Clarification from the agency

Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Indian candidates in accordance with the Indian Preference Act of 1934 (title 25, USC Section 472). Verification form BIA -4432 must be submitted with the application if claiming Indian Preference. No other documents will be accepted as proof of Indian Preference.

As Correctional Officer, GL-0007, your typical work assignments may include, but not limited to:

Duties listed are at the full performance level at the GS-08. If selected at the lower level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform these duties and receive training to develop in the position.

• The position is demanding because the safety and security of the facility, staff and offender (including the offender care and control) are directly dependent on the officer's skills in the following areas: 1) booking and release procedures; 2) inmate behavior management; 3) leadership; 4) crisis prevention and intervention; 5) inmate health care and medication; 6) demonstration or fairness in all dealings with offenders through policy and procedures; 7) observation and supervision of inmates; 8) service referrals for programs and services; 9) documentation, logs and reports on inmate incident and management; and, 10) Transportation of inmates to court, medical, and other facilities.
• Enforces standard rules and regulations provided in Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 69 Bureau of Indian Affairs Manual (BIAM), Department of the Interior (DOI), Departmental Manual (OM) 446, governing the operations of the detention facilities and programs, and the confinement, safety, health, and protection of criminal offenders.
• Provides preliminary Interviews for physical and mental health with classification assessments.
• Upon admission provides criminal offenders with an orientation into the facility's rules and operating procedures through the Inmate Handbook.
• Coordinates, and supervises offender services, activities, and programs, (i.e., access to medical care, courts, mail, recreating, library, work programs, religious, food, laundry, and counseling services).
• Observe and supervise offender movement, conduct welfare checks and physical counts of inmates, maintains discipline and prevents the introduction of contraband in the facility and completes proper documentation.
• Instructs offenders in housekeeping, sanitation and in the proper use and care of tools and equipment used in sanitation and in the proper use and care of tools and equipment used in performing unskilled or semi-skilled work Inside or outside of the facility.
• Manages inmate behavior of offenders in need of supervision. This includes utilizing effective verbal interpersonal communication skills and proper documentation. Will make proper referrals to appropriate resources.
• Transports to court, medical and other facilities. Provides close supervision of the offender throughout the transport.
• Implements all safety aspects of facility emergency management plans to include fire and emergency evacuations.
• Provides for vehicle safety and security by providing defined offender supervision, searches, transportation, classification, and counts, along with maintaining fire safety, key control, perimeter security, and compliance with offender rules.
• Ensures that offenders are released from the facility according to established regulations and operational descriptions.
• Completes facility observation on maintenance that is needed by reporting and documenting to the supervisor that a repair is needed.

As a corrections officer, accepts custody of Indian Country offenders from various law enforcement entities ensuring that document packages include valid criminal charges or proper release documents. While in custody of the program, officer is responsible for safeguarding of the offender and their personal belongings. If determined necessary, will escort the offender to appointments such as with the doctor, dentist, or medical clinics; or to Tribal, county, state and Federal detention institutions or other facilities when the need arises.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship Required
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period OR 2-year trial period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated
• A background security investigation will be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication.
• If you are a male applicant born after 12/31/1959 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.
• Medical requirement.
• Drug Testing. This position is subject to both pre-employment and random drug testing as a condition of employment. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.
• This position has been approved for Primary Law Enforcement Coverage.
• You will be expected to attend and pass the U.S. Indian Police Academy.

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards ).

Minimum Qualification GL-05:

To qualify at the GL-05 grade level you must meet ONE of the following criteria:

A. General Work Experience: Three years of general work experience. Or
B. Education: Successful completion of a full 4 year course of study (120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours) in any field leading to a bachelor's degree, at an accredited college or university. Or
C. A combination of experience and education that totals 100% of the requirement.

