Job Details for Chief U.S. Probation Officer
| Court Name/Organization | New York Southern Probation Office |
| Overview of the Position | The Chief U.S. Probation Officer (CUSPO) is a Court Unit Executive (CUE) responsible for all aspects of the operations of the U.S. Probation Office for the Southern District of New York. The CUSPO also serves as a vital member of the courthouse management team, comprised of other CUEs in the district, who collaborate and consult with the Chief Judge on Courthouse matters of mutual concern. The CUSPO has the ultimate leadership responsibility for U.S. Probation Office, overseeing the sentencing, probation, supervised release, and parole services for the Southern District of New York. This position is responsible for ensuring operations, budget and internal control processes and procedures comport with the Guide to Judiciary Policies and Procedures as well as local policies. The CUSPO is also responsible for sustaining a professional culture by promoting capable and independent leaders who are wholly committed to developing staff, serving the Court and to achieving the mission of the Southern District of New York U.S. Probation Office. The Chief U.S. Probation Officer is responsible for the oversight of the department’s wellness program to ensure officers, administrative support staff and managers have access to training and resources that support their physical and mental well-being. The Probation Office in the Southern District of New York is an evidence-based organization where work is approached through an empirical lens and policies are grounded in research that have measurable and positive outcomes for the community and for defendants and persons under supervision. The Southern District of New York Probation Office is committed to providing excellence in service to the Court, inspiring positive change in justice-involved individuals, and protecting the community. |
| Location | New York, NY |
| Opening and Closing Dates | 02/06/2026 - 02/20/2026 |
| Appointment Type | Permanent |
| Classification Level/Grade | JSP 18 |
| Salary | Starting: $249,900 |
| Announcement Number | 26-06 |
| Link to Job Announcement | |
Position Description
Representative duties of the Chief U.S. Probation Officer include the following.
- Organizes the probation office to ensure expeditious handling of investigative work for the courts, institutions, and parole authorities to include effective case supervision of probationers, persons on supervised release, and parolees.
- Works to improve supervision to protect the community and encourage the successful integration of persons on supervision.
- Maintains liaison with the Chief Judge and other judges and court units; makes specific recommendations regarding court‐ related criminal justice issues with particular emphasis on matters relating to sound sentencing and supervision practices. Meets with and makes reports to the Criminal Law Committee of the Board of Judges.
- Reviews, analyzes, and interprets statutory, Judicial Conference, and Parole Commission requirements for the administration of probation, pretrial and parole services; promulgates policies, procedures, and guidelines necessary to meet these requirements.
- Selects and recommends candidates to the court for appointment as probation officers and appoints all non‐officer personnel; provides specific recommendations in all other personnel matters including promotions, salary increases, disciplinary actions, and dismissals; ensures that all personnel are carefully selected and adequately trained; makes certain the work of all subordinates is systematically evaluated.
- Manages the law enforcement and non‐law enforcement staff of the office including all clerical, professional and supervisory personnel.
- Manages the probation office’s decentralized funding allocation and advises the court of the adequacy of funds to support operations.
- Recognizes the importance of evidence‐based practices and champions their use in probation services to reduce recidivism.
- Tracks the performance of the probation office and its officers in order to evaluate and improve performance.
- Directs staff responsible for the probation office’s financial service functions, including disbursements for operational goods and services, payroll costs and expenses in connection with the provision to persons on supervision for a wide variety of treatment/evaluative needs, emergency transitional needs, and vocational/educational rehabilitative goods and services.
- Oversees the probation office’s long‐range space and facilities plan.
- Establishes and administers continuing in‐service training programs to ensure high‐quality service delivery through consistent professional development of staff.
- Conducts special studies when appropriate and prepares statistical and narrative reports.
- Establishes and maintains cooperative and amicable relationships with other probation and pretrial services offices to assure all requests for assistance from other districts are met promptly and effectively.
- Establishes and maintains cooperative and amicable relationships with all components of the criminal justice system including federal, state, and local law enforcement, correctional, and social service agencies.
- Promotes and maintains conditions which encourage staff loyalty, enthusiasm, wellness, and morale.
- Participates in leadership opportunities outside the Southern District of New York to support national efforts to improve the administration of justice.
- Strives for excellence, consistency, equity and diversity throughout all units and offices in the district.
- Develops and maintains a public relations program which explains probation, parole, and other correctional services to the community.
Qualifications
To qualify for the position of Chief U.S. Probation Officer JSP 18, the applicant must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, three years of specialized experience, and three years of substantial management experience post bachelor’s degree.
A successful candidate should be highly organized and professional. The incumbent should consistently exercise tact, good judgment, poise, initiative, and an exemplary work-ethic. The ability to work harmoniously with people from diverse backgrounds, organizations, and the public and to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, are required. The incumbent must be able to balance the demands of varying workload responsibilities and deadlines.
Preferred Qualifications
A master’s degree in a related field such as social sciences or management is preferred. Experience with managerial oversight and working knowledge of various administrative functions such as budget, procurement, human resources, information technology, and financial reviews is also preferred.
Position Requirements
This is an executive, high‐sensitive position within the Judiciary that is subject to a mandatory background check. A high-sensitive background investigation with law enforcement agencies, including fingerprint and criminal record checks, will be conducted as a condition of employment. Any applicant selected for the position will be hired provisionally pending successful completion of the background investigation. Unsatisfactory results may result in termination of employment.
The Chief U.S. Probation Officer position is a secondary law enforcement officer (LEO) position. There is no “maximum entry age” for this position if the selectee is not covered by the LEO retirement provisions. However, to be included under federal LEO retirement provisions, an individual would have to meet “maximum entry age” provisions as follows: First time appointees to positions covered under law enforcement officer retirement provisions must not have reached their 37th birthday at the time of appointment.
