Probation Officer Supervisor

ABOUT FRANKLIN COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT
The Franklin County Municipal Court is the largest and busiest municipal court in the State of Ohio. The Court has fourteen judges in the General Division and one judge in the Environmental Division. Judges preside over civil, criminal, and traffic cases and conduct both jury and court trials. The Courts jurisdiction includes traffic cases, misdemeanor criminal cases, and civil cases where the amount at issue is $15,000 or less. The Environmental Division has exclusive jurisdiction to enforce local codes and regulations affecting real property, such as fire and building codes. The geographic jurisdiction of the Court is all of Franklin County and those portions of the City of Columbus that extend beyond the boundaries of Franklin County. Despite its jurisdiction and name, the Franklin County Municipal Court is the judicial branch of the City of Columbus government.

JOB PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW
The Pretrial and Probation Services Department consists of approximately 120 employees. The mission of Pretrial Services is to promote community safety and pretrial success through research-informed recommendations and supervision services that maximize court appearance, remove barriers to fair and efficient justice, and promote harm reduction. The mission of Probation Services is to promote community safety by reducing recidivism, changing offender behavior, and fostering accountability through the effective use of evidence-based practices. Department functions include pretrial, investigations, and supervision services. The supervision structures are determined by risk and need for all case types that the judges of the Court refer to. The staff operates specialized caseloads including domestic violence, sexual offenses, soliciting, mental health, work release, and electronic monitoring. The probation staff strives to stay current and relevant with the ongoing goal of being an evidence-based organization.

A Probation Officer Supervisor is under the direction of the Chief Probation Officer. The position is responsible for overseeing various department projects and supervising assigned assistant supervisors, probation officers, victim assistants, and other staff to maintain compliance with all pretrial and probation guidelines, standards, and related laws. Probation Officer Supervisor responsibilities include overseeing a unit of probation officers, conducting pretrial and probation case management, assisting with arrests, investigations, interviewing, assessing, case planning, and providing interventions to ensure supervision of defendants compliance with court orders and required programming to promote public safety and reduce recidivism. The Probation Officer Supervisor will routinely communicate a defendants supervision compliance with the assigned judge and work closely with criminal justice partners, local law enforcement agencies, and community resources. A Probation Officer Supervisor within the Pretrial and Investigation Unit's primary responsibilities are to investigate, interview, and assess cases for Presentence Investigations (PSI), Record Sealing requests, pretrial supervision, and investigate Interstate Compact cases to promote public safety and reduce recidivism.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION

