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Bureau of Prisons / Federal Prison System

Administrative Officer

Bureau of Prisons / Federal Prison System See More Job Openings by This EmployerArrow
  • Full Time
  • $70,623 - $111,087/year
  • Washington, DC
February 19, 2026

Job Description

Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.

Duties

Serves as Administrative Officer in the Office of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Is a generalist and highly involved in all phases of the day-to-day operation of being sensitive to the public sector as well as workload pressures; and accomplishes specific task-related projects through the application of knowledge and problem solving.

Must maintain a high degree of awareness of management’s objectives and of the ongoing operating programs and their relative value within the overall goals of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Serves as a liaison for the Director’s Office and provides guidance to staff handling administrative support matters.

Assists in coordinating meetings in the Office of the Director.

Salary
  • $70,623 - $111,087/year
Conditions of Employment
  • U.S. Citizenship is Required.
  • See Special Conditions of Employment Section.

Career Transition Programs (CTAP): These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:

  • 1. Meet CTAP eligibility criteria;
  • 2. Be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above based on scoring at least half of the total possible points for the vacancy KSAs or competencies; and
  • 3. Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP eligibility.

NOTE: Applicants claiming CTAP eligibility must complete all assessment questions to be rated under the established ranking criteria.

Qualifications

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following qualification requirements:

Education:

GS-09: Master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.B. or J.D., if related.

GS-11: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.M., if related.

Graduate education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

OR

Experience:

GS-09 and GS-11: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular qualifications to perform successfully the duties of the position, and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled.

Some examples of qualifying experience are:

GS-09:

  • Experience screening telephone calls and visitors to the office, referring to staff members and forwarding to the supervisor only those calls or visitors requiring that person's attention.
  • Experience reviewing all correspondence, determining appropriate action, and preparing initial responses to non-technical requests. Reviewing outgoing correspondence and reports prepared by professional staff members assigned to the major functional areas, ensuring proper format, correct grammatical content, proper signature blocks and signature, dating and database updates.
  • Experience explaining non-technical policies and procedures promulgated by the office after obtaining clarification from source, making recommendations and decisions in establishing priorities among actions on administrative matters requested by various employees or organizations.
  • Experience maintaining time and attendance accounting and responsible for accuracy prior to signature, performing related functions for the Time and Attendance Program, training, monitoring and reviewing support staff in Time and Attendance procedures.
  • Experience preparing requests for purchases of supplies, materials, services and equipment, as required, and monitoring the progress of purchases requests.

GS-11:

  • Experience ensuring all support activities related to timekeeping, preparation and processing of travel documents, conference planning, arranging teleconferences, solicitation of hotel and meeting space, equipment maintenance, mail processing, correspondence, responses to telephone requests for information, and other administrative tasks are completed correctly, in a timely fashion, and in compliance with federal regulations and policy while communicating the agency's views on current issues and programs.
  • Experience providing direction and guidance to others and organizing their work to ensure the most effective use of their time and resources.
  • Experience maintaining the calendars of agency management and scheduling appointments and meeting based on priorities involved, prior commitments and other time demands.
  • Experience in typing from drafts in proper formats and making necessary corrections for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mathematical correctness, including detailed knowledge of formats for responses to Congressional and Department of Justice (DOJ) inquiries, special analyses and exhibits, and language requirements as required by the DOJ, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Congress.
  • Experience with the budgetary process, consolidating budget requirements within the office, preparing analyses, comparing requests with amounts available, logging and maintaining files of requests, monitoring the budget and recommending actions to avoid funding deficiencies.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience:

GS-09 and GS-11: Have a combination of education and experience. This experience must have equipped you with the qualifications to perform the major duties of this position as described above.

