Deputy Assistant Secretary of Prisons

State of Washington•Thurston County – Tumwater, WA

7d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Department of Corrections is seeking a strategic and experienced leader to serve as a Deputy Assistant Secretary within the Prisons Division. The goal of this critical role is to provide overall leadership, direction, and oversight for safety, security, and programming across nine adult male facilities and one female facility. Organized under A, B, C, and D commands, this position shares executive responsibility for services impacting more than 12,000 incarcerated individuals and over 5,000 custody and non-custody staff statewide. Reporting directly to the Assistant Secretary of the Prisons Division, the Deputy Assistant Secretary provides statewide leadership and strategic vision for adult prison operations. Decisions in this role directly influence institutional safety, operational consistency, and public safety outcomes. The candidate of choice will provide leadership and support to Superintendents and direct key statewide functions including restricted housing, special investigations, security and safety audits, mail and visiting, recreation, language access, ADA compliance, grievance systems, records, sustainability initiatives, and evidence-based programming. As a member of the Department’s Executive Staff and Executive Leadership Team, this executive role ensures accountability, operational excellence, and collaborative partnerships both internally and externally. This is a high-impact opportunity to shape correctional strategy, strengthen operations, and advance the Department’s mission to improve public safety across Washington State.

Requirements

A bachelor’s degree in public administration, business administration, human resources, education, social sciences, or criminal justice or a closely related field from an accredited institution whose accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), or a foreign equivalent
Five (5) years or more demonstrated broad based managerial or administrative experience in multi-level custody adult correctional environment
Five (5) years of demonstrated supervising, coaching and mentoring staff, developing clear direction and work expectations and monitoring performance
Proven success managing staff with diverse professional experience and qualifications.
Demonstrated budget development and administrative experience.
Demonstrated experience utilizing project management or LEAN methodology
Possess a working knowledge of total quality management (critical thinking) principles
Demonstrated ability to respond to difficult or stressful situations in a way that minimizes potential conflict and maintains a good working relationship
Demonstrated outstanding communications skills and leadership competencies, including mediating, negotiating, and resolving conflict
Demonstrated ability to create performance measures to monitor and track success
Demonstrated ability to successfully network, establish, maintain, and expand external environment relationships through the community and other state agencies, legislative bodies, and citizens
Demonstrated knowledge and application of prison related laws, policies, procedures, and practices
Demonstrated adherence to productivity standards and timelines established by law and policy
Ability to identify own training needs and proactively seek training opportunities

Nice To Haves

A master’s degree in public administration, business administration, human resources, education, social sciences, or criminal justice or a closely related field from an accredited institution whose accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), or a foreign equivalent

Responsibilities

Planning, leading, organizing and controlling the work performed by the division
Directing, monitoring and oversight of operations, security, safety, and emergency response activities conducted in facilities across the Prison Division
Ensuring clean, effective, and safe prison operations
Coaching and mentoring new superintendents providing access to training appropriate to level of authority and responsibility
Reinforcing 2-way communication between all levels of staff and incarcerated individual
Maintaining the highest standards of personal/professional and ethical conduct and support the state's goals for a diverse workforce
Providing and ensuring all working environments are free from discrimination and harassment
Strengthening public confidence in the integrity of department staff by demonstrating and setting the tone for the highest standards of personal and professional integrity, fairness, honesty, and compliance with both the spirit and the letter of the law
Promoting an environment of public trust free from fraud, abuse of authority, and misuse of public property
Respecting and protecting privileged information accessible through the course of official duties
Ensuring that no incarcerated individual or group of incarcerated individuals are given control or authority over other incarcerated individuals with the exception of activities sanctioned within the context of a Therapeutic Community
Developing and directing implementation plans to respond to sudden shifts in custody and security requirements that require significant changes in policies, procedures, and staff training
Monitoring application of federal and state laws, administration of rules, regulations, and orders of other agencies with jurisdiction
Ensuring policies and procedures comply with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
Facilitating and encouraging public information and education activities by conducting tours, speaking to community groups, and by providing written information concerning prison operations
Encouraging community agencies that the division has contact with to participate in policy development, coordinated planning, and interagency consultation.
Serving in the capacity, and making decisions on behalf of the Secretary, on a rotational basis while performing duties of the Headquarters Duty Officer
Opening and assuming command of the Department Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in the event of a major emergency or disaster
Serving as the Agency Incident Commander, with responsibilities to manage the agency's response and recovery from critical incidents and significant events
Determining the allocation of resources and personnel on a statewide basis, management of the incident based on emergency protocols, and coordination activities with all facilities/offices and other federal, state and local agencies