Initial Posting Date:

04/17/2026

Application Deadline:

04/27/2026

Agency:

Department of Corrections

Salary Range:

$10,569 - $16,363

Position Type:

Employee

Position Title:

Superintendent, Correctional Institution Administrator 2 (Salem)

Job Description:

Superintendent, Correctional Institution Administrator 2

Oregon State Penitentiary (Salem)

Oregon Department of Corrections

The Oregon Department of Corrections is currently recruiting for the position of Superintendent of the Oregon State Penitentiary, located in Salem, Oregon.

OSP is Oregon's only maximum security prison. The walls are enclosed by reinforced concrete averaging 25 feet in height. The correctional professionals manage and oversee workforce development, education programs, food services, furniture factory, metal shop, commercial laundry program, mental health services, medical services, religious services, and cognitive programs.

This position is part of the department's management service; this position is not represented by a labor union.

About the Job – Your Role

The Superintendent will manage, supervise, and coordinate the daily operations of OSP, ensuring compliance with statutory, administrative, and case law. You will be responsible for all institutional programs, including fiscal planning, budget management, labor contract administration, facility maintenance, personnel management, and planning, developing, and implementing both long-range program objectives and short-range operational goals.

Leadership Skills and Attributes

• Emotional Intelligence - The ability to consciously recognize, understand, and manage one's own emotions and to emphatically and judiciously recognize, understand, and influence the emotions of others.
• Ethics and Values - The ability to behave with integrity, honesty and transparency in accordance with statute, administrative rule, DOC Code of Conduct, DOC Code of Ethics, the Criminal Justice Code of Ethics and the Department's stated values in all actions.
• Inspiring a United Vision - The ability to imagine the future with creativity, wisdom and ingenuity. Leaders illuminate the path toward continuous transformation, sparking shred commitment and action in others to reach a common goal.
• Strategic Thinking - The ability to forecast a broad range of alternatives, anticipate likely outcomes of individual or group actions and consider all potential risks and impacts to stakeholders and systems. Strategic thinkers recognize the relationships, complexities and implications of a situation. They anticipate possibilities and plan for the future.
• Managing the External Environment - The ability to look outside the department and understand the totality of the environment within which leaders operate, engage proactively with all stakeholders and forecast the impact of actions taken inside and outside the department to promote public trust and understanding and ensure conditions are in place to meet the mission.
• Influence - The ability to shape opinions, change hearts and minds and motivate others to carry out the goals of the organization by relating their personal motivations to the desired future state.
• Planning and Performance Measures - The ability to develop comprehensive plans, provide direction, prioritize resources, establish measures of success, inspire action and insure continuous improvement in service of the organizational Mission, Shared Vision, and goals.
• Collaboration - The ability to intentionally work together with peers, staff and stakeholders towards shared goals. Collaborative leaders are non-hierarchical and share responsibility, authority and accountability equitable with others.
• Team Building - The ability to bring people of diverse thought, experience and skill sets together as a team, identify purpose and goals and manage stages of development to ensure collaboration and overall performance is successful.
• Resilience - The ability to overcome adversity, opposition or failure and maintain steady, thoughtful progress towards a goal. Mental toughness, grit, tenacity).

Minimum Qualifications

• Seven (7) years of management experience; OR
• Four (4) years of management experience and a bachelor’s degree in a related field.

Requested Skills

• Advanced knowledge of public administration, correctional practices, business development, and regulatory frameworks
• Experience serving as a superintendent or equivalent leadership role, with deep knowledge of correctional institution operations and best practices
• Comprehensive understanding of men’s pathways into the justice system, including associated risks and needs, and experience implementing policies that support rehabilitation and successful reentry
• Knowledge of gender-responsive correctional practices, with the ability to integrate these approaches into existing operational policies and procedures
• Strong interpersonal, leadership, and decision-making skills, with demonstrated integrity, ethical judgment, and the ability to perform effectively under pressure
• Experience in budget development, financial management, and reporting
• Advanced knowledge of public sector unions and collective bargaining agreements
• Thorough understanding of emergency preparedness planning and response protocols
• Ability to analyze and integrate multiple perspectives, complex policies, and operational issues to guide teams toward successful outcomes
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including public speaking and executive-level communication
• Demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, with measurable outcomes in prior roles
• Strong accountability and transparency in leadership, ensuring consistent application of professional standards across a large and complex workforce

Application Information

• In the Work Experience section of your application make sure to include the dates and duties of 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. Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications on or before the job posting close date.
• The job posting closes at 11:59 PM (PDT/PST) on the close date. After you submit your application, be sure to respond to the two questionnaires relating to public records requests and veterans’ preference immediately following your submittal. These questions are necessary to complete the application process.
• Please monitor both your email and Workday account for updates regarding this recruitment.
• As part of our selection process, we may require additional assessment stages, such as written exercises, to further evaluate candidates’ qualifications. Meaningful participation in these exercises is required for all applicants moving forward in the process. Failure to complete the required exercise(s) within the specified timeframe will result in disqualification from consideration. All candidates who successfully complete these screening stages and meet the necessary requirements will advance to the next stage in the selection process.
• Please save a copy of this job announcement for reference, as it is not available for you to view after the announcement deadline.

Working Conditions

This position is located within a secure adult correctional facility. The work environment may include exposure to individuals who are angry, hostile, or abusive, including Adults in Custody (AICs), and may involve a risk of personal injury or hostage situations. The incumbent must be available for call-back in the event of emergencies.

The Superintendent is expected to actively promote and model the mission, vision, and core values of the department. This includes demonstrating pro-social behaviors and fostering a workplace culture grounded in respect for human dignity, social responsibility, personal growth, and readiness for successful transition back into the community.

The role requires a strong belief in the capacity for positive change in all individuals and recognition that incarceration presents an opportunity for rehabilitation and growth. The Superintendent must support and maintain an environment that encourages and nurtures positive change, contributing to the long-term public safety of Oregon.

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

About the Process – What to Expect

• After the application deadline, a recruiter will review submissions for education and experience to identify candidates who best fit the minimum qualifications and requested skills.
• Top candidates will be referred to the hiring manager.
• The hiring manager will review your application and schedule interviews.
• Interview will be held with a panel of stakeholders who have completed panel assessment training. Scores will be determined based on predetermined questions and scoring guides. Preferences points will be applied in compliance with relevant laws and bargaining agreements. There may be multiple rounds of interviews.
• Final candidates will have a background check, PREA check, and reference checks.
• A Classification and Compensation analyst will review the Workday Application of the successful candidate to determine starting wages. Learn more about Equal Pay.
• A job offer will be extended through Workday to the successful candidate. Congratulations, and welcome to the team!

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. However, having a felony record does not exclusively restrict you from being considered as an applicant. 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.

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. You will have up until 24 hours after the posted application deadline to submit the appropriate documentation.

The State of Oregon does not request or require your age, date of birth, attendance or graduation dates from an educational institution during the application process.

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: Maria Arellano, Maria.A.Arellano@doc.oregon.gov

Reference Number: Req-198620

• 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.