Superintendent A | WCCW

State of Washington; Gig Harbor (WA); Remote; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote/telework

Up to 25 paid vacation days

Generous retirement plan

Job summary

Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, WA seeks an experienced Superintendent A to lead facility operations at the executive level. You will direct security, program delivery, and staffing while aligning with public safety goals.

The role emphasizes strategic planning, stakeholder collaboration, and adherence to agency mission, policies, and a strong commitment to equity and professional standards.

Qualifications

• Five (5) or more years' broad based, progressive managerial or administrative (operational) experience in corrections.
• Experience supervising in a multi-level custody, adult corrections environment.
• Experience in at least five areas: emergency management, budget, Lean, communication, unions, external relations, policy and rules, labor relations, and incident response.

Responsibilities

• Plan, lead, organize and control organizational work.
• Oversee operations, security, safety and emergency response in a correctional facility.
• Ensure clean, safe facility operations and effective communications.
• Provide two-way communication between staff and offenders.
• Promote diversity, integrity and compliance with laws.

Skills

Emergency Management

Budget Administration

LEAN methodology

Communication leadership

External relationships

Labor/Management relations

Legal compliance

Emergency response

Job description

Superintendent A | WCCW

Exempt Band 4

Location: Washington Corrections Center for Women | Gig Harbor, WA

Salary: $157,223 Annually

Leadership in corrections is more than managing a facility—it is shaping a culture of positive change. If you are a strategic, mission-driven executive ready to lead at the highest level, the Superintendent A at Washington Corrections Center for Women offers the chance to make a meaningful impact on public safety and institutional excellence.

The Superintendent serves as the executive administrator and appointing authority for the facility, managing adult incarcerated individuals across the full spectrum of custody levels. In this role, the Superintendent provides comprehensive leadership, long-term planning, and strategic direction for all aspects of institutional operations, ensuring alignment with the agency’s mission to improve public safety. In addition, the Superintendent will ensure gender responsive treatment for women is available based on the distinctive characteristics of the female physiology, women's roles, socialization and relative status within the larger culture.

Collaboration is key as you will work with internal and external stakeholders to provide the full scope of facility management, including fiscal oversight, classification processes, plant maintenance, safety and sanitation standards, educational and vocational programming, work programs, and all security and custody operations. This executive leader ensures operational excellence while fostering an environment that supports rehabilitation, accountability, and professional standards.

This is a rare opportunity to lead a complex organization where decisions have lasting impact. If you are prepared to guide a correctional facility with integrity, vision, and decisive leadership, we invite you to bring your expertise to a role that advances safety, strengthens operations, and supports meaningful change.

We are looking for teammates who share our vision of public service and are committed to an equitable and inclusive culture that fosters and inspires excellence, while promoting innovation, engagement, and safety, leading to better outcomes for our incarcerated population, our agency, and our community.

As a Superintendent A, some of your duties will include:

• Planning, leading, organizing and controlling the work performed by the organization
• Administering, monitoring, and oversight of operations, security, safety, and emergency response activities in a correctional facility
• Ensuring clean, safe facility operations
• Supporting effective communications throughout the organization
• Providing a 2-way communication between all levels of staff and offenders
• Maintaining the highest standards of personal/professional and ethical conduct and support the state's goals for a diverse workforce
• Providing a working environment free from discrimination and harassment and that promotes diversity
• Developing operational goals and working objectives and ensuring those objectives are reached
• Strengthening public confidence in the integrity of facility staff by demonstrating and setting the tone for the highest standards of personal and professional integrity, fairness, honesty, and compliance with both the spirit and the letter of the law
• Promoting an environment of public trust free from fraud, abuse of authority, and misuse of public property
• Respecting and protecting privileged information accessible through the course of official duties
• Ensuring that incarcerated individuals are not given control or authority over other incarcerated individuals with the exception of activities sanctioned within the context of a Therapeutic Community or approved peer to peer programs.
• Developing and directing = implementation plans to respond to sudden shifts in custody and security requirements that require significant changes in policies, procedures, and staff training
• Monitoring application of federal and state laws, administration of rules, regulations and orders of other agencies with jurisdiction
• Ensuring policies and procedures comply with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
• Developing an Emergency Response Plan and staff training/drills to er1sure institutional readiness to respond to a wide variety of emergencies
• Facilitating and encouraging public information and education activities by conducting tours, speaking to community groups, and by providing written information concerning [insert facility name] operations
• Encouraging community agencies that the facility has contact with to participate in policy development, coordinated planning, and interagency consultation
• Ensuring gender responsive treatment for women is based on the distinctive characteristics of the female physiology, women's roles, socialization and relative status within the larger culture
• Serving as an Incident Commander during emergencies, with responsibilities to manage the facilities response and recovery from critical incidents and significant events
• Determining allocation of resources and personnel, management of the incident based on emergency protocols, and coordination activities with the facilities/offices and other federal, state, and local agencies while communicating through the Headquarters Duty Officer and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC)

What we need (required qualifications):

