Sheriff's Correctional Facility Recreation Specialist

Sacramento County; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Sacramento County is seeking a Sheriff\'s Correctional Facility Recreation Specialist to plan, promote, and implement a wide range of inmate recreational activities within an adult correctional facility. You will organize programs across sports, crafts, games, videos, and reading materials, with emphasis on safety and orderly execution.

The role requires strong organizational skills, ability to work under stress, and the capacity to engage diverse inmate populations while maintaining security.

Qualifications

• Three years of full-time experience as Sheriff's Correctional Facility Recreation Leader in Sacramento County service.
• Bachelor's degree in general recreation or physical education or equivalent; education may substitute for experience on a year-for-year basis.
• AND one year of paid or volunteer experience organizing and conducting recreational programs.
• Note: full-time experience only; part-time experience converted to full-time for calculation.

Responsibilities

• Plan, promote, organize, implement and evaluate inmate recreational activities.
• Coordinate activities including sports, games, handicrafts, videos, and reading materials.
• Promote participation while maintaining safety and order in a secured environment.

Skills

Organizing recreational activities

Conducting recreational programs

Communication skills (oral & written)

Handling stressful situations

Education

Bachelor's degree in general recreation or physical education

Experience in recreation leadership

Job description

The Position

This is a continuous filing exam. Next filing cut-offs are at 5:00 pm on:

11/23/26, 12/14/26, 1/4/27 (final)

Under general supervision, the Sheriff's Correctional Facility Recreation Specialist is responsible for planning, promoting, and implementing recreational activities. Incumbents plan, promote, organize, implement, and evaluate inmates' recreational activities at an adult correctional facility which include sports, games, handicrafts, videos and reading materials.

Examples Of Knowledge And Abilities

Knowledge of

• Principles and practices of organizing, conducting, and evaluating recreational activities
• Behavioral characteristics of incarcerated populations and techniques on dealing with them
• Recreation leadership techniques
• Fundamental rules, strategies, techniques and skills of a variety of individual and team recreational activities for incarcerated populations including athletics, games, arts, crafts, physical fitness, and music
• Recreational and social needs of adult groups
• First aid and safety practices

Ability to

• Plan, organize, promote, and conduct a wide range of recreational programs
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff and inmates from a variety of social, cultural, and economic backgrounds
• Use sound judgement and initiative in applying general policies by adapting activities to the secured environment and interest of the group
• Work under stressful, emotional, and confrontational situations requiring good judgement, self-control, and persuading and motivating people
• Tolerate different values and beliefs
• Motivate inmates to participate in constructive individual activities and in group activities requiring cooperation and teamwork
• Tolerate working in a security setting
• Learn and apply the methods, procedures, techniques and detailed rules and regulations of the inmate recreation and assistance services program, using independent judgment and initiative
• Communicate clearly and concisely orally and in writing
• Maintain records and prepare reports

Employment Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

Any combination of training and experience which would provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the requisite knowledge and abilities would be the following:

Either: 1. Three years of full time experience in the class of Sheriff's Correctional Facility Recreation Leader in Sacramento County service.

Or: 2. Completion of all major course work from an accredited college or university required for a Bachelor's Degree or higher in general recreation. Paid or volunteer experience in organizing and conducting recreational programs may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis.

Or: 3. Completion of all major course work from an accredited college or university required for a Bachelor's Degree or higher in physical education.

AND One year of paid or volunteer experience organizing and conducting recreational programs.

Note: All experience requirements are stated in terms of full-time experience; part-time experience is acceptable and is converted to full-time on the basis of: 173.6 hours = 21.7 days = 1 work month.

Note: If the word "experience" is referenced in the minimum qualifications, it means full-time paid experience unless the minimum qualification states that volunteer experience is acceptable. Part-time paid experience may be accumulated and pro-rated to meet the total experience requirements.

Special Requirements

Criminal History and Background Check: Appointees must pass a criminal history and background check to assure compliance with the California Penal Code. The conviction of a felony is grounds for disqualification from an appointment except if the individual has been granted a full and unconditional pardon for the felony.

