime Scene Analyst with the International Association for Identification.

  • Significant training in one or more of the following disciplines: bloodstain analysis, tire and footwear analysis, DNA analysis, crime scene reconstruction, ballistics and trajectory.

  • Master’s degree or higher from an accredited institution of higher education in a criminal justice, forensics, natural science, or closely related field.

Last updated: 12/20/2024