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Job Details for Assistant Deputy Chief U.S. Probation Officer

Court Name/Organization: Nevada Probation Office
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Opening and Closing Dates: 03/21/2024 - 04/30/2024
Appointment Type: Permanent
Classification Level/Grade: CL 31
Salary: $117,343 - $190,741
Announcement Number: 2024-04
Position Description

The Assistant Deputy Chief U.S. Probation Officer (ADCUSPO) will be an integral part of Nevada’s executive leadership team that includes the Chief, Deputy Chief, and Administrative Manager. The ideal candidate will demonstrate exceptional knowledge of all facets of federal probation work, but they must demonstrate expertise in presentence investigations, guideline calculations, and case law research. The successful candidate will have excellent character, unquestionable integrity, superior communication skills, experience in formulating and implementing policies, and a track record of leading people and projects.

Probation and Pretrial Services in Nevada remains bifurcated and judges have recently affirmed that continued separation is preferred. Nevada has 51 total staff working in two offices; 45 in Las Vegas and six in Reno. The duty station for the ADCUSPO is Las Vegas, but they will also serve and visit Reno – a 75-minute flight from Las Vegas.

In the Las Vegas presentence unit, there are currently two supervisors monitoring six full-time investigators. Both supervisors are retiring in December 2024. The ADCUSPO will be responsible for overseeing court services for the entire district, assume day-to-day supervisory responsibilities for the Las Vegas presentence investigation unit, and manage a supervisor in Reno.

Perhaps most exciting, both the Chief and Deputy Chief are retirement eligible; therefore, the successful applicant will have opportunities to compete for future in-district promotional opportunities. For this reason, the candidate must be committed to continued personal and professional growth.

More than its famous strip, which provides endless entertainment opportunities for locals and visitors from all over the world, Las Vegas offers a family-friendly environment with incredible neighborhoods, affordable living, warm weather, outdoor wonders (hiking, climbing, snow-skiing, boating, sightseeing), professional sports, and world-class restaurants. Las Vegas is also home to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and is a short drive away from beach destinations in Southern California, the Grand Canyon, and numerous National Parks and ski resorts in Nevada, California, and Utah.

Reno is an outdoor lover’s paradise with year-round recreation. Known as the “The Biggest Litle City in the World,” Reno is famous for maintaining its small-town charm while offering big-city amenities. Lake Tahoe, one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, is nearby, and the Tahoe region includes nearly twenty world-class ski resorts. With its beautiful campus, the University of Nevada, Reno has ranked in the top tier of “Best National Universities” for the last decade.

Nevada is among the most tax-friendly states in the U.S. with residents enjoying no income tax, no pension or social security tax, no estate or inheritance tax, and lower property taxes.

Representative Duties and Competencies:
Work with the executive leadership team in a collaborative, team-oriented approach. Help develop and implement a process to define goals and objectives for the agency. Help identify and implement short and long-term planning initiatives to achieve agency goals and objectives.

Manage, develop, and mentor officers, senior officers, and supervisory officers, including but not limited to: establishing standards, evaluating performance, improving writing, improving analysis of information, developing sound justifications for sentencing recommendations, applying sentencing guidelines, tracking and evaluating case law applicability, and conducting quality control review of all court services work completed in the district.

Supervise day-to-day operations of the Las Vegas presentence unit, including final review of completed work. Manage a single supervisor in Reno overseeing court services work. Evaluate completed work and analyze data reports to identify potential problems, trends, or issues. Create or modify policies, procedures, and practices to solve problems.

Audit investigative work to ensure work complies with national and local policies, procedures, and practices. Assist with reviews and maintain and improve ongoing quality control measures within the district with a special focus on presentence investigations.

Facilitate, mediate, and negotiate complex and sensitive matters with judges, managers, unit executives, and staff. Provide technical guidance to the court, supervisors, officers, and stakeholders regarding presentence investigations, case law, sentencing alternatives, sentencing amendments, and other services to the court.

