Probation and Parole Officer

As public servants working in the Ministry of the Solicitor General, you will lead with integrity, demonstrate professionalism, champion inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility and human rights, and strive for excellence. Probation and Parole Officers are entrusted by our fellow citizens to play a pivotal role in the justice sector, promoting community and victim safety through the assessment and effective case management of offenders on community supervision. While supporting public safety, ensuring offender accountability, and enforcing compliance, Probation and Parole Officers are tasked with assisting vulnerable offenders who face significant barriers and require guidance navigating the challenges of living with issues such as mental health, addictions, historical and ongoing systemic discrimination (e.g., racism) and related barriers such as poverty, transiency and historical/intergenerational trauma. They are committed to evidence-based practice in response to the changing needs of diverse communities. Probation and Parole Officers are honest, accountable, caring, ethical, respectful, inclusive, and are passionate about reducing recidivism to support victim and community safety. This is an exciting and intrinsically rewarding career within the Ontario Public Service where you can assist the offender population in making significant changes in their lives. **OPS Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Anti-Racism**: We are committed to build a workforce that reflects the communities we serve and to promote a diverse, anti-racist, inclusive, accessible, merit-based, respectful and equitable workplace. Visit the **OPS Anti-Racism Policy** and the **OPS Diversity and Inclusion Blueprint** pages to learn more about the OPS commitment to advance racial equity, accessibility, diversity, and inclusion in the public service. We offer employment accommodation across the recruitment process and all aspects of employment consistent with the requirements of Ontario's **Human Rights Code**. Refer to the "How to apply" section if you require a disability-related accommodation. **What can I expect to do in this role?**: Working as part of a diverse and dynamic team, you will: - Provide probation, parole and conditional sentence services to adult offenders - Investigate and gather information to prepare reports ordered by the Courts and the Ontario Parole Board to support sentencing and parole decisions - Enhance community safety by monitoring and enforcing conditions of court orders - Assess criminogenic and other risk and needs and develop and implement offender case management plans to address those needs - Help offenders to make positive changes by guiding and supporting their efforts through meaningful interventions, skills building, cognitive-behavioural counselling, referrals, programming and motivational interviewing - Liaise with victims and build relationships with diverse criminal justice system partners and stakeholders such as police, courts and community agencies (including Indigenous communities and organizations) **How do I qualify?**: **Mandatory**: **Applied social work expertise**: - Demonstrated counselling and motivational interviewing experience - Relationship building skills to counsel, provide offenders with guidance and support - Demonstrated ability to develop, implement, monitor, update and evaluate offender-focused case management - Experience in the delivery of structured individual and group interventions - Demonstrated ability to effectively gather data to support the completion of a comprehensive assessment - Demonstrated ability to interpret and analyze assessment information gathered through identification of offender risk, need and responsivity **Strong decision-making expertise**: - Demonstrated use of professional discretion to make timely and appropriate decisions that are aligned with offender supervision strategies, individual needs, critical analysis, policy and legislation - Demonstrated ability to set clear and consistent expectations for accountability or to initiate corrective action to address risk mitigation and offender rehabilitation **Communication and interpersonal skills**: - Demonstrated interpersonal skills to contribute to a respectful workplace that values human rights, diversity, inclusion and equity - Skills and ability to ensure completion of the administrative components of case management (including documentation, data entry, meeting deadlines and managing multiple priorities) - Verbal communication skills to work effectively with colleagues, offenders, victims, stakeholders and justice partners with diverse needs and perspectives - Demonstrated ability to gather and present information verbally and in writing in a clear, accurate, concise and professional manner **Experience working with Indigenous offenders**: - Demonstrated insight into the impacts on offenders, victims, and communities who have experienced the effect