Minimum Qualification GL-06:

To qualify at the GL-06 grade level you must meet ONE of the following criteria:

A. Experience: One year of specialized experience at the next lower level assisting with the supervision and care of criminal offenders at a correctional and/or detention facility. Experience at this level may include assisting with or performing tasks such as control room, booking, intake, inmate transport, maintaining documentation on inmates, controlled movements and supervision of inmates, in accordance with policies and procedures.Or
B. Education: Successful completion of nine (9) semester hours or fourteen (14) quarter hours of graduate study from an accredited school with major study in Criminal Justice, Criminology, Social Science, or other field of study related to the position.Or
C. A combination of experience and education that totals 100% of the requirement.

Minimum Qualification GL-07:

To qualify at the GL-07 grade level you must meet ONE of the following criteria:

A. Experience: One year specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS/GL-06 grade level independently providing supervision and care to criminal offenders at a correctional and/or detention facility; maintaining documentation on inmates, controlled movements and supervision of inmates; and experience with Standard Operating Procedures and Emergency Management Plans. Experience at this level may include independently enforcing rules and regulations governing facility security, inmate accountability and inmate conduct; performing inmate transport; and providing guidance to lower level correctional officers, in accordance with policies, procedures, and detention standards. Or
B. Education: Successful completion of one full academic year (18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours) of graduate education from an accredited school with major study in criminal justice, social science, or other fields related to the position. Or
C. Combination: A combination of experience and education that totals 100% of the requirement.

Minimum Qualification GL-08:

To qualify for the GL-08, you must have one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GL-07 grade level independently providing supervision and care to criminal offenders in the operation of a correctional and/or detention facility and serving as a work leader over lower-level correctional officers. Experience at this level may include independently enforcing rules and regulations governing facility security, inmate accountability and inmate conduct; distributing and balancing the workload among team members; providing training to lower-level correctional officers; and meeting or exceeding the detention standards by adhering to policies and procedures. Experience may have been gained in work such as serving as a correctional/police officer, mental health counselor in a residential facility, or detention officer/jailor.

Physical Demands:
The duties of a correctional officer, on any shift involves unusual mental and nervous pressure. It requires arduous physical exertion including prolonged walking, standing, and sitting while transporting, lifting of moderately heavy to light objects, restraining of offenders in emergencies and participating in escape and walk-away hunts. Incumbent must be physically capable of performing efficiently the duties of the position and be free from such defects or disease as may constitute employment hazards to themselves or others.

Work Environment:
Work performed by this position requires frequent and direct contact with individuals or groups of individuals in confinement who are suspected or convicted of Tribal and/or Federal offenses. Daily stress, exposure to disease, and exposure to potentially dangerous situations such as direct physical attack are an inherent part of this position. Incumbent must be able to go anywhere they are detailed for temporary duty on short notice and may be required to remain away from their regular duty station for extended periods of time to meet the needs of the BIA.

MAXIMUM ENTRY AGE LIMIT:
The maximum entry-age for this position shall not exceed age 37, unless you have sufficient prior Federal civilian law enforcement [or firefighter, if applicable] experience or you are a preference eligible veteran. If you are a preference eligible veteran, you may be eligible for this position after your 37th birthday. You must supply a copy of your Defense Department Form 214 (DD-214) along with Standard Form 15 (if applicable) and any associated documentation in accordance with the instructions in this vacancy announcement. Failure to provide this documentation with your application will result in the loss of eligibility to receive a waiver of the maximum entry age requirement.If you have an approved age waiver, please submit that with your application.

NOTE: If you have previous law enforcement (LE) Federal experience, you must enter the number of MONTHS when you respond to the questionnaire. For example, if you have 5 years of Federal LE experience, you must enter 60 months, 4 years would be 48 months, etc. Otherwise, the system may screen you out.

MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS:
The duties of this position require moderate to arduous physical exertion involving walking and standing, and exposure to inclement weather. Manual dexterity with comparatively free motion of finger, wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, and knee joints is required. Arms, hands, legs, and feet must be sufficiently intact and functioning in order that applicants may perform the duties satisfactorily. Sufficiently good vision in each eye, with or without correction, is required to perform duties satisfactorily. Near vision, corrective lenses permitted, must be sufficient to read printed material the size of typewritten characters. Hearing loss, as measured by an audiometer, must not exceed 35 decibels at 1000, 2000, and 3000 Hz levels. Since the duties of these positions are exacting and responsible, and involve activities under trying conditions, applicants must possess emotional and mental stability. Any physical condition that would cause the applicant to be a hazard to himself/herself, or others is disqualifying.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Merit Promotion candidates must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the announcement closing date.

Additional selections may be made from this announcement if identical vacancies occur in the same location within 90 days from the closing date.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application package will be evaluated against the minimum qualification requirements specified above. In order to qualify, your resume must specifically describe your work history and the duties you performed in each position.

Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

Your resume will be evaluated after the closing date of 11/28/2025 to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position.

Please follow all instructions carefully, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessments, which may include a structured resume review and a structured interview. These assessments measure the critical competencies required to successfully perform the job.

• Detention
• Oral Communication
• Public Safety and Security
• Technical Competence

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/application does not support your Assessment Questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level.

Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Indian candidates in accordance with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (Title 25, USC, Section 472). Verification Form BIA-4432 must be submitted with the application if claiming Indian Preference. Indian Preference eligibles not currently employed in Federal service may be appointed under the Excepted Service Appointment Authority Schedule A, 213.3112(a)(7). Consideration will be given to Non-Indian applicants in the absence of qualified Indian Preference eligibles. For more information, please visit: https://www.bia.gov/jobs.

DUE WEIGHT FOR PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS AND AWARDS. For Current and Former Federal Employees, due weight will be given for performance and awards. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

REVIEW BEFORE YOU SUBMIT: You may preview the assessment questions here in the https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12790817.

The following documents are required for this position:

• Resume which details work experience including dates worked (mm/yy-mm/yy); position title; position series and grade (if federal service); work schedule; hours worked per week; relevant duties performed; supervisor with contact information, and 3 professional references and contact information (Do not include current/former supervisors), etc
• Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
• On-line Assessment Questionnaire
• Transcripts (if using education to qualify) - Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, an official transcript may be requested at a later time.
• Veteran's documentation - (if applicable) VA letter on VA letterhead stating your overall combined rating, SF-15, DD-214 (Member 4 Copy Only) reflecting an honorable discharge and dates of active duty military service.
• Special Appointing Authority documentation (if applying under a special hiring authority)
• BIA Form 4432 The Form BIA-4432 must be completed as stated in the Instructions on the Form and this form with must be submitted with your application for Federal employment (if claiming Indian preference).
• Performance Appraisal (if applying under the Land Management Flexibility Act)
• Current & Former Federal Employees. If you are a current career or career-conditional Federal employee OR a former Federal employee who has reinstatement eligibility you must submit the following by the closing date of this announcement, or you will not receive consideration as such:
  • A copy of a recent SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" documenting proof of competitive status, tenure, position title, occupational series, grade level and step. If you are applying for a higher grade, please provide the SF-50 form which shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade. If you have promotion potential in any of your positions, please provide an SF-50 stating your highest full performance level; and
  • Due Weight for Performance Appraisals and Awards:
    1. Your most recent Performance Appraisal (if you do not have your most recent performance appraisal, please submit an explanation as to why it is unavailable); and
    2. If applicable, a list of any awards you received in the last 5 years (i.e., superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.).

Click here for information see Reading your SF-50 to determine your service and appointment type

ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 11:59 PM Eastern Time ON THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. If your application package is incomplete in any way, you will not be considered for this position, and requests for extensions will not be granted. Please double check your application package before you submit it.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL NOT BE SOLICITED OR ACCEPTED BY THIS OFFICE.

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