Staff Sergeant / Sergent d'état-major; sergente d'état-major

Ministry of the Solicitor General / Ministère du Solliciteur général; Toronto; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Northern Attraction Incentive Program

Job summary

Ministry of the Solicitor General / Ministère du Solliciteur général in Ontario is seeking an experienced Staff Sergeant to lead Fort Frances Jail. You will supervise Sergeants and Correctional Officers, ensure safety, security and continuous operation, and make timely decisions under pressure in a custodial setting.

The role requires strong leadership, resilience and the ability to stay calm in demanding environments.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated leadership in high-risk, custody or similar settings.
• Ability to make timely decisions under pressure.
• Strong judgment, integrity and accountability are essential.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and direction to staff in a unionized correctional setting.
• Manage programs to ensure public safety and custody of inmates.
• Coordinate review and implementation of standing orders and local policies.
• Oversee administration and operations in the absence of senior admins.
• Maintain internal relationships with stakeholders and ensure compliance.
• Lead investigations into sensitive issues and determine resolutions.

Skills

Leadership

Decision making

Crisis management

Staff supervision

Job description

Ministry of the Solicitor General / Ministère du Solliciteur général

Staff Sergeant / Sergent d'état-major; sergente d'état-major

Fort Frances Jail is looking for experienced leaders who can manage complex operations when it matters most. As a Staff Sergeant, you are responsible for the day-to-day operation of a correctional institution, supervising Sergeants and Correctional Officers, and ensuring the institution remains safe, secure, and operational at all times. This is a hands‑on leadership role with significant accountability, requiring sound judgment, strong operational leadership, and the ability to respond effectively to dynamic situations in a custodial environment.

You will be expected to make timely decisions under pressure, manage incidents and emergencies, lead reviews and investigations into critical events or conduct issues, and address situations that require senior level judgment and authority. You'll oversee staffing and deployment, step in during high risk or escalated situations, support staff through challenging circumstances, and hold individuals accountable when standards are not met. During after hours, nights, weekends, and statutory holidays, you may be the senior leader on site.

This role requires strong leadership experience, sound judgment, resilience, and the ability to remain calm in demanding and unpredictable environments. Leaders from other operational, enforcement, regulatory, emergency management, military, or similarly high accountability settings bring valuable, transferable skills to this work. The environment is fast paced and high stress, but you will have real authority, real responsibility, and a direct impact on staff safety, organizational order, and public safety.

If you're ready to step up and lead from the front, this role is for you.

As this is a frontline essential position, your physical presence at the institution is crucial to this role and this position will be fully onsite. Shift work will include evenings, nights, weekends, and statutory holidays in a 24/7 operational environment.

Northern Attraction Incentive Program (NAIP) This position qualifies for the Northern Attraction Incentive Program (NAIP). NAIP is a pilot recruitment program that offers financial incentives to new hires in specific positions in designated institutions and probation and parole offices in Northern Ontario. This includes both external candidates to the Ontario Public Service and existing employees who agree to work for a term of three years.

Leadership That Makes a Difference

At its core, leadership in the Ontario Public Service (OPS) is about creating positive change for people and communities across Ontario. We’re looking for leaders who are authentic, accountable, and courageous. People who bring others together, ask bold questions, and lead with purpose.

About the job

Leadership at Fort Frances Jail is about setting clear standards and supporting staff in a challenging environment. It means being present on the floor, acting with integrity, and making fair, consistent decisions — especially when situations are complex or high-pressure. Your leadership shows in how you handle issues, support your team, and maintain professionalism in a custody setting.

As a leader, you shape the culture of the institution. You set expectations for respectful conduct, inclusion, and accountability, and you address issues directly when they arise. You help create a workplace where staff feel supported, treated fairly, and able to do their jobs safely, while ensuring operational and security standards are always maintained.

You won’t be expected to do this alone. The OPS provides leadership training, mentorship, and access to networks across Corrections to support your development. This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact — on staff morale, institutional safety, and the effective operation of the institution. You will:

• Provide leadership, guidance and direction to staff in a correctional unionized environment.
• Manage overall programs of the institution to ensure public safety and the care, custody and control of inmates.
• Coordinate the review, formulation and implementation of institutional standing orders and local operating policies and procedures and ensure compliance with policies and legislation.
• Assume overall responsibility for the administration and operations of the institution in the absence of senior administrators.
• Manage internal and stakeholder relationships with a high level of political acuity.
• Conduct thorough investigations into a range of sensitive and contentious issues, determining resolutions and maintaining internal accountability.
• Be a quick thinker with the ability to manage crisis situations, instilling the confidence in staff to do the same.
• Bring an innovative mindset to your work, enabling you to incorporate new tools, technology and practices to achieve results.
• Represent the Ministry and the Institution by appearing and providing accurate testimony at various levels of court and tribunal proceedings as required.

