Correctional Program Officer (Chief, FSA Programs)

Clarification from the agency

• Current Federal Employees nationwide • Former Federal Employees (Reinstatement Eligible) • Surplus and Displaced (CTAP or ICTAP) Federal Employees in the local commuting area • Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) • Current and Former Land Management employees eligible under Public Law 114-47 • Military Spouse under Executive Order 13832 • Division: First Step Act Branch, Director's Office, Central Office, Washington DC • Duty Location: Central Office, Washington DC or Grand Prairie, TX

The Chief is responsible for nationwide oversight, coordination, and operational management of FSA needs assessments, evidence-based recidivism reduction programs, incentives, training, and reporting.

The position directly supports inmate management, institutional operations, and release readiness by ensuring programs are properly designed, implemented, monitored, and reported in compliance with statutory and Bureau requirements.

Liaison with the U.S. District Courts, U.S. Probation Offices, state agencies and institutions, U.S. Parole Commission, U.S. Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and various other agencies and divisions of the Department of Justice.

The Chief provides national directives to institution, region, and Central Office staff.

The incumbent is involved in a wide range of First Step Act related activities pertaining to the management of inmates committed to the custody of the Attorney General and under the care of the Federal Prison System.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is Required.
• See Special Conditions of Employment Section.

Career Transition Programs (CTAP or ICTAP): These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:

• 1. Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria;
• 2. Be rated well-qualified for the position, scoring at least half of the total possible points for the vacancy KSAs or competencies; and
• 3. Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility:
• A copy of the agency notice (i.e., separation notice or agency RIF letter),
• Most recent performance appraisal, and
• Most recent SF-50 showing current/former position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location.
• See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information.

NOTE: Applicants claiming CTAP or ICTAP eligibility must complete all assessment questions to be rated under the established ranking criteria.

EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline.

Qualifications

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following qualification requirements:

Basic Requirement:

You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level. Specialized experience is directly related experience that included substantial involvement with a correctional program and provided a thorough knowledge of correctional techniques, or experience in meeting and dealing with people that demonstrated the ability to work effectively with inmates and associates in a correctional environment.

Experience must have also demonstrated the ability to perform supervisory or administrative duties successfully. This includes (1) understanding the problems of custody, treatment, training, and release of inmates of penal or correctional institutions; (2) a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of an institution's internal policies, programs, regulations, and procedures; and (3) training subordinates, coordinating and directing activities and functions, evaluating performance of operations and the effectiveness of programs, and maintaining high standards or work objectives. This experience must have been gained in an administrative position, or in other positions that included the successful direction, or assistance in the direction of, an entire correctional program or a major phase of such a program.

AND

In addition to the basic requirements, applicants must also have:

Education:

There is no substitution of education for specialized experience for this position.

Experience:

Some examples of this qualifying experience are:

• Experience serving in a senior leadership capacity overseeing correctional programs, reentry services, or criminal justice reform initiatives, including directing program staff, coordinating with multiple stakeholders across organizational levels, and ensuring compliance with federal regulations and policy requirements.
• Experience managing evidence-based correctional programs related to risk and needs assessments, recidivism reduction, or reentry programming.
• Experience managing geographically dispersed program operations with responsibility for supervising professional staff at multiple locations, including providing technical guidance and oversight to ensure consistent program delivery, conducting program reviews and quality assurance assessments, developing training curricula for program staff, analyzing program data to identify trends and improvement opportunities, and collaborating with senior leadership to address operational challenges.

If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**

How you will be evaluated

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

If your composite score exceeds the average score for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your online assessment responses and utilized to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement.  If your selections are not supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.

There are several parts of the application process that affect the overall evaluation of your application:

• Your resume, which is part of your USAJOBS profile;
• Your responses to the eligibility questions;
• Your responses to the online assessment;
• Your supporting documentation, if required.

Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements for consideration. You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

What Competencies/Knowledge, Skills and Abilities are Required for this Position?

The following Competencies/Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's) are required:

• Oral Communication.
• Writing.
• Managing Human Resources.
• Organizational Awareness.
• Planning and Evaluating.

Failure to provide legible required documents and/or follow the prescribed format often results in removal from consideration.  If uploading documentation, do not identify/save your documents utilizing a special character such as %, #, @, etc.  Documentation should be identified/saved as VA Letter, DD-214, or Transcripts.

•  Veterans' Preference Documentation:
• Failure to submit all required documents at the time of application will result in the loss of claimed preference eligibility.
• DD-214: Veterans MUST provide a DD-214 demonstrating that they have been discharged or released from active duty under honorable conditions (i.e., the individual must have received either an honorable or general discharge).
• SF-15: If you are a disabled veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, widow/widower of a veteran, the spouse of a disabled veteran or the parent of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit:
• A completed Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference" AND all required documentation identified on the SF-15. 
• NOTE: A Department of Veterans Affairs letter must contain the Veteran’s Name and Combined Service-Connected Evaluation. For a copy of the most current SF-15, Click Here.
• If you are on active duty and expect to be discharged or released from active duty service within 120 days, you may submit a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty from the appropriate Branch Personnel Office containing the following information: (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; (2) and the character of service (must be an honorable or general discharge); and (3) any qualifying service/campaign/expeditionary medals.
• Resume (limited to 2 pages) must include your name, contact information, and relevant experience (cover letter optional). Experience that would not normally be part of the Federal employee’s position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence of qualifying experience (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, Human Resource Manager, SF-52, MOU, etc.). If providing a memorandum, it must follow the format below AND clearly cite the duties performed.
• To receive credit for experience, your resume and/or any satisfactory evidence must include:
• Start date and end date in month/year format (MM/YYYY) AND
• Number of hours worked per week.
• College transcript: includes the School Name, Student Name, Degree, and Date Awarded (if applicable).
• NOTE:  If you are selected, official transcript(s) will be required prior to your first day.
• SF-50: Current or former Federal employees NOT employed by the Bureau of Prisons MUST submit a copy of their SF-50 Form which shows competitive service appointment, tenure group, and salary. If you have promotion potential in your current position, please provide proof. If you are applying for a higher grade, and your experience was gained at a Federal agency other than the Bureau of Prisons, you MUST provide the SF-50 Form which verifies the length of time you have been in your highest grade and supports your claim for time in grade.
• Proof of ICTAP/CTAP eligibility, Click Here, if applicable.

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