Court Administrator I (Land Court) - Honolulu, Oahu

Hawai`i State Judiciary; Honolulu (HI); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Hawaii State Judiciary in Honolulu invites applications for Court Administrator I (Land Court). The role oversees administrative, operational, and court service functions statewide, including land title registration and tax appeal matters.

The position requires a bachelor’s degree and demonstrated experience in legal/court settings, with strong leadership, policy development, and reporting skills, to support efficient, uniform court operations.

Qualifications

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a bachelor's degree.
• Experience showing ability to write clear reports and analyze complex material.
• Specialized Experience in a court or legal setting, including supervision, program development, and advisory services.

Responsibilities

• Oversee administrative, operational, and court service functions supporting judicial proceedings, land title registration, and tax appeal matters statewide.
• Schedule court calendars statewide; supervise and train staff; provide technical assistance to the public and legal community.
• Manage budgets, personnel, systems, and legislative matters; ensure compliance with statutes, rules, and policies.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Recruitment Number 26-012LK, Court Administrator I (Land Court), SR-24, Honolulu, Oahu.

Note: The recruitment for this position is being announced at the Court Administrator I and II levels. See Court Administrator II (Land Court), Recruitment Number 26-013LK.

This position supports the statewide operations of the Land Court and the Tax Appeal Court by serving as the Registrar of the Land Court and Ex-Officio Clerk of the Tax Appeal Court. It oversees and directs all administrative, operational, and court service functions that support judicial proceedings, land title registration, and tax appeal matters across the State of Hawaii. Responsibilities include developing and implementing policies and procedures; managing court records, case management, and courtroom operations; coordinating with judges, Judiciary divisions, attorneys, and external agencies; overseeing budgets, personnel, technology systems, and legislative matters; and ensuring the accurate processing, custody, and certification of legal documents. The position also schedules court calendars statewide, supervises and trains staff, provides technical assistance to the public and legal community, and ensures compliance with applicable statutes, court rules, and administrative policies to promote efficient and uniform court operations.

Education Requirement:

Graduation from an accredited (4) year college or university with a bachelor’s degree. Excess work experience as described under Specialized Experience below, or any other responsible administrative, professional or analytical work experience which provided knowledge and abilities comparable to those acquired in four (4) years of successful study while completing a college or university curriculum leading to a bachelor’s degree may be substituted on a year-for-year basis. To be acceptable, the experience must have been of such scope, level and quality as to assure the possession of comparable knowledge of comparable knowledge and abilities.

The education or experience background must also demonstrate the ability to write clear and comprehensive reports and other documents; read and interpret complex material; and solve complex problems logically and systematically.

Specialized Experience:

• 1. In a court or legal setting, responsibility for supervising or overseeing the operational activities of a unit or section whose primary function is the preparation and/or processing of legal documents. Such experience must have included: (1) planning and directing the work of others; (2) assigning and reviewing their work; (3) advising them on difficult problem areas; (4) timing and scheduling their work; (5) training and developing new employees; and (6) disciplining them when necessary. Examples of legal setting are: Office of the Prosecutor, Public Defender, Department of the Attorney General, legal department in a financial institution or trust company, private attorney’s office.
• 2. Independently performing professional work involving written analysis, evaluation and recommendations for problem resolution in a court or legal setting, or those social work or administrative programs of the courts.

For purposes of this section, non-supervisory and supervisory work experience performing and/or supervising general clerical in not qualifying.

Staff Specialist OR Supervisory Experience:

Six (6) months of experience in one of the following areas:

• A. Staff Specialist Experience: Work in a criminal justice system which included the development and/or modification of an institutional program, and/or work in a criminal justice system which included program development; evaluation and the development of new and revised procedures; and advisory services to management in the overall aspects of program development and evaluation.
• B. Supervisory Experience: Experience which included: (1) planning and directing the work of others; (2) assigning and reviewing their work; (3) advising them on difficult problem areas; (4) timing and scheduling their work; (5) training and developing of new employees; and (6) disciplining them when necessary.

The required years of Supervisory Experience is separate from meeting the Specialized Experience requirement under #1 above.

Administrative Experience:

Administrative aptitude rather than actual administrative experience is accepted. Administrative aptitude will be considered to have been met for this level when there is strong evidence of the necessary administrative aptitudes and abilities. Such evidence may be in the form of success in regular or special assignments or projects which involve administrative problems (e.g., planning, organizing, promoting and directing a program providing staff advice and assistance); interest in management demonstrated by the performance of work assignments in a manner which clearly indicates awareness of problems and the ability to solve them; completion of educational or training courses in the areas of management accompanied by the application of principles, which were learned, to work assignments; management’s observation and evaluation of the applicant’s leadership and managerial capabilities; success in trial assignments to managerial and/or administrative tasks.

Substitution of Education for Specialized Experience:

• A. A master's degree in business, public administration or criminal justice administration or a closely related field may be substituted for one (1) year of Specialized Experience.
• B. A Juris Doctor degree from an accredited school of law may be substituted for one (1) year of Specialized Experience.

Any additional information may be attached to your online application, submitted by email to [e-mail], or mailed to the following address: Hawai`i State Judiciary, Human Resources Department,426 Queen Street, First Floor, Honolulu, Hawai`i 96813.

Education: If you are using education as a substitution for experience, you must submit a copy of your transcript(s) or diploma(s) at the time of application. If you are selected for a position, we will request an official transcript (not a copy) at a later date. The official transcript must indicate completion of the training and/or the awarding of the appropriate degree.