Hours of Work: Incumbents in these classes must be willing to work irregular hours, holidays and weekends.

Probationary Period

The probationary period for this classification is six (6) months.

Application and Testing Information

APPLICATION

Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply immediately. All applicants must complete and submit an online County of Sacramento employment application by 5:00 PM on the posted cut-off date.

County of Sacramento

Department of Personnel Services

Employment Services Division

700 H Street, Room 4667

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone [phone]; 7-1-1 California Relay Service

Email [e-mail]

Inter-Office Mail Code: 09-4667

www.SacCountyJobs.net

• Employment applications and all documentation requested in this announcement must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date.
• Employment Services is not responsible for any issues or delays caused by an applicant's computer or web browser. Applicants will be automatically logged out if they have not submitted their applications and all documentation prior to 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date.
• Your application should highlight all relevant education, training, and experience, and clearly indicate how you meet the minimum qualifications for the position as of the cut-off date.
• Application information must be current, concise and related to the requirements in this job announcement. You may only apply for this recruitment once. Duplicate and incomplete applications will be disqualified.
• A resume may be included with your application, however it will not substitute for the information requested on the application.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE

Applicants are required to provide a full and complete response to each supplemental question. The Supplemental Questionnaire is located in the tab marked "Supplemental Questions". Please be descriptive in your response.

Note: Responses of "See Resume" or "See Application", or copy and paste of work experience are not qualifying responses and will not be considered.

• Supplemental Questionnaires must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date. Employment Services is not responsible for any issues or delays caused by an applicant's computer or web browser. Applicants will automatically be logged out if they have not submitted their applications and all documentation prior to 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date.
• The supplemental questions are designed to elicit specific information regarding a candidate's experience, education, and training. Responses should be consistent with the information on your application and are subject to verification.
• Please provide place of employment, pertinent dates, and concise, descriptive and detailed information for each question.
• If a job included responsibilities applicable to several questions, separate the different functions of the job to answer all the questions completely.
• Resumes or referral to the application or other questionnaire responses will not be accepted in lieu of completing each question.
• If you have no experience, write "no experience" for the appropriate question.
• For many individuals, it is more efficient to develop responses to the supplemental questions in a word processing document and then paste them into the final document to be submitted. Changes or corrections to your Supplemental Questionnaire cannot be made once your application packet has been submitted.
• If the Supplemental Questionnaire is used in the Formula Rate exam, failure to complete all of the questions or incomplete responses will result in a lower score. While scoring the Supplemental Questionnaire, the candidate's application and/or attachments will not be reviewed, therefore, a candidate's responses to the questions should be accurate, thorough, detailed, and complete.

FORMULA RATE EXAMINATION (Weighted 100%)

All candidates meeting the minimum qualifications by the cut-off date will have their Supplemental Questionnaire scored in the Formula Rate Examination.

This examination will evaluate the relevance, level, recency, progression and quality of candidate's education, training and experience. The candidate's application or other materials will not be included in this examination. Therefore, the candidate's responses to the supplemental questionnaire should be thorough, detailed and complete. The score from the Formula Rate Examination will determine the ranking on the eligible/employment list for this job.

All candidates competing in the testing process will receive written notice of their examination results by email. Notices can also be accessed in their governmentjobs.com inbox. Applicants achieving a passing score will be placed on the eligible list in rank order. The rank is determined by the test score attained from the examination.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

For information regarding County jobs: www.governmentjobs.com/careers/sacramento

Sacramento County is about enriching communities to thrive. We strive to create inclusive workplaces that reflect the communities we serve. We value and celebrate the unique perspectives, backgrounds, abilities, and diverse dimensions of our employees and residents. Through transparency, courage, innovation, and trust we are committed to advance equity and transformational change.

We are a proud equal opportunity employer. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability for any phase of the hiring process, please contact our Disability Compliance Office at [e-mail] or 916-874-7642, CA Relay 711. For more information, visit: Reasonable Accommodation Requests - Job Applicant Instructions