Meet Your New Team

Located in Fort Frances, Northwestern Ontario, approximately 350 kilometres west of Thunder Bay and more than 1,500 kilometres from Toronto, Fort Frances Jail serves a unique and important role within Ontario’s correctional system. Situated on the Canada-U.S. border and surrounded by vast forests, lakes, and remote communities, the facility supports the safe and secure custody of individuals while contributing to public safety across a large geographic region. This opportunity is ideal for those seeking a true Northern Ontario lifestyle, where community connections are strong, commutes are short, and world‑class outdoor recreation is right outside your door. Nestled along the shores of beautiful Rainy Lake, Fort Frances offers exceptional fishing, boating, hiking, and year‑round outdoor activities, making it an attractive destination for candidates looking to combine meaningful public service work with an unmatched quality of life in Northwestern Ontario.

What you bring to the team

Mandatory

• First Aid, CPR, and Use of Force (defensive tactics and chemical munitions) is required (training provided in accordance to provincial standards).

Leadership and Supervisory Skills

• You can lead and support staff in a unionized correctional setting, providing clear direction, coaching, and follow up while ensuring compliance with policies, legislation, and correctional standards.
• You can manage institutional resources, including budgets, staffing, and equipment, and make decisions that balance operational needs with fiscal responsibility.
• You understand HR policies and collective agreements and can recruit, onboard, train, and manage staff, including addressing complex employee relations matters.
• You demonstrate integrity and consistency in decision making, even in difficult or high pressure situations.

Technical Knowledge

• You bring a strong understanding of how complex operations are managed in secure or high consequence environments, prioritizing and maintaining safety, security, services, program delivery, and day‑to‑day administrative and institutional operations
• You bring experience operating within a secure or high consequence environment where accountability, consistency and structured oversight are critical,
• An understanding of how legal obligations policies and procedures, safety equipment, technology, relationship custody, and supervision models work together to manage, mitigate risk and maintain order.
• You can clearly communicate, interpret and apply legislation, policies and procedures to ensure staff fully understand their legal obligations, employer expectations and any changes that may impact the daily operations.

Communication and Relationship Management Skills

• You can communicate effectively with front line staff, management, regional offices, and external partners, ensuring information is clear, timely, and appropriate.
• You can prepare clear and accurate documentation, including reports, investigation findings, operational plans, and procedural materials.
• You can build and maintain effective working relationships with police, courts, and community partners to support institutional operations.

Analytical and Investigative Skills

• You remain calm and decisive when dealing with incidents, emergencies, and sensitive situations.
• You can conduct and review local investigations and fact findings, assess risk, and ensure accountability is maintained.
• You are able to manage competing priorities, workload pressures, and operational stress in a 24/7 correctional environment.

How we support diversity, inclusion and accessibility

We are building an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We encourage everyone interested in working with us to apply, including people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black and racialized individuals, as well as people from all ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.

Our hiring process is accessible, consistent with Ontario’s Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. We are working to prevent and remove barriers in our hiring processes and can offer accommodation to address specific needs related to Code-protected grounds such as disability, family status and religion. For more information about accommodation during the hiring process please contact us.

Learn more about the work the OPS is doing to create an inclusive, anti‑racist, accessible and diverse workplace:

• diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
• accessibility
• Anti‑Racism Policy

La prison de Fort Frances cherche à recruter des dirigeants expérimentés capables de gérer des activités complexes là où cela compte le plus.

À titre de sergent d'état‑major, vous assurez le fonctionnement quotidien d'un établissement correctionnel, supervisez les sergents et les agents des services correctionnels et veillez à ce que l'établissement demeure en tout temps sûr, sécuritaire et opérationnel. Il s'agit d'un rôle de leadership de terrain comportant d'importantes responsabilités, qui exige un jugement sûr, un solide leadership opérationnel et la capacité de réagir efficacement à des situations changeantes dans un milieu correctionnel.

On s'attend à ce que vous preniez des décisions en temps opportun sous pression, que vous gériez des incidents et des urgences, que vous dirigiez des examens et enquêtes sur des événements critiques ou des problèmes de conduite, et que vous traitiez des situations nécessitant un jugement et une autorité de haut niveau. Vous superviserez le recrutement et le déploiement, interviendrez lors de situations à haut risque ou qui s'aggravent, soutiendrez le personnel dans des situations difficiles et tiendrez les personnes responsables lorsque les normes ne sont pas respectées. En dehors des heures de travail, la nuit, les fins de semaine et les jours fériés, vous pourriez être le responsable principal sur place.

