Correctional Officer

Initial Posting Date:

09/04/2025

Application Deadline:

/

Agency:

Department of Corrections

Salary Range:

$5,729 - $7,785

Position Type:

Employee

Position Title:

Correctional Officer - Columbia River Correctional Institution (Portland) Relocation Assistance Available!

Job Description:

Correctional Officer, Columbia River Correctional Institution (Portland)

Oregon Department of Corrections

About the Job – Your Role

Are you looking for a career that will challenge your personal fitness, intellect, and maturity? What if your work environment could include various tasks allowing you to gain insight on yourself and others?

Becoming a Correctional Officer may be the way to fulfill those goals! The Oregon Department of Corrections’ (DOC) next Basic Corrections Course is starting soon, and we want you to be one of our students!

As a Correctional Officer, you will set limits, provide good role model examples, and assist in facilitating positive change in the lives of adults in custody (AIC).

This announcement is for Columbia River Correctional Institution in Portland, Oregon. DOC offers many positions across Oregon – locations include Baker City, Ontario, Wilsonville, Madras, Salem, Tillamook, Pendleton, Umatilla, and Lakeview. If you are interested in additional locations, you will need to apply to announcements that are specific to that facility. 

• Relocation Assistance: Relocation costs may be paid in some cases. Please contact recruitment for further information.

Our Basic Corrections Courses (BCC) fill up quickly, so act fast! If a career in corrections interests you, don’t hesitate.

Once hired, you will begin by attending the Basic Corrections Course (BCC). Your training is on-the-job, meaning you will start earning a paycheck during your training! Previous correctional experience is not a requirement. We invest in training and educating YOU, if you have the right personal attributes! At DOC we are looking for people with the right integrity, passion for helping others, and motivation. This position is an entry level position.

Your first year is considered to be a probationary period including the BCC (seven-weeks training in our academy course, this training is eligible for college credit towards your degree), classroom training, online courses, health and fitness classes, force skills training, and a comprehensive Field Training Evaluation Program (FTEP). BCC is certified by the Department of Public Safety and Standards Training (DPSST). For the duration of the probationary period, work hours, shifts, and days off will vary based on the needs of the institution.

All Correctional Officer positions are union represented — training, work hours, breaks, days off, etc. will be determined by your institution’s labor contract. Once the probationary period is completed, work shifts and days off may be subject to a bid process in accordance with the applicable labor contract.

Minimum Qualifications

• Possess a high school diploma or GED
• Be 21 years of age or older
• United States citizen
• Meet DPSST Physical Standards
• Possess reading comprehension, report writing, and retention abilities
• Satisfactorily complete an ODOC background investigation OAR 259-008-0015

Special Qualifications

• Must pass NTN test with a minimum score of 70 percent in all areas
• Good employee work history
• Have a history of law abiding behavior OAR 259-008-0070
• Pass a psychological evaluation and risk assessment as required by HB 2936
• No evidence of substance abuse
• Proficient using computers
• Must possess a valid driver's license
• All applicants for, and employees in this classification/position, shall be subject to testing for the use of prohibited drugs.

Required and Requested Skills

The National Testing Network also provides dimensional ratings on applicants. We review for the following:

• Good ratings
  • Working as a team member
  • Ability to effectively take control of situations
  • Cooperative in supporting management’s goals
  • Making choices reflecting good integrity
  • Ability to support and communicate with other staff
• Acceptable ratings
  • Use of grammar and understanding of written content.
• Low risk ratings
  • Of being unprofessionally involved with offenders
  • Conducting yourself in abrasive style and miss use of authority
  • Experience in a public safety occupation

In the Work Experience section of your application make sure to include the dates and duties off all relevant positions and details to support how you meet these attributes. If you do not include education or work experience meeting the minimum qualifications, you will not be considered for the position. Only the candidates whose experience most closely matches the qualifications and requested skills of this position will be invited to interview.

Nature of the Work

As a Correctional Officer, you will work in a team setting to maintain order within the institutions, enforcing rules and regulations while providing care to ensure safety and security. You will help adults in custody be orderly and obey agency guidelines and standards while monitoring their activities and supervising their work assignments. Cell checks and searches of adults in custody and their living quarters for contraband, settling disputes, and enforcing discipline are often required. Observing, inspecting, and reporting of safety, sanitary, and fire hazard are routine.

About the Department

The Oregon Department of Corrections is responsible for over 12,000 adults in custody in 12 state prisons throughout Oregon. It advises and evaluates counties regarding administration of probation and parole programs supervising more than 24,000 offenders in Oregon communities. The mission is to protect communities, promote accountability, and transform lives.

The Oregon Department of Corrections serves a diverse and changing population of people who are incarcerated and on supervision. We commit to creating an organization both reflecting the diversity of the population we serve and ensuring all employees thrive in a culture of safety, trust, and belonging. We strive to be an anti-racist corrections system. Welcoming, inclusive, and respectful of all people. Free of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

The Department offers a variety of programs and opportunity to create a safe and healthy environment to for our staff, volunteers, and adults in custody. Joining the Oregon Department of Corrections is joining a team working for the benefit of our communities through innovative and proven correctional practices.

Benefits

The salary range listed above is for non-PERS qualifying applicants. PERS qualifying applicants may be eligible for an adjusted range to reflect an additional 6.95%.

