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Administrative Officer

Department of Justice
Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System

Summary

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

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
02/19/2026 to 03/12/2026
Salary
$70,623 to - $111,087 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 09 - 11
Location
Washington, DC
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - Travel may be required for training and/or work related issues.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Reimbursement is authorized for travel and transportation for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CO-2026-0150
Control number
858263300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

• BOP Employees nationwide • DOJ Surplus and Displaced (CTAP) Employees in the local commuting area. • Duty Location: Director's Office, Central Office, Washington DC

Duties

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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.

Requirements

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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.

Additional 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.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

If your composite score exceeds the average score for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your online assessment responses and utilized to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement.  If your selections are not supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.

There are several parts of the application process that affect the overall evaluation of your application:

  • Your resume, which is part of your USAJOBS profile;
  • Your responses to the eligibility questions;
  • Your responses to the online assessment;
  • Your supporting documentation, if required.

Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements for consideration. You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

If you applied to more than one grade level, BE ADVISED that you may be selected at ANY grade level for which you applied and are found qualified (i.e., if the job is announced at the 9/11 grade levels and you apply for the GS/GL-9 and the GS-11,and you are found qualified at BOTH grade levels, you may be selected at either grade level).

What Competencies/Knowledge, Skills and Abilities are Required for this Position?

The following Competencies/Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's) are required:

GS-09 and GS-11:

  • Ability to communicate orally.
  • Ability to communicate in writing.
  • Ability to work with data on a computer.
  • Ability to use time and resources efficiently.
  • Knowledge of federal government rules and regulations.

You may preview questions for this vacancy.

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