Correctional Officer (Senior Officer Specialist GL-08)

JUSTICE, BUREAU OF PRISONS (DOJ); United States; On-site; USD 59,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

JUSTICE, BUREAU OF PRISONS (DOJ) seeks dedicated correctional officers to supervise inmates, maintain facility security, and support humane, lawful corrections practices nationwide. This permanent, full-time role offers a competitive federal salary and benefits.

As a GL-08/01 to GL-08/10 position, employees work varied hours, may travel for training, and must meet stringent medical and background requirements.

Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Must have at least 1 year of specialized experience at a correctional facility.
• No substitution of education for experience.

Responsibilities

• Supervise inmates and enforce facility rules to maintain security.
• Provide correctional treatment and guidance to inmates as part of security.
• Be prepared for long or irregular hours, including overtime.

Skills

Public safety

Written communication

Oral communication

Decision making

Teamwork

Job description

Summary

Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.

Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.

Overview

Help. Accepting applications. Open & closing dates 10/01/2025 to 09/30/2026.

Salary

$59,018 to – $94,537 per year. The salary range for this announcement reflects Rest of US GL-08/01 @ $59,018 to highest GL-08/10 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA @ $94,537.

• Pay scale & grade: GL 08
• Location: Prisons – Nationwide
• Many vacancies
• Remote job: No
• Telework eligible: No
• Travel Required: Occasional travel – may be required for training and/or work related issues.
• Relocation expenses reimbursed: No
• Appointment type: Permanent
• Work schedule: Full-time – Full
• Service: Competitive
• Promotion potential: 08
• Job family (Series): 08
• 0007 Correctional Officer
• Supervisory status: No
• Security clearance: Other
• Drug test: Yes
• Bargaining unit status: No
• Announcement number: HR-N-2026-0010
• Control number: 847135400

Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of the hiring agency that posted the job announcement.

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Clarification from the agency

• BOP Employees nationwide
• DOJ Surplus and Displaced (CTAP) Employees in the local commuting area.

Duties

Provides supervision, care and correctional treatment of inmates and guidance to lower-graded Correctional Officers. Concerned with maintenance of institution security contributing to the health and welfare of the inmates and the promotion of good public relations.

Enforces rules and regulations governing facility security, inmate accountability and inmate conduct to ensure judicial sanctions are carried out and inmates remain in custody. From time to time, may be authorized to carry firearms and to use physical force, including deadly force, to maintain control of inmates.

During institution emergencies or other periods of heavy workload or limited staff, may be required to work long and irregular hours, unusual shifts, Sundays, holidays and unexpected overtime. Incumbent must be flexible and have a broad knowledge base to use own initiative in the resolution of problem situations.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

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

Career Transition Programs (CTAP):

• Meet CTAP eligibility criteria.
• Be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above based on scoring at least half of the total possible points for the vacancy KSAs or competencies.
• Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP eligibility.

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

Qualifications

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

++Education:++

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

++Experience:++

You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level. Specialized experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position to be filled. Experience must have been gained in a correctional facility with responsibilities in correctional treatment, care, custody, and control of inmates.

Some examples of this qualifying experience are:

• Experience with assignments made to those areas requiring the maximum skill and expertise in dealing with inmates, the public, and the security of the institution.
• Experience in supervising and instructing inmates regarding proper sanitation, personal hygiene and work habits.
• Experience in maintaining the control and discipline of inmates in such areas as the auditorium, housing units, segregation, recreation areas, dining rooms, etc.
• Experience in having responsibility for the custody and control of inmates who require special handling.

++Medical Requirement:++

The Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons has established the following medical requirements for Correctional Officer positions. The duties of these positions involve unusual mental and nervous pressure and require arduous physical exertion involving prolonged walking and standing, restraining of prisoners in emergencies, and participating in escape hunts. Applicants must be physically capable of performing efficiently the duties of these positions, and be free from such defects or disease as may constitute employment hazards to themselves or others. The duties of a Correctional Officer are arduous; and sound health as well as physical fitness is required.

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 answers to the questions in the application.

Education

See Qualifications Section for education requirements, if applicable.

ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here.

Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.

If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.

Additional information

Although 5 U.S.C. 3307 established a maximum entry age for initial appointment to a position is a Bureau of Prisons institution, Applicants can be considered up to age 39. If you are above the maximum entry age and have prior federal law enforcement coverage, you MUST submit an SF-50 to verify prior coverage.

The representative rate for this position is $64,553 per annum ($30.93 per hour).

SALARY RANGE: The salary range for this announcement reflects Rest of US GL-08/01 @ $59,018 to highest GL-08/10 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA @ $94,537. See current pay scales for locality area for which you are applying at www.opm.gov and search pay tables.

Special Conditions of Employment Section: Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a urinalysis, physical, and background investigation. All applicants are subject to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit checks.

All applicants not currently working in an institution will be required to complete a qualification inquiry regarding convictions of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence in order to be authorized to carry a firearm.

The Core Value Assessment (CVA) is an in-person assessment that must be facilitated at a Bureau of Prisons Human Resource Servicing office. On the day of the scheduled interview, a CVA will be administered. The applicant assessment must be completed within a 70 minute time period and a passing score must be obtained. Further employment consideration will not be extended if the applicant fails to complete the examination or fails to achieve a passing score. Note: The Core Value Assessment will not be administered to current BOP employees.

Successful completion of the “Introduction to Correctional Techniques,” three-week training course at Glynco, Georgia is required.

The addresses listed on the USAJOBS account/resume must be the primary residence at the time of application. You may be required to provide proof of residence.

Additional selections may be made if vacancies occur within the life of the certificate.

Although competitive and non-competitive applications are being accepted, the selecting official may elect to have only one group reviewed.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Exceptions may apply. See 5 CFR part 11.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window Learn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

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 cutoff date (end of month).

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

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

• Stress Tolerance
• Writing
• Oral Communication
• Decision Making
• Teamwork

You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required documents

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.

• Resume: Resume limited to 2 pages showing 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.
• To receive credit for experience contained in an application, the experience must be documented: Reflecting start date and end date in month/year format (MM/YYYY) AND include the number of hours worked per week.
• 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 BOP, you MUST provide the SF-50 Form which verifies length of time in highest grade and supports your claim for time in grade.
• Employees applying with an interchange agreement must provide proof of permanent appointment.
• Current federal employees NOT employed by the BOP and former federal employees MUST submit a copy of latest yearly performance appraisal/evaluation.
• CTAP, Click Here, if applicable.

For more help, visit USAJOBS Help Center – What should I include in my resume?