Probation And Parole Officer - Bilingual (English/French)

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.
Please Note: Effective January 1st, 2024 the salary range for this position is $1,506.53 to $1,861.87 per week in compliance with OPSEU Correctional Bargaining Unit collective agreement provisions. The new rates, effective retroactive to January 1, 2024, were recently confirmed and dates for implementation of the new salary rates are still to be determined.
If you have not completed the Ministry's Probation and Parole Officer basic training program and the experience requirement, you will be hired in the Probation Officer (PO1) salary range ($1,182.40 to $1,541.00 per week).

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.
We invite all interested individuals to apply and encourage applications from people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black, and racialized individuals, as well as people from a diversity of ethnic and cultural origins, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions.
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

• Degree (from an institution authorized by the province to grant degrees) in one of the following disciplines: social work, psychology, sociology, and criminology OR a degree (from an institution authorized by the province to grant degrees) and experience greater than five years in total, in a social services or correctional organization, in a role(s) that involves the formal assessment of human behaviour and the application of structured interventions aimed at supporting the changing of human behaviour.
• The ability to travel regularly, and in specified remote locations the ability to travel via road and/or air transportation
• You must possess oral and written French language skills at the advanced level. Your proficiency level will be confirmed before hire.

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 effects of systemic barriers and intergenerational trauma
• Demonstrated understanding of Indigenous peoples' histories, the impacts of colonization, systemic discrimination and barriers, and intergenerational trauma, and of the unique needs of Indigenous offenders, victims and communities
• Demonstrated ability to integrate culturally appropriate, relevant and meaningful services and methods of intervention for offenders in their healing journey, and to support reconciliation
• Creativity, flexibility and respect for Indigenous perspectives and traditional approaches to achieving and maintaining change