Chief U.S. Probation Officer

Court Name/Organization Georgia Northern Probation and Pretrial Services

Overview of the Position The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia seeks a qualified applicant to fill the position of chief probation officer. The chief probation officer is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Court and administers and manages federal probation and pretrial services within the Northern District of Georgia. This is a combined probation and pretrial services office.

The Northern District of Georgia covers 46 counties. Probation has its main office in Atlanta; divisional offices in Gainesville, Rome, and Newnan; and a satellite office in Tucker. This position is duty stationed in the Atlanta office. The chief probation officer is under the administrative direction of the chief judge of the Court and is directly responsible for the administration of the probation office.

• Manages the probation and pretrial services office to ensure expeditious handling of investigative work for the court and effective supervision of probationers and pretrial defendants.
• Reviews, analyzes, and interprets statutory and Judicial Conference requirements for the administration of probation and pretrial services; develops and enforces policies, procedures, and guidelines necessary to meet these requirements.
• Promulgates policies, procedures, and guidelines to meet the unique needs of the court, along with standards to ensure an appropriate level of service delivery.
• Selects and recommends candidates for appointment as probation officers and appoints all non-officer personnel; provides specific recommendations to the court in personnel matters including promotions, salary increases, disciplinary actions, and dismissals.
• Ensures that all personnel are carefully selected and adequately trained and that their work is systematically evaluated.
• Manages staff including clerical, professional, supervisory, and administrative personnel.
• Manages and oversees the budget; projects personnel, space allocation, and operating needs; approves requisitions; certifies vouchers for payment; and maintains appropriate fiscal controls in all matters including travel expense reimbursement and purchases of services, equipment, and supplies.
• Establishes and administers continuing in-service training programs to ensure high-quality service delivery through consistent staff development.
• Maintains a system of communication to ensure probation staff members at all levels are aware of pertinent information.
• Provides qualitative and quantitative measures of work performance and ensures accountability with minimal interference to service delivery.
• Maintains open communication with the chief judge, other judges, and the clerk of court; makes specific recommendations regarding court-related criminal justice issues with particular emphasis on sound sentencing practices.
• Establishes and maintains cooperative relationships with other probation and pretrial services offices to ensure all requests for assistance from other districts are met promptly and effectively.
• Establishes and maintains cooperative relationships with all components of the criminal justice system to include federal, state, and local law enforcement, correctional, and social service agencies.
• Promotes and maintains conditions that encourage staff loyalty, enthusiasm, and morale.
• Develops and maintains a public relations program that explains probation, pretrial, and other correctional services to the community; assumes responsibility for communication to the news media.
• Monitors community events and issues with special attention on alleviating hazardous office and field incidents.
• Administers a program of pretrial services within the district.
• Occasionally performs the duties of probation officers or supervising probation officers.
• Performs related duties as required by the court.

To qualify for the position, an applicant must possess a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. For positions up to and including JSP 16, applicants must possess three years of progressively responsible specialized experience earned after the bachelor's degree was conferred. Specialized experience includes progressively responsible experience in the investigation, supervision, counseling, and guidance of offenders in community corrections or pretrial services programs.

For positions above JSP-16, applicants must possess three years of progressively responsible specialized experience and three years of substantial management experience earned after the bachelor's degree was conferred. Substantial management experience is high-level administrative experience that provided a thorough understanding of the organizational, procedural, and human aspects of managing an organization, including financial management, space and facilities management, oversight of information technology and human resources functions, and long and short-range planning.

Possible…