Ce rôle exige une solide expérience en leadership, un jugement sain, de la résilience et la capacité à rester calme dans des environnements exigeants et imprévisibles. Des leaders provenant d'autres milieux opérationnels, des secteurs de l'application de la loi, de la réglementation, de la gestion des urgences, du secteur militaire ou d'autres domaines également à haute responsabilité apportent des compétences précieuses et transférables à ce travail. L'environnement est dynamique et très stressant, mais vous aurez une réelle autorité, une vraie responsabilité, et une incidence directe sur la sécurité du personnel, l'ordre au sein de l'organisation et la sécurité publique.

Si vous êtes prêt à prendre les devants et à prendre position, ce rôle est fait pour vous.

Comme il s'agit d'un poste essentiel de première ligne, votre présence physique à temps plein à l'établissement est essentielle. Le travail par quarts peut être effectué le soir, la nuit, la fin de semaine et les jours fériés, dans un environnement opérationnel fonctionnant 24 heures sur 24, 7 jours sur 7.

Programme d'incitatifs pour l'affectation dans le Nord (PIAN)

Ce poste est admissible au Programme d'incitatifs pour l'affectation dans le Nord (PIAN). Le PIAN est un programme pilote de recrutement qui offre des incitatifs financiers aux nouvelles recrues à des postes particuliers dans des établissements désignés ainsi que dans les bureaux de probation et de libération conditionnelle dans le Nord de l'Ontario. Il vise à la fois les candidats externes à la fonction publique de l'Ontario et les membres du personnel déjà en poste qui acceptent un mandat de trois ans.

Un leadership qui change les choses

Au sein de la fonction publique de l'Ontario, le leadership consiste à créer des changements positifs pour les personnes et les collectivités partout en Ontario. Nous sommes à la recherche de leaders authentiques, responsables et courageux. Des personnes qui rassemblent les autres, posent des questions audacieuses et dirigent avec détermination.

Au sujet de l'emploi

Le leadership à la prison de Fort Frances consiste à établir des normes claires et à soutenir le personnel dans un environnement exigeant. Cela signifie être présent sur le terrain, agir avec intégrité et prendre des décisions justes et cohérentes, surtout lorsque les situations sont complexes ou sous forte pression. Votre leadership se manifeste dans la façon dont vous gérez les problèmes, soutenez votre équipe et faites preuve de professionnalisme dans un milieu d'incarcération.

En tant que leader, vous façonnez la culture de l'établissement. Vous établissez des attentes en matière de conduite respectueuse, d'inclusion et de responsabilisation et vous intervenez directement lorsque des problèmes surviennent. Vous contribuez à créer un milieu de travail où le personnel se sent soutenu, est traité équitablement et peut accomplir son travail en toute sécurité, tout en veillant au maintien constant des normes opérationnelles et de sécurité.

On ne s'attend pas à ce que vous fassiez tout cela seul. La fonction publique de l'Ontario (FPO) offre une formation en leadership, du mentorat et l'accès à des réseaux dans l'ensemble des services correctionnels pour soutenir votre perfectionnement. Ce rôle vous donne l'occasion d'avoir une incidence réelle sur le moral du personnel, la sécurité de l'établissement et son bon fonctionnement. Vous devrez :

• Assurer le leadership, l'orientation et l'encadrement auprès du personnel dans un milieu correctionnel syndiqué.
• Gérer l'ensemble des programmes de l'établissement pour assurer la sécurité publique ainsi que la prise en charge, la garde et la surveillance des détenus.
• Coordonner l'examen, la formulation et la mise en œuvre des ordres permanents de l'établissement ainsi que des politiques et des procédures opérationnelles locales, et veiller au respect des politiques et de la législation.
• Assumer la responsabilité générale de l'administration et du fonctionnement de l'établissement en l'absence des cadres supérieurs.
• Gérer les relations internes et les relations avec les intervenants en faisant preuve d'un haut degré d'acuité politique.
• Mener des enquêtes approfondies sur une série de questions délicates et litigieuses, trouver des solutions et assurer le maintien de la reddition de comptes au sein de l'organisation.
• Réfléchir rapidement et capacité à gérer des situations de crise, en amenant le personnel à acquérir la confiance dont il a besoin pour faire de même.
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