Correctional Officer

Summary

This position is located with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, District 5 - Corrections in Browning, Montana; Busby, Montana; Fort Washakie, Wyoming; Hardin, Montana; Harlem, Montana; Poplar, Montana.

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): May be authorized.

Recruitment Incentive: May be Authorized for some locations

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

As Correctional Officer, GL-0007, your typical work assignments may include, but not limited to:

• Intake/booking and release of inmates into and of detention facilities, in accordance with policies and procedures,.
• Maintain inmate files with booking, medical programs and services, court orders, and releases in documented format.
• Supervise and document the daily movement of inmates.
• Search inmates, cells, vehicles and buildings.
• Transport and/or escort inmates to and from various detention facilities, as well as program and community services.
• Collect, analyze and disseminate inmate information and generate daily, monthly, quarterly, and annual status reports on respective data logs.
• Protect life, institutional data, personal and real property, and facilities from harm and/or unauthorized entities.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship Required
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period OR 2-year trial period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated
• A background security investigation will be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication.
• If you are a male applicant born after 12/31/1959 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.
• Selectee is required to operate a government motor vehicle, must possess a valid driver's license, and have a safe driving record within the 4 year period immediately preceding submittal of GSA Form 3607.
• Selectees must pass a pre-employment medical examination and may be subject to post-employment medical examinations to determine if they are maintaining the fitness standards for this position.
• Drug Testing. This position is subject to both pre-employment and random drug testing as a condition of employment. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.
• This position has been approved for Primary Law Enforcement Coverage.
• Incumbent is required to complete the Basic Correctional Officer Training Course.
• This position is also open under Merit Promotion announcement ST-26-12977298-CAWV-JB. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards)

Minimum Qualification GL-05:

To qualify at the GL-05 grade level you must meet ONE of the following criteria:

A. General Work Experience: Three years of general work experience. OR

B. Education: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study (120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours) in any field leading to a bachelor's degree, at an accredited college or university. OR

C. A combination of experience and education that totals 100% of the requirement.

Maximum Entry Age Limit: The maximum entry-age for this position shall not exceed age 37, unless you have sufficient prior Federal civilian law enforcement [or firefighter, if applicable] experience or you are a preference eligible veteran. If you are a preference eligible veteran, you may be eligible for this position after your 37th birthday. You must supply a copy of your Defense Department Form 214 (DD-214) along with Standard Form 15 (if applicable) and any associated documentation in accordance with the instructions in this vacancy announcement. Failure to provide this documentation with your application will result in the loss of eligibility to receive a waiver of the maximum entry age requirement.

Physical Demands The duties of a correctional officer, on any shift involves unusual mental and nervous pressure. It requires arduous physical exertion including prolonged walking, standing, and sitting while transporting, lifting of moderately heavy to light objects, restraining of offenders in emergencies and participating in escape and walk-away hunts. Incumbent must be physically capable of performing efficiently the duties of the position and be free from such defects or disease as may constitute employment hazards to themselves or others.

Work Environment Work performed by this position requires frequent and direct contact with individuals or groups of individuals in confinement who are suspected or convicted of Tribal and/or Federal offenses. Daily stress, exposure to disease, and exposure to potentially dangerous situations such as direct physical attack are an inherent part of this position. Incumbent must be able to go anywhere they are detailed for temporary duty on short notice and may be required to remain away from their regular duty station for extended periods of time to meet the needs of the BIA.

Medical Requirements: The duties of this position require moderate to arduous physical exertion involving walking and standing, and exposure to inclement weather. Manual dexterity with comparatively free motion of finger, wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, and knee joints is required. Arms, hands, legs, and feet must be sufficiently intact and functioning in order that applicants may perform the duties satisfactorily. Sufficiently good vision in each eye, with or without correction, is required to perform duties satisfactorily. Near vision, corrective lenses permitted, must be sufficient to read printed material the size of typewritten characters. Hearing loss, as measured by an audiometer, must not exceed 35 decibels at 1000, 2000, and 3000 Hz levels. Since the duties of these positions are exacting and responsible, and involve activities under trying conditions, applicants must possess emotional and mental stability. Any physical condition that would cause the applicant to be a hazard to himself/herself, or others is disqualifying.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Additional selections may be made from this announcement if identical vacancies occur in the same location within 90 days from the closing date.

Education

If you are qualifying based on your education, you MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.

If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education which shows the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit:

Additional information

All new hires earn the beginning salary of their pay grade (Step 1). See 2026 Salary Tables and select the pay chart for Browning, Montana; Busby, Montana; Fort Washakie, Wyoming; Hardin, Montana; Harlem, Montana; Poplar, Montana. If no specific chart is listed for this geographic location, see the "rest of U.S." chart.

The full performance level of this position is GL-8. Promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. A career ladder promotion is at the discretion of management, and in no way guaranteed.

The probationary or trial period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will 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.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your [probationary period -OR- trial period] your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Related non-Federal experience or related experience as retired members of the uniformed services may be credited towards computing entitlement to leave accrual, at managerial discretion, providing that experience meets certain criteria. This provision allows new employees to earn annual leave at a higher rate than would otherwise be allowed. (5 Code of Federal Regulations, 630). For additional information, please visit: Creditable Service for Annual Leave

This is a Bargaining Unit position, for more information see USA Jobs What are bargaining units?

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.

Help

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 windowLearn 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.