If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as number of hours worked per week) spent in the activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**

Education See Qualifications Section for education requirements, if applicable. ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here. Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty. Other Information The representative rate for this position is $93,994 per annum ($45.03 per hour). Special Conditions of Employment Section: Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a urinalysis, physical, and background investigation. All applicants are subject to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit checks. The addresses listed on the USAJOBS account/resume must be the primary residence at the time of application. You may be required to provide proof of residence. Additional selections may be made if vacancies occur within the life of the certificate. Although competitive and non-competitive applications are being accepted, the selecting official may elect to have only one group reviewed. Current Federal Law Enforcement Employees: A prerequisite of the secondary law enforcement position is the completion of the mandatory courses in "Introduction to Correctional Techniques Phase I and Phase II". If you have not completed the mandatory courses in "Introduction to Correctional Techniques Phase I and Phase II", you are ineligible for secondary law enforcement position(s) and coverage but may still be considered for a non-law enforcement position. If you are not a current Bureau of Prisons employee, you must submit training records demonstrating you have completed the mandatory courses in "Introduction to Correctional Techniques Phase I and Phase II" to your hiring Human Resource office prior to appointment. Individuals selected who are under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and who have not had three years "primary" law enforcement retirement coverage, will not be covered by law enforcement retirement while in this position. To regain coverage, individuals must return to a position with "primary" coverage. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may 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. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Exceptions may apply. See 5 CFR part 11. Required Documents

Failure to provide legible required documents and/or follow the prescribed format often results in removal from consideration.  If uploading documentation, do not identify/save your documents utilizing a special character such as %, #, @, etc. Documentation should be identified/saved as VA Letter, DD-214, or Transcripts.

  • Resume: Resume (includes name and contact information) limited to 2 pages showing relevant experience (cover letter optional). Experience that would not normally be part of the Federal employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence of qualifying experience (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, Human Resource Manager, SF-52, etc.).
  • To receive credit for experience contained in an application, the experience must be documented:
    • Reflecting start date and end date in month/year format (MM/YYYY) AND
    • Include the number of hours worked per week.
  • SF-50: Current or former Federal employees NOT employed by the Bureau of Prisons MUST submit a copy of their SF-50 Form which shows competitive service appointment, tenure group, and salary. If you have promotion potential in your current position, please provide proof. If you are applying for a higher grade, and your experience was gained at a Federal agency other than the Bureau of Prisons, you MUST provide the SF-50 Form which verifies the length of time you have been in your highest grade and supports your claim for time in grade.
  • Employees applying with an interchange agreement must provide proof of their permanent appointment.
  • Current federal employees NOT employed by the BOP and former federal employees MUST submit a copy of their latest yearly performance appraisal/evaluation.
  • CTAP, Click Here, if applicable.
  • College transcript: includes the School Name, Student Name, Degree, and Date Awarded (if applicable).
    • NOTE: If you are selected, official transcript(s) will be required prior to your first day.

For more help, visit USAJOBS Help Center - What should I include in my resume?

We cannot be held responsible for incompatible software, delays in mail service, applicant application errors, etc.

How to Apply

You must apply through the online application system at www.USAJOBS.gov. Follow the prompts to register, answer a few questions and submit all required documents.

Limit your resume to 2 pages. If the only resume(s) received is/are longer than two pages, your application is ineligible for further consideration. Submission of a resume alone is not a complete application. This position may require the completion of additional forms and/or supplemental materials as described under the Required Documents section. Please carefully review the complete job announcement and the "How to Apply" instructions. Failure to provide the required information and/or materials will result in your application not being considered for employment.

We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. USAJOBS Help Center - How to add a resume to your profile

Required supporting documentation must be electronically uploaded or transferred from USAJOBS (uploaded).

All required supporting documentation MUST be received by the Consolidated Staffing Unit by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. You MUST include the vacancy announcement number on your supporting documentation.

Supporting documentation for announcements with an application limitation MUST be uploaded the same day you apply, as these positions may close earlier than stated in the announcement.

Paper applications: If applying online is impossible, please contact the Consolidated Staffing Unit at the telephone number listed below, prior to the closing date of the announcement for the alternate application procedure.

If applicable see Notice for Preference Eligible Veterans Applicants

Contact for Assistance in Applying On-Line:
DOJ, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Consolidated Staffing Unit
346 Marine Forces Drive
Grand Prairie, TX 75051
E-Mail: BOP-HRM-HRSC-ConsolidatedStaffingUnit-S@bop.gov
Phone: 972-352-4200



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