Probation​/Pretrial Services Administrative Assistant

Job Details for Probation/Pretrial Services Administrative Assistant

Court Name/Organization Wisconsin Western Probation and Pretrial Services

The Administrative Assistant serves as the primary face and voice of the U.S. Probation/Pretrial Services Office. Operating from our central, front-reception cubicle, the position is responsible for triaging and greeting all visitors, managing incoming calls and correspondence, and executing a variety of time-sensitive administrative tasks. The Administrative Assistant provides specialized technical and administrative support to probation officers in a wide range of areas, including proofreading and editing documents, assisting with conducting investigations, compiling criminal histories, maintaining case files and documents in the office’s automation tracking program, and other similar duties.

• Serve the first point of contact for the public and stakeholders by staffing the front reception cubicle. Maintain a welcoming, professional, and secure lobby environment.
• Perform receptionist duties by greeting visitors and callers, answering routine questions, and directing them to the appropriate person. Receptionist duties will involve coming into contact with persons with felony backgrounds.
• Manage and execute detail-oriented administrative tasks and projects directly from the front reception cubicle, successfully balancing these tasks with immediate, real-time public and telephone inquiries.
• Open, close, and maintain case files in the Probation Automated Case Tracking System (PACTS). Ensure files are up-to-date and data is entered accurately, recording chronological entries.
• Oversee core administrative tasks, including processing and distributing mail, scanning files, and managing the mailing of office equipment and supplies.
• Format, proofread, and edit reports, petitions, letters, memoranda, and other documents prepared by the probation officer, often within a short time, ensuring that the reports are well-written and grammatically correct. Act as liaison with officers and management in resolving potentially troublesome or omitted texts.
• Upon final completion, submit reports on time to the Court through its document filing system.
• Electronically submit appropriate documents to the Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Sentencing Commission.
• Ensure proper procedures and protocols are completed throughout the investigative and supervision process, communicating frequently with probation officers regarding any unusual circumstances that may require immediate attention.
• Assist probation officers by running record checks through local, state, and national databases and files; conducting inquiries with collateral agencies and community service agencies; collecting verifiable and supportable documentation; and performing similar activities.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• High school diploma or equivalent and two years of general clerical or office experience, or a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Ability to maintain focus, composure, and a positive demeanor in an open-cubicle setting with frequent interruptions, high‑foot traffic, and competing administrative demands.
• Exceptional organizational skills with a demonstrated ability to rapidly reprioritize tasks, ensuring strict deadlines and quality standards are met.
• Ability to compartmentalize background noise and lobby activity to execute detail‑oriented, time‑sensitive administrative tasks accurately and efficiently.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word and Excel.
• Exceptional grammar, proofreading, and editing skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with a variety of people.

To qualify for the position at a CL 24, an applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent and one year of general experience.

Specialized experience is the regular and recurring application of clerical procedures that demonstrate the ability to apply a body of rules, regulations, directives or laws, and involve the routine use of specialized terminology and automated software and equipment for word processing,…