If you are motivated to use your strong organizational skills to manage sensitive information, consider becoming a Records Specialist 1 with the Department of Corrections. This position at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Mercer places you in a vital role that supports accurate inmate records and secure documentation practices. Your attention to detail will help maintain reliable information for staff, partnering agencies, and inmates. This role allows you to develop professionally while making meaningful contributions each day.
This position supports accurate inmate recordkeeping and helps maintain timely and reliable information for staff and partner agencies. The role involves reviewing, updating, and verifying documentation related to inmate status throughout confinement. As a Records Specialist 1, you will perform the following duties:
- Record Maintenance: Collect information from multiple sources and verify accuracy by reviewing court orders and system data
- Information Updates: Enter sentence changes and ensure required details are provided to staff, inmates, and partner agencies
- Intake Processing: Interview, photograph, and fingerprint inmates while explaining relevant procedures
- Identity Verification: Process photographs and fingerprints to confirm identification and support offender registration
- Transport Coordination: Arrange inmate movements for court or release and confirm authorization before transferring custody
- General Support: Assist with additional assigned tasks that help maintain reliable records and institutional operations
Work Schedule and Additional Information:
- Full-time employment, 37.5-hour work week
- Work hours are 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday - Friday, with a 30-minute lunch.
- Telework: You will not have the option to telework in this position.
- Salary: Selected candidates who are new to employment with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will begin employment at the starting annual salary of $41,506.00 (before taxes).
- You will receive further communication regarding this position via email. Check your email, including spam/junk folders, for these notices.
QUALIFICATIONS
Minimum Experience and Training Requirements:
- Two years of clerical or correctional custodial experience; or
- An equivalent combination of experience and training.
Other Requirements:
- Successful completion of basic training in Elizabethtown, PA is required.
- You must meet the PA residency requirement. For more information on ways to meet PA residency requirements, follow the link and click on Residency Guidelines.
- You must be able to perform essential job functions.
Legal Requirements:
- You must pass a background investigation and meet Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) compliance requirements.
How to Apply:
- Resumes, cover letters, and similar documents will not be reviewed, and the information contained therein will not be considered for the purposes of determining your eligibility for the position. Information to support your eligibility for the position must be provided on the application (i.e., relevant, detailed experience/education).
- If you are claiming education in your answers to the supplemental application questions, you must attach a copy of your college transcripts for your claim to be accepted toward meeting the minimum requirements. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.
- Your application must be submitted by the posting closing date. Late applications and other required materials will not be accepted.
- Failure to comply with the above application requirements may eliminate you from consideration for this position.
- All application materials and interview responses must reflect the applicant’s own experience, qualifications, and work. Applicants may use generative AI tools for preparation purposes only. Use of AI to misrepresent or falsify information, or to assist during interviews, is not permitted. Review the Guidance for Generative AI Tools & Job Seekers for additional information.
Veterans:
- Pennsylvania law (51 Pa. C.S. §7103) provides employment preference for qualified veterans for appointment to many state and local government jobs. To learn more about employment preferences for veterans, go to www.pa.gov/agencies/employment/how-to-apply.html and click on Veterans.
Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS):
- 711 (hearing and speech disabilities or other individuals).
If you are contacted for an interview and need accommodations due to a disability, please discuss your request for accommodations with the interviewer in advance of your interview date.
The Commonwealth is an equal employment opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse workforce. The Commonwealth values inclusion as we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most qualified people to serve the citizens of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, union membership, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, AIDS or HIV status, disability, or any other categories protected by applicable federal or state law. All diverse candidates are encouraged to apply.
- Completing the application, including all supplemental questions, serves as your exam for this position. No additional exam is required at a test center (also referred to as a written exam).
- Your score is based on the detailed information you provide on your application and in response to the supplemental questions.
- Your score is valid for this specific posting only.
- You must provide complete and accurate information or:
- your score may be lower than deserved.
- you may be disqualified.
- You may only apply/test once for this posting.
- Your results will be provided via email.