The State of Oregon provides a generous benefit package, which includes:

• Family health, vision, and dental insurance
• Vacation, sick leave, and 11 paid holidays
• 21 days paid military leave for national guard and reserve components
• Optional short and long-term disability
• Term life insurance
• Fully paid retirement program
• Oregon Saving Growth Plan
• Flexible spending accounts for health and childcare
• And more

Additional applicable incentives:

• Possible 5% differential for foreign language proficiency
• 4% SWAT Member (eligible to try out after trial service completion)
• 4% Crisis Negotiation Team (eligible to try out after trial service completion)
• 4% Field Training Officer (eligible to apply after trial service completion)
• Shift differential – based on union, employees shall be paid shift differential for shifts which starts between the hours of 12 noon and 3:00 a.m.

About the Process – What to Expect

Step 1

Submit your Workday online application.

Step 2

After you apply, you will be sent information regarding the NTN REACT test. This test is an in-person exam and is offered throughout the state. Once on their site, select Corrections Jobs, check the Oregon Department of Corrections as your department of choice, and find the test location closest to you. Free testing vouchers can be obtained by contacting the department. Please reach out to the following contact to obtain a free test voucher: email [email protected]

While on the NTN REACT test website, please review the following for a better understanding:

• All information related to the Oregon Department of Corrections Correctional Officer position, including minimum requirements, salary, and benefits.
• Detailed information about the testing process for the entry level test.
• Opportunity to purchase and take online practice tests.
• Schedule a convenient test time.
• DO NOT apply for a Correctional Officer position on the NTN site, these applications do not come to us. Apply via our announcement.
• DO NOT schedule an ORPAT, we administer the CORPAT during the BCC.

Upon completion of the NTN exam, all scores are automatically forwarded to DOC. You must have a passing score of 70 percent in all areas of the exam in order to move to the next step of the application review process. 

While on the NTN REACT test website, please review the following for a better understanding:

• All information related to the Oregon Department of Corrections Correctional Officer position, including minimum requirements, salary, and benefits.
• Detailed information about the testing process for the entry level test.
• Opportunity to purchase and take online practice tests.
• Schedule a convenient test time.
• DO NOT apply for a Correctional Officer position on the NTN site, these applications do not come to us. Apply via our announcement.
• DO NOT schedule an ORPAT, we administer the CORPAT during the BCC.

Upon completion of the NTN exam, all scores are automatically forwarded to DOC. You must have a passing score of 70 percent in all areas of the exam in order to move to the next step of the hiring process.

Step 3

DOC will review and process your application.

• A criminal history check will be completed from information gathered though various sources including, but not limited to: Law Enforcement Data System (LEDS), National Crime Information Center (NCIC), Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or other regional and national computer databases.

Step 4

Before you are scheduled for an interview you will be required to complete an electronic Statement of Personal History (eSOPH.) You will receive an email giving specific instructions on how to complete this step and you will have 14 days to complete it. The personal history questionnaire consists of 12 topics. You will provide information for each topic for the past ten years or since the age of 18. Topics include:

• Personal Information
• Relatives
• Education
• Residence History
• Employment History
• Personal References
• Law Enforcement Applications
• Military
• Legal             
• Drug Use
• Motor Vehicles
• Other Topics

You will not move forward to the interview until you successfully complete eSOPH and it passes review by one of our background investigators. eSOPH requires you to submit names, phone numbers, and email addresses of personal and professional references. If you are unable or unwilling to provide this information you should not continue with this application. If you do want to proceed you are accepting the responsibility of gathering and providing the required information for eSOPH.

Step 5

DOC will contact you to complete the background investigation from the information you provided in the eSOPH documents.

Step 6

If selected, there will be a conditional offer and you will be required to pass a pre-employment medical exam and psychological evaluation in accordance with DPSST’s requirements.

Requirements for Employment

The successful candidate for this position must pass a Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) fingerprint-based background check and maintain CJIS eligibility. Due to CJIS requirements related to system access, there may be some felony convictions that could disqualify you for this position. Applicants will be subject to a Computerized Criminal History and Motor Vehicles check as well as background investigation. Adverse background information may be grounds for disqualification. CJIS clearance is done at the conditional job offer. If you have questions about whether or not your criminal record could disqualify for you, please contact the recruiter for more information.

Additional Information – Please monitor your Workday and email accounts. You may be contacted through Workday or have additional tasks to complete.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (EDI&B) is embedded in the Department of Corrections core values. The department strives to be a model employer committed to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Ensuring legal compliance, efficiency, and exceeding expectations to deliver the best public services.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran or protected veteran status, genetic information and other legally protected characteristics. Additional information can be found from The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Know Your Rights.

The Oregon Department of Corrections is responsible for complying with the Federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA 42 U.S.C. 1997). PREA prohibits the Oregon Department of Corrections from hiring, promoting, or contracting with anyone, (that will have direct contact with residents), who has engaged in, been convicted of, or been civilly or administratively adjudicated for engaging in sexual abuse in confinement settings. Learn more about PREA.

Under Oregon Law, qualifying veterans may apply for veterans’ preference. Review our veterans’ preference page for details about eligibility. Please note – if you are a veteran, you will receive a task in Workday to upload your documents immediately after you submit your initial application.

Questions

If you have questions about the position, selection process, or need accommodations to participate in the recruitment process please contact the recruiter and reference the requisition number.

Recruiter: Jeana Jeffries, [email protected]

• Workday will timeout after 15 minutes of inactivity. You may lose progress on your application.
• Workday performs weekly maintenance Friday evenings, and the system may be down for several hours.
• ODOC does not offer visa sponsorship. Within three days of hire, applicants will be required to complete an I-9 and confirm authorization to work in the United States.
• This applicant list may be used to fill future vacancies. Application information may be used throughout the entire selection process. This process is subject to change without notice.
• This announcement is intended as a general descriptive recruitment guide and is subject to change. It does not constitute either an expressed or implied contract. The pay and benefits on all announcements may change without notice.