United States Probation Office
District of Nevada
Probation Services Assistant
The Probation Services Assistant will provide specialized technical and administrative support to probation officers in a wide range of areas, including compiling information for investigations, providing support for administrative caseloads, preparing drafts of reports and correspondence, and coordinating with collateral agencies. The primary focus of the position is to sort, collect, compile, track, and maintain varied and technical information to support officers and officer assistants in the performance of their responsibilities involving the investigation and supervision of offenders. Incumbents’ performance of administrative and clerical related tasks allows the officers and officer assistants to perform high-level tasks directly involved with offenders.
The Probation Services Assistant is an administrative (non-law enforcement) position, with the primary focus being long-term mastery and execution of essential administrative tasks, to support the operations of the U.S. Probation Office. This position is based in the Reno, Nevada office and reports directly to the Supervisory U.S. Probation Officer in Reno, with additional oversight provided by the Operations Supervisor in the Las Vegas office.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Probation Services Assistant will provide specialized technical and administrative support to probation officers in a wide range of areas, including compiling information for investigations, providing support for administrative caseloads, preparing drafts of reports and correspondence, coordinating with collateral agencies, and performing similar duties. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Conduct case file reviews and advise officers and officer assistants on matters needing their attention. Make chronological entries in supervision case records. Conduct records research and retrieval via telephone or mail to obtain required documentation. Set up new supervision case records and perform various file management tasks. Assist officers in responding to collateral requests for information. Assemble and process information to the Sentencing Commission. Keep various logs and records up to date.
- Format, type, edit, and finalize collaterals, reports and correspondence using word processing equipment. This may include, but is not limited to, documents such as presentence investigation reports, supervision case plans and reviews, and memoranda or reports to the court.
- Complete various standard forms for submission to the court and legal counsel using information provided by officers, including petitions, orders to the court, and similar documents.
- Operate the local/state law enforcement information retrieval system and Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) terminals to obtain criminal history information and route the information to appropriate recipients. Obtain fingerprint and credit checks, verifications of employment and education.
- Open, close, and update information into computerized records, including the Probation Automated Case Tracking Systems (PACTS). Research information from case records and enter into system as appropriate. Screen forms completed by officers and officer assistants and request corrections as needed. Retrieving information from databases and generating periodic reports.
- Participate in problem solving at staff meetings with other support staff, officers, and officer assistants. Make constructive suggestions for improvement in work processes to better achieve goals and objectives. Periodically act as administrative and clerical facilitator to distribute/redistribute work and optimize office support operations, as required.
- Provide general clerical office support by performing any or all the following tasks: Answer telephones and take messages; copy and distribute documents; send and receive faxes and electronic mail messages; receive and distribute mail; attend meetings and take minutes; provide backup reception assistance; assist officers and officer assistants with word processing or other computer matters.
- Maintain chain of custody of urinalysis testing materials. Maintain paper and computerized records of test results and inform officers of test results. Maintain and mail or transport tests and materials to laboratories for confirmation. Maintain inventory of supplies.
- Order supplies for the Reno office.
- Maintain good working relationships with court peers and may assist the Las Vegas office.
- Perform other appropriate duties as assigned.
Announcement Number Job Title: 2026-07 Probation Services Assistant
Opening Date: July 31, 2026
Closing Date: Open until filled (Priority given to applications received by August 31, 2026).
Number of Openings Type:
1
Duty Station: Reno, Nevada
Full-Time (40 hours per week), benefits eligible
Salary Range (Depending on Experience )
$44,876 - $72,940, CL-24 (Reno)
$49,555 - $80,580, CL-25 (Reno)
Promotional Potential
Promotion to higher grade [CL-25] without further competition.
Benefits
Pay is only part of the generous total compensation package you receive while working for the United States Courts. Employees also receive 13 days of vacation for the first three years (which increases with tenure), 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid holidays, retirement benefits, pension plan, and a Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) including a government match of up to 5%. Optional benefits include health and life insurance, dental and vision insurance, long-term care insurance, Flexible Benefits Program which includes health, dependent care, free parking, and an in-house fitness facility. Also included is the Federal Occupational Health (FOH)/Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). Student loan forgiveness is available to qualified individuals, pursuant to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
Apply To Required Documents
To apply for the Probation Services Assistant position, qualified candidates are required to submit the following in one pdf document in the following order:
- Cover letter - Addressed to Chief U.S. Probation Officer Sarah R. Johnson, 300 South Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, Nevada 89101. *The cover letter should be no longer than one (1) page and must include information highlighting qualifications, skills, and experience related to the position.
- Resume,
- AO-78, Application for Judicial Branch Employment (AO 78) or download at www.nvp.uscourts.gov.
- Last two (2) performance evaluations.
- Title the pdf document as follows: Last Name, First Name-2026-07-Probation Services Assistant. Please email the single pdf document, to [email protected].
- Failure to submit the above-mentioned required documents, in one pdf document, will result in immediate disqualification. Incomplete applications will not be considered, retained, or returned. Only one application per candidate will be accepted.
Minimum Qualifications
To qualify, an applicant must be a high school graduate or equivalent and have at least one (1) year of specialized experience.
Specialized experience is defined as progressively responsible clerical or administrative experience requiring the regular and recurring application of clerical procedures that demonstrate the ability to apply a body of rules, regulations, directives, or laws and involve the routine use of specialized terminology and automated software and equipment for word processing, data entry or report generation. Such experience is commonly encountered in law firms, legal counsel offices, banking and credit firms, educational institutions, social service organizations, insurance companies, real estate and title offices, and corporate headquarters or human resources/payroll operations.
Preferred Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in a field of academic study, such as criminal justice, criminology, psychology, sociology, human relations, business or public administration and one (1) year of specialized experience.
Excellent knowledge of office procedures and practices. General knowledge of personal computers and software applications to prepare reports and conduct investigation searches along with accessing the criminal retrieval system. Ability to give and receive accurate and timely information from individuals within and outside the court. Ability to decipher complex information: synthesize the data and concisely report the information gleaned in proper written format. Ability to prepare all types of investigations in proper format for our office as well as other districts. General knowledge of proper grammar usage and the ability to write and edit efficiently. Ability to carry oneself in a professional manner, as a representative of the probation office when visiting outside agencies.
Knowledge of the roles and functions of the federal probation office. Knowledge of the practices and procedures used in probation and court processes, including knowledge of the administrative requirements to support these activities. Knowledge of the criminal justice system as it relates to federal probation policies and procedures. Knowledge of and compliance with the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees, and court confidentiality requirements. Ability to consistently demonstrate sound judgment.
Conditions of Employment
This position is classified as “Sensitive,”; therefore, upon a provisional offer of employment, the successful applicant is required to submit to a background investigation (including a criminal history, credit, DMV, and fingerprints).
The United States Probation Office, District of Nevada, is part of the Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government.
All applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanently eligible to work in the United States.
The Federal Financial Management Reform Act requires direct deposit of federal wages.
Judiciary employees serve under excepted appointments (not civil service) and are required to adhere to a Code of Conduct.
The United States Probation Office is an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to the principles of diversity and inclusiveness.
We reserve the right to modify the conditions of this job announcement or withdraw this job announcement, either of which may occur without prior written notice. If a subsequent vacancy of the same (or similar) position becomes available within six (6) months of this announcement, the Chief Probation Officer reserves the right to select a candidate from the original qualified applicant pool rather than re-advertise a vacant position.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $44,876.00 - $80,580.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible schedule
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Professional development assistance
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