• Five (5) or more years' broad based, progressive managerial or administrative (operational) experience (Managerial and/or operational experience level is defined at the CPM, Captain, CUS or equivalent level), which includes supervisory experience in a multi-level custody, adult corrections environment and experience in at least five (5) of the following areas:
  • Emergency Management (Incident Command System) and contingency planning; prisons programs; sustainability, evidence based programs; correctional practice; theory and law; budget administration and development; offender classification processes and policy, labor relations, public relation methods and application; and/or training and staff development; experience working with unions
  • Budget administration and development experience
  • Experience utilizing project management or LEAN methodology. Possess a working knowledge of total quality management (critical thinking) principles
  • Communication skills and leadership competencies, including: mediating, negotiating and resolving conflict; Demonstration and exemplification of the qualities the department seeks in all of its employees; those who are honest, have a strong work ethic, are dependable, achieve results through teamwork, and convey dignity and respect;
  • Ability to successfully network, establish, maintain, and expand external environment relationships through the community and other state agencies, legislative bodies, and citizens
  • Working knowledge and application of constitutional requirements, WACs, RCWs, policies, operational memoranda and relevant court decisions
  • Knowledge of federal court rulings that impact the delivery of health, mental health, special needs
  • Working knowledge and application of labor/management relations, including collective bargaining, negotiation, grievance resolution, WACs, discipline and mediation
  • Familiarity with technical and personal capabilities of emergency response teams, hostage negotiation principles, and disturbance management
  • Experience in facility expansion/construction projects

Vision:

Working together for safer communities.

Mission:

Improving public safety by positively changing lives.

Our Commitment:

To operate a safe and humane corrections system and partner with others to transform lives for a better Washington.

Our Core Values:

• Cultivate an environment of integrity and trust: Corrections values partnership and trust. We foster openness and support courageous conversations. We are committed to doing what we say we are going to do by being accountable and taking personal ownership in our actions.
• Respectful and inclusive interactions: Corrections appreciates and values individuals by promoting an inclusive and diverse environment, which encourages safety. We respect, value, and listen to the thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of our stakeholders and consider the impact on those we serve as well as each other.
• People's safety: Corrections believes in creating an environment that values physical, mental, and emotional security and well-being. We honor those who advance safety for all.
• Positivity in words and actions: At Corrections, we assume positive intentions and believe there is a shared desire for the best outcome. We consistently demonstrate positive behavior and always put forth our best effort.
• Supporting people's success: Corrections is committed to our community – understanding individuals, instilling hope, embracing change, and providing opportunities.

DOC is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, honorably discharged veteran, veteran status, genetic information, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• DOC complies with the employment eligibility verification requirements for the federal employment eligibility verification form I-9. The selected candidate must be able to provide proof of identity and eligibility to work in the United States consistent with the requirements of that form. https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents
• DOC does not use E-Verify; therefore, we are not eligible to extend STEM-Optional Practice Training (OPT). For information, please visit www.uscis.gov.
• This recruitment may be utilized to fill more than one position.
• Please include a minimum of three (3) professional references with your application. A professional reference is defined as an individual who has been paid to supervise your work and can attest to your work performance, technical skills, and job competencies. If you do not have any or sufficient professional references, please include non-related professionals, such as educators or other professional associates. **Please note: Phone number AND email address are required for all professional references.
• A background check including criminal record history will be conducted prior to a new hire. Information from the background check will not necessarily preclude employment but will be considered in determining the applicant’s suitability and competence to perform in the position.
• Employees may work directly with or near incarcerated individuals in a potentially hazardous setting. Please consider this when deciding whether to apply.
• We are committed to maintaining a drug and alcohol-free work environment, and our employees are expected to comply with all state and federal laws. A pre-employment drug test may be administered as part of the selection process, and applicants who test positive for any controlled substances, will be disqualified from consideration.
• Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) is an aerosol pepper spray made available as a means of self-defense and/or de-escalation. Applicants with sensitivities or allergies are encouraged to ask about the level of exposure they could expect in this position.
• Animal care projects are a common component of most Washington State prisons, including dog and cat programs. Applicants with animal sensitivities or allergies are encouraged to ask about the level of exposure they could expect in this position.
• Tuberculosis (TB) is a priority health issue for DOC employees. The successful candidate may be required to provide valid proof of a baseline TB skin test within 60 days from the date of hire. When positive tests result, further information, testing and treatment will also be required. Employment is not contingent upon test results.
• Foreign equivalent degrees awarded outside the United States must have a credential evaluation report attached to your application. You may request the required evaluation/documentation from www.wes.org and www.aice-eval.org. Until this documentation is provided, you will not be selected to move forward in the hiring process.

Telework Details

This position may be allocated for telework. If authorized for the role, work may be performed from your home or another offsite location within the state of Washington using a reliable internet or cellular hotspot service at that time. Employees are expected to perform assigned duties in a safe manner, to take proper care all state-issued equipment, and maintain confidentiality of all information in possession while working offsite. Employees will be required to commute to a Department of Corrections facility or field office as business requires, to potentially include components of the onboarding process. Some offices will have a "drop in" area available, however, a dedicated workspace within a DOC facility will not be provided.

What We Offer:

As an employee of the Department of Corrections, your work-life integration is a priority. Washington State employees are offered one of the most inclusive and competitive benefits packages in the nation. Besides comprehensive family insurance for medical, dental, and vision, these perks also may include:

• Remote/telework/flexible schedules (depending on position)
• Up to 25 paid vacation days a year
• 8 hours of paid sick leave per month
• 12 paid holidays a year
• Generous retirement plan
• Flex Spending Accounts
• Dependent Care Assistance
• Deferred Compensation and so much more!

*Teamsters 117 represented positions receive 3 days of bereavement leave.

PERS: State Employees are members of the Washington Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS). New employees have the option of two employer contributed retirement programs. For additional information, check out Department of Retirement Systems' web site.

For questions about this recruitment, or to request reasonable accommodation in the application process, please email [e-mail] or call us at 509-630-9160. For TTY service, please call the Washington Relay Service at 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.