• Provide strong leadership to fully promote, model, and abide by the Vision, Mission, policies, and procedures of the Probation Department and the Court.
• Foster an inclusive and culturally competent work environment.
• Continuously analyze and evaluate the department structure, workflow, policies, and procedures, and develop revisions as needed.
• Maintain all job qualifications of probation officers under his or her supervision and have the knowledge and ability to perform all job tasks of those officers, including but not limited to the following: defensive tactics; computer certification for Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS), the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway (OHLEG), the Ohio Risk Assessment System (ORAS) and other related assessments, and evidence-based practices in pretrial and probation.
• Constructively supervise and coach assigned staff members in the performance of their duties.
• Maintain open communication and accessibility to assigned staff members concerning problems in accordance with the chain of command.
• Monitor, document, and provide feedback to staff on performance issues, conduct routine quality-assurance and continuous quality-improvement reviews of staff, develop corrective action plans and coaching with staff as needed, recognize, and reinforce when staff are performing above expectations.
• Provide short- and long-term planning for assigned staff to advance the goals and objectives of the department.
• Participate in the hiring and promotion of employees.
• Actively participate in and contribute to department management team meetings and initiatives and assist in the development of policies and procedures.
• Maintain statistics, assist with research, and report on unit and/or grant-related data and outcomes.
• Conduct individual staff and unit meetings routinely and as required.
• Chair, advise, and participate in various department committees and work groups as needed.
• Investigate, review, commend, make recommendations, or discipline assigned staff members in accordance with Department and Court policy.
• Review cases with judges when necessary
• Respond courteously to inquiries, which are sometimes controversial or adversarial.
• Review and approve various officer work products, including compliance reviews, statements of violations, case transfers, terminations, extensions, and investigations.
• Support and assist staff with decision-making related to the supervision of defendants.
• Review and approve leave requests for staff members under direct supervision and arrange or provide coverage for unexpectedly absent officers.
• Recommend, review, and approve training activities that are consistent with staff needs, training standards, and department operations.
• Seek and review new case law, statutes, and evidence-based practices pertaining to pretrial and probation supervision, investigation, and assigned specialized probation officers. Acquire and maintain working knowledge of probation-related law, case law, and court standards.
• Ability to promote a positive presence in the community with defendants and their families.
• Administration of the Ohio Risk Assessment System (ORAS) and other identified assessment tools to ensure appropriate supervision placement, intervention, and programming.
• Conduct investigations for the Court and prepare written reports to assist judges in the determination of appropriate sentences, release conditions, or the sealing of criminal offense records, as assigned.
• Complete, thorough, well-written reports that detail an individuals criminal history, details of the incident offense(s), and their compliance with supervision that include thoughtful and informed recommendations to the Court.
• Investigate information on defendants, including current offense information, victim impact statements, criminal history, prior common control history, and social history for education, employment, family, substance abuse, and mental health information.
• Investigate, conduct, and respond to criminal record sealing requests.
• Maintain accurate, current, and thorough documentation and records.
• Provide positive reinforcement and build rapport with defendants.
• Appear in Court as needed.
• Contribute to a strong, supportive, and productive team environment.
• Maintain sensitive and confidential information of the Court and Probation Department.
• Ability to exercise good judgment, decisiveness, and creativity in difficult situations.
• Conscious of and sensitive to the diversity within the Courts jurisdiction, and able to interact professionally with this diverse population of people from many different geographic, socioeconomic, religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds regularly.
• Excellent time-management skills, ability to prioritize work, ability to work independently, and ability to work under time constraints.
• Professional appearance and demeanor, particularly a positive attitude appropriate for the position and the work environment as a representative of the Court
• Ability to work collaboratively with criminal justice partners.
• Respond to inquiries, which are sometimes controversial or adversarial.
• May be required to work various hours during the workweek and be on call certain evenings and weekends.
• Maintain a professional demeanor during stressful situations.
• Participate in required training and professional development events around evidence-based practices in community corrections and behavioral health issues, per department standards and as deemed appropriate.
• Perform other tasks as assigned and may fulfill roles of other positions in other departments of the Court as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university with core coursework in areas related to criminal justice, criminology, corrections, psychology, social work, or a related field.
• At least five (5) years of experience as a probation/parole officer with a working knowledge of evidence-based practices in community corrections and community supervision.
• At least two (2) years of experience as a probation/parole officer supervisor or leadership position.
• Demonstrate leadership skills, including effective use of the principles of influence and motivation, and knowledge of organizational behavior and team-building techniques.
• The ability to demonstrate and apply basic knowledge of mental health, trauma, and substance abuse issues.
• Meet required eligibility and pass tests required to become certified to use Law Enforcement Automated Data Systems, National Crime Information Center, Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Interstate Identification Information Systems computer information systems.
• Willingness and ability to be trained and maintain certification in the departments field-safety training program, including but not limited to defensive tactics, verbal de-escalation techniques, and first aid/CPR, to engage with defendants in the community.
• Ability to assess and supervise defendants effectively (e.g., assess and resolve problems, motivate defendants toward prosocial supports and activities, and facilitate interventions that assist defendants in changing their thinking and behavior)
• Ability to appropriately respond to both pro-social and non-compliant behavior in a way that promotes public safety, accountability, and behavior change.
• Effective oral and written communication and interviewing skills (e.g., ability to listen effectively, obtain sensitive information, explain complex issues in a comprehensible manner, prepare accurate and logical reports relevant to a defendant)
• Ability to make informed and thoughtful recommendations and decisions.
• Knowledge of the criminal justice system and current research trends in the field of community corrections to work within the Court and community corrections field effectively.
• Ability to appropriately receive and follow supervisory feedback, coaching, and direction.
• Demonstrate resilience and flexibility in a high-paced, dynamic work environment.
• Proficiency in operating a personal computer and using, or being able to learn, Microsoft Office products such as Word, Outlook, and Excel, and the Courts case-management software.
• Pleasant personality, ability to deal with potentially difficult people, ability to interact and maintain effective working relationships with judges, employees, attorneys, litigants, law-enforcement officers, and others conducting business with the Court.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
• Demonstrated dependability, punctuality, and excellent attendance record.
• Skilled in the art of interviewing and assessment
• Willingness to become familiar with the Courts community resources.
• Maintain a valid Ohio driver's license.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• At least seven (7) years of experience as a probation/parole officer with a working knowledge of evidence-based practices in community corrections and community supervision.
• At least five (5) years of experience as a probation/parole officer supervisor or in a leadership position.

COURT EXPECTATIONS OF EMPLOYEES
In completing the duties and responsibilities of the position, the Court expects the employee will adhere to all Court policies, guidelines, practices, and procedures; act as a role model both inside and outside the Court; perform duties as workload necessitates in a timely, accurate and thorough manner and be conscientious about meeting department productivity standards; and communicate regularly with the supervisor about department issues.

AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT
Employees of the Court are at-will employees and serve at the pleasure of the Court; they are not in the classified civil service system and are not members of bargaining units.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
The Court is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, religion, race, color, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability, military status, or genetic information.