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Posted: March 24, 2026 (2 days ago)

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Supervisory Recreation Specialist (INST) (Assistant Recreation Supervisor)

Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System

Department of Justice

Fresh

Location

Forrest City, Arkansas

Salary

$74,678 - $97,087

per year

Closes

April 14, 2026More DOJ jobs →

GS-5 Pay Grade

Base salary range: $33,878 - $44,042

Typical requirements: 1 year specialized experience. Bachelor's degree.

Note: Actual salary includes locality pay (15-40%+ depending on location).

Job Description

Summary

This job involves assisting in the management and supervision of recreational programs for inmates in a federal prison complex, helping to create safe and engaging activities that support rehabilitation and reentry into society.

A good fit would be someone with a background in recreation or physical education who enjoys leading teams, planning programs, and working in a structured, secure environment like a correctional facility.

Key Requirements

  • Undergraduate or graduate degree in recreation, physical education, or related fields such as outdoor recreation, community recreation, or special populations recreation
  • At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-4 level, including planning, organizing, and supervising recreational programs in institutional settings
  • Knowledge of policies, regulations, and procedures for inmate recreational programs, institutional security, and discipline
  • Experience in training staff and implementing recreation activities tailored to diverse inmate populations
  • Ability to supervise line staff and rotate between multiple prison institutions as needed
  • Combination of relevant education and experience that demonstrates ability to apply recreation principles in a correctional context

Full Job Description

Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following qualification requirements.

Basic Requirements: Education: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- general recreation, or one of the appropriate fields of recreation such as outdoor recreation; recreation and parks leadership; wild land recreation management; natural resources recreation; youth recreation; public, urban, or community recreation; special populations recreation (e.g., senior citizens, institutional, etc.); or physical education.

OR Experience: Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience that demonstrated the ability to apply the principles of one or more specialty areas of recreation.

Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Planning, organizing, coordinating, supervising, or evaluating community, industrial, outdoor, institutional, or other recreational programs.

Planning, establishing, or evaluating a recreational curriculum for junior college or higher academic levels.

Instructing in the principles and techniques of recreational program planning and management.

Serving in a leadership role in the programs and activities of local, regional, and/or national recreational organizations.

AND In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must have: Education: Ph.D.

or equivalent doctoral degree; OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.M., if related.

Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study – general recreation, or one of the appropriate fields of recreation, such as outdoor recreation; recreation and parks leadership; wild land recreation management; natural resources recreation; youth recreation; public, urban, or community recreation; special populations recreation (e.g., senior citizens, institutional, etc.); or physical education.

OR Experience: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level.

This experience is defined as that which demonstrated the ability to apply the principles of one or more specialty areas of recreation.

Some examples of this qualifying experience are: Experience which demonstrates knowledge in the areas of local and national policies, and regulations regarding inmate recreational programs, institutional security, and inmate discipline.

Experience in providing information or training to staff to improve the operation in a recreation department.

Experience planning and implementing enhanced recreation programs which meet the needs of varying inmate populations in an institution including executing a recreation activity program which involves community participants and program management responsibility.li> OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience.

This experience must have equipped you with the qualifications to perform the major duties of this position as described above. If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience.

To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.** Major Duties:

Serves as an assistant department head in the Recreation Department at one of the Bureau of Prisons Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) facilities.

An FCC consists of multiple institutions composed of various security levels. Will be required to rotate to various institutions within the complex on an as needed basis.

Reports to the Recreation Supervisor. Serves as the first line manager/supervisor for line staff assigned to the department.

Responsible for assisting in managing, developing, organizing, implementing, supervising, and maintaining a diversified recreation program for the inmate population.

This includes both conventional programs such as intramural sports, arts, crafts, and community activities and special programs, such as activities for the physically challenged.

Because of the wide variety of cultural backgrounds of the inmate population, application of professional skills and technical abilities are an important part of the complex mission.

Along with all other correctional institution employees, incumbent is charged with responsibility for maintaining security of the institution.

The staff correctional responsibilities precede all others required by this position and are performed on a regular and recurring basis.

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Posted on USAJOBS: 3/24/2026 | Added to FreshGovJobs: 3/25/2026

Source: USAJOBS | ID: SCR-2026-0174