Ensure the expeditious completion of investigative work for the courts. Ensure adequate coverage for office activities, assignments, court appearances, etc. Establish and maintain cooperative relationships with other U.S. Probation Offices in other districts to ensure all requests for assistance, including collateral investigations, are met promptly and effectively.

Handle administrative tasks, special projects, and collateral duties as assigned by the Chief and Deputy Chief Probation Officers.

Help facilitate or mediate resolution of complex personnel matters while ensuring and maintaining strict confidentiality. Manage or assist with employee conduct issues while also promoting and maintaining conditions that encourage staff commitment to the mission, vision, and district values.

Assist in establishing and maintaining cooperative relationships with all components of the criminal justice system to include the U.S. Sentencing Commission, U.S. Atorney's Office, the Office of the Federal Public Defender, and other stakeholders and law enforcement entities at the national, state, and local levels.

Demonstrate leadership qualities, including the ability to plan and oversee implementation of district programs, processes, and initiatives. Assist in managing the performance of staff and help identify training needs. Assist in the selection and assignment of staff.

Commit to personal and professional growth by continuously improving personal knowledge, skills, awareness and understanding of theories, data, trends in sentencing, and science-informed decision making.

At the direction of the Chief or Deputy Chief Probation Officers, and based on the needs of the agency, perform any or all duties of a Supervisory Probation Officer or Probation Officer, including investigating defendants and persons under supervision.

Perform other duties as assigned.

To see a full position description, visit: Assistant Deputy Chief Probation/Pretrial Services Officer | JNet (ao.dcn). 

Qualifications, Skills, and Personal Attributes:
A minimum of two years’ experience as a (CL 30) Supervisory U.S. Probation Officer.

At least three years of progressively responsible administrative, technical, professional, supervisory, or managerial experience that provided an opportunity to lead a team of employees; exercise emotionally intelligent communication and decision making; develop a thorough knowledge of concepts, principles, and theories of management; and the ability to understand and communicate policies applicable to the probation office.

Applicants must possess a thorough knowledge of national and statutory policies, procedures, and administrative practices specific to the investigation of federal defendants and the application of sentencing guidelines.

Knowledge of evidence-based initiatives and science-informed decision making that may be valuable when making sentencing recommendations.

Be adaptable to change and capable of leading major change initiatives and multiple projects
with limited supervision.

Possess exceptional character, integrity, and leadership skills, and maintain a professional demeanor at all times. Have a record of displaying good judgement and of being a proven problem-solver with excellent analytical skills and innovative solutions. Be able to build good working relationships with peers, subordinates, superiors, judges, and other stakeholders. Be an excellent communicator both verbally and in writing.

Conditions of Employment:
As a condition of employment, incumbent will be subject to ongoing random drug screening, updated background investigations every five years and, as deemed necessary by management for reasonable cause, may be subject to fitness-for-duty evaluations.

The medical requirements for law enforcement officers are available for public review: Officer and Officer Assistant Medical Requirements.

Relocation Bonus:
The successful applicant transferring to the District of Nevada may be eligible to receive a $20,000
relocation bonus. To be eligible for the relocation bonus, the successful applicant must sign a written service agreement to complete a three-year period of employment with U.S. Probation in Nevada.

Failure to complete the period of employment established under a service agreement will cause the
incumbent to be indebted to the federal government. Failure to meet the service agreement occurs
when the incumbent voluntarily separates from the appointing court before completing the period of employment specified in the service agreement.

Application Instructions:
To be considered for this position, applicants are required to submit the following:

Failure to submit a cover letter, resume, and a complete AO-78 may result in disqualification. Description of Work section of the AO-78 must be completed. Indicating "see resume" is not acceptable. Incomplete and/or unsigned applications will not be considered, returned, or retained.

Only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted. Only one application per candidate will be accepted for this announcement. Applicants must travel at their own expense.

The completed applications should be submitted as a single .pdf file to: careers@nvp.uscourts.gov 

Subject: Human Resources Announcement #2024-04.

The federal Judiciary is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.