For an applicant with LEO experience under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and who has a subsequent break in service or intervening service in a non-law enforcement officer position, the maximum entry age is increased by adding the number of years of previous law enforcement experience to 37. As an example, for a candidate with five years of creditable previous law enforcement experience, the maximum entry age would be 42. To qualify for coverage under the law enforcement provision of the federal retirement system, there are mandatory retirement requirements that apply.
Specialized Experience
Specialized Experience
Progressively responsible experience in the investigation, supervision, counseling and guidance of persons on supervision in community corrections or pretrial programs is required. Experience in police officer, FBI agent, customs agent, marshal or similar positions, other than any criminal investigation experience, does not meet the requirements of specialized experience.
Substantial Management Experience
Substantial management experience is high-level administrative experience that provides a thorough understanding of the organizational, procedural and human aspects of managing an organization. Such experience typically includes financial management, space and facilities management, oversight of the information technology and human resources functions, and long and short-range planning. Possible titles indicative of this experience outside the judiciary would include president or vice president in charge of several departments or offices, director or assistant director in charge of several departments or offices, or head manager or owner-operator of a medium to large company. Possible titles within the judiciary would include any of the court unit executive or type II second-in-command titles, assistant deputy chief probation officer or assistant deputy chief pretrial services officer.
Employee Benefits
- During the first three years of full-time employment, employees receive 13 days of paid vacation. Thereafter, between 20 and 26 days of paid vacation are provided, depending upon the length of federal service.
- Employees receive 13 days of paid sick leave (unlimited accumulation) and twelve paid federal holidays a year.
- Eligible for medical coverage with pre-tax employee premiums and flexible benefits program for health care, dependent care, and commuter/parking expenses.
- Eligible for Group Life Insurance, Long Term Disability, and Long-Term Care coverage.
- Participation in the Thrift Savings Plan (similar to 401K plan) with employer matching contributions.
- Participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.
- Creditable service time in other federal agencies or the military will be added to judiciary employment.
- For more information on benefits, you may visit the Judiciary website.
Miscellaneous
Representative duties of the Chief U.S. Probation Officer include the following.
- Organizes the probation office to ensure expeditious handling of investigative work for the courts, institutions, and parole authorities to include effective case supervision of probationers, persons on supervised release, and parolees.
- Works to improve supervision to protect the community and encourage the successful integration of persons on supervision.
- Maintains liaison with the Chief Judge and other judges and court units; makes specific recommendations regarding court‐ related criminal justice issues with particular emphasis on matters relating to sound sentencing and supervision practices. Meets with and makes reports to the Criminal Law Committee of the Board of Judges.
- Reviews, analyzes, and interprets statutory, Judicial Conference, and Parole Commission requirements for the administration of probation, pretrial and parole services; promulgates policies, procedures, and guidelines necessary to meet these requirements.
- Selects and recommends candidates to the court for appointment as probation officers and appoints all non‐officer personnel; provides specific recommendations in all other personnel matters including promotions, salary increases, disciplinary actions, and dismissals; ensures that all personnel are carefully selected and adequately trained; makes certain the work of all subordinates is systematically evaluated.
- Manages the law enforcement and non‐law enforcement staff of the office including all clerical, professional and supervisory personnel.
- Manages the probation office’s decentralized funding allocation and advises the court of the adequacy of funds to support operations.
- Recognizes the importance of evidence‐based practices and champions their use in probation services to reduce recidivism.
- Tracks the performance of the probation office and its officers in order to evaluate and improve performance.
- Directs staff responsible for the probation office’s financial service functions, including disbursements for operational goods and services, payroll costs and expenses in connection with the provision to persons on supervision for a wide variety of treatment/evaluative needs, emergency transitional needs, and vocational/educational rehabilitative goods and services.
- Oversees the probation office’s long‐range space and facilities plan.
- Establishes and administers continuing in‐service training programs to ensure high‐quality service delivery through consistent professional development of staff.
- Conducts special studies when appropriate and prepares statistical and narrative reports.
- Establishes and maintains cooperative and amicable relationships with other probation and pretrial services offices to assure all requests for assistance from other districts are met promptly and effectively.
- Establishes and maintains cooperative and amicable relationships with all components of the criminal justice system including federal, state, and local law enforcement, correctional, and social service agencies.
- Promotes and maintains conditions which encourage staff loyalty, enthusiasm, wellness, and morale.
- Participates in leadership opportunities outside the Southern District of New York to support national efforts to improve the administration of justice.
- Strives for excellence, consistency, equity and diversity throughout all units and offices in the district.
- Develops and maintains a public relations program which explains probation, parole, and other correctional services to the community.
Application Info
To be considered for this position, please submit one PDF document that includes: a resume, cover letter, Application for Federal Employment (AO 78), writing exemplar and three professional references. The resume must include your full educational summary, employment and salary history, and leadership and management experience. The cover letter must indicate the position for which you are applying and the vacancy number, and must describe your interest in the position, your knowledge, skills and abilities that qualify you for the position, your most significant innovative contribution to your current organization, and your leadership style. The writing exemplar must demonstrate your ability to communicate at a high level. Applications that do not conform to the above specifications will not be considered.
Please submit your complete application by email to DEjobs@nysd.uscourts.gov.
Interviews will be scheduled at a date to be determined. Applicants selected for an interview must travel at their own expense.
Due to the volume of applications received, the court may only communicate with those individuals who will be interviewed for open positions. Only those applicants who are selected to move forward in the interview process will be contacted.
The federal Judiciary is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.