Investigations Manager 2 - PSO Inspector General (formerly Chief Investigator)

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Job Description:

The Oregon Youth Authority is hiring a PSO Inspector General to lead the Professional Standards Office — the agency's investigative branch responsible for integrity, accountability, and youth safety across Oregon's juvenile justice system. Reporting to the OYA Director, this Management Service leadership role directs criminal and administrative investigations into staff, contractor, and youth misconduct; oversees a team of investigators; and shapes agency-wide policy from investigative trends. The ideal candidate brings advanced investigative expertise, sound judgment in high-visibility cases, and a genuine commitment to trauma-informed, equitable practice with youth and families. This is a chance to protect vulnerable youth, strengthen public trust in Oregon's juvenile corrections system, and lead a team at the center of one of the agency's most consequential functions.

• →This position acts as the agency's liaison with Law Enforcement, The Oregon State Police, and Department of Human Services.
• →Lead and manage OYA’s investigative operations, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and legal defensibility.
• →Supervise investigative staff, including mentoring, training, and case management.
• →Provide oversight of high-profile, criminal, administrative, and multi-agency investigations.
• →Advise executive leadership, the Governor’s Office, legislators, and external partners on investigative findings and systemic reforms.
• →Ensure agency compliance with PREA, mandatory child abuse reporting, and other state and federal requirements.
• →Champion trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and equity-centered investigative practices.

Join Us on Thursday, October 1, 2026 between 11:00am-11:30am PST for Q&A Career Chat session about this position! You will have an opportunity to ask questions about this position and about OYA. This is not a mandatory requirement to join this session, just a friendly environment to ask questions and to learn a little more about OYA.

Click here to register for the PSO Inspector General career chat.

About OYA

The Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) is a national leader in the juvenile justice field, pioneering the implementation of a positive human development framework for its work with staff and youth, and using data to match the right youth with the right services. We seek to foster cultural competence and pursue equitable solutions to support youth under our care. Our agency mission is to protect the public and reduce crime by holding youth accountable and providing opportunities for reformation in safe environments.

If you are looking to join a team that values individual and cultural differences and the opportunity to contribute in the success of youth reformation by enriching our workforce with diversity, OYA wants to hear from you!

People of color, women and other members of historically underserved communities are strongly encouraged to apply!

For more information please visit www.oregon.gov/oya.

• Six years of supervision, management, or progressively related experience; OR
• three years of related experience and a bachelor’s degree in a related field.

• Experience with criminal evidence handling
• Collaborative team building and facilitation skills. Proven success at working across boundaries while building and sustaining effective teams on a statewide basis.
• Working knowledge and experience in analyzing and prioritizing intelligence information.
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
• Ability to analyze and review investigative reports and direct Deputy Chief and investigation staff on investigative techniques during various phases of an investigation.
• Advance investigative experience and skills needed to oversee and direct and conduct criminal and administrative investigations for youth, staff, and contractor's misconduct

Note: You do not need to have all of these qualities to be eligible for this position.

• Investigative Leadership: Directs complex criminal and administrative investigations involving youth, staff, and contractor misconduct, ensuring rigorous evidence handling, accurate reporting, and legally defensible outcomes; translates investigative trends into policy and prevention strategies.
• Team Leadership & Supervision: Builds and mentors high-trust investigative teams across agency and jurisdictional lines; applies sound judgment interpreting employment law, administrative rules, and collective bargaining agreements when making personnel recommendations; and exercises resilient, ethical, and impartial judgment in high-stakes, high-visibility cases.
• Juvenile Justice & Trauma-Informed Practice: Brings a working knowledge of adolescent development and rehabilitative practice, balancing investigative rigor with youth safety, dignity, and culturally responsive, trauma-informed engagement.
• Communication & Stakeholder Engagement: Communicates complex findings clearly to executive leadership, law enforcement, legal counsel, and community partners, with a track record of productive multi-agency collaboration.
• Equity & Professional Values: Applies DEI and cultural humility throughout investigative work, upholds the highest standards of ethics and impartiality, and pursues ongoing professional growth in investigative and juvenile-law practice.

• Click on the "Apply" link above to complete your online application and submit by the posted closing date and time. For step-by-step instructions click apply to work for the state or current state employee.
• COVER LETTER & RESUME REQUIRED. Please attach a cover letter (no more than two pages). In your cover letter, briefly expand on your responses to the desired attribute questions in the supplemental questions section Resume should have month/year for each job history listed.
• The work experience and/or education section of your application must clearly demonstrate how you meet all the minimum qualifications and desired skills and attributes listed above. Failing to attach required documents may result in disqualification of your application.
• 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. 

• Be sure to check Workday and your email for additional tasks and updates. After hitting submit there may be additional required tasks for you to complete prior to the announcement closing. Please save a copy of this job announcement for reference, as it is not available for you to view after the announcement deadline.
• Eligible veterans and Oregon National Guard servicemembers (current and former) who meet the qualifications of the position will be awarded candidate preference. For more information, please visit Veterans Resources.  Be sure to submit your documentation prior to the close date of this posting in order to have the preference considered.

Tentative Recruitment Schedule:

• 1st Round Interviews: October 16, 2026 (TEAMS)
• 2nd Round Interviews: October 21, 2026 (In-Person)
• 3rd Round Interviews: October 26, 2026 (In-Person)

• For a complete list of duties and responsibilities, please click here.
• This recruitment will be used to establish a list of qualified candidates to fill multiple, current, and future vacancies.
• Your application materials are used to determine your starting salary range. Through an equal pay assessment, we will determine the salary offer using the information you provide in your submitted application materials. Please ensure your application materials are detailed, accurate and reflect your skills, experience (paid and unpaid) and education as they relate to the position when applying. For more information on pay equity, click here.
• The salary range listed is the non-PERS participating rate. If you are already a participating PERS member or once you become PERS eligible, the salary range will increase by 6%. Please review the Classification and Compensation page for more details.
• This position receives annual increases on anniversary date until the maximum of the salary range is reached.
• This position is part of the state's management team.
• Please save a copy of this job announcement for your reference, as it may not be available for you to view after the job closes.

In keeping with our mission, OYA will conduct a criminal record check, per OAR 416 Division 800, a driving record background check and a vulnerable population abuse and neglect check. Information obtained about an individual is confidential. An individual who refuses to consent to a criminal records/background check shall be disqualified from consideration in the position for which you applied. All applicants are subject to additional pre-employment check(s) such as fingerprint based on criminal records check, pre-employment drug screening and/or education verification as required for the position.

In 2003 Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), the first federal civil statue focused specifically on addressing sexual violence in juvenile facilities, jails, prisons, and other facilities.  In recognition of the rights, safety, and well-being of the youth we serve you will be asked specific questions about your background to ensure our hiring and promotion practices comply with the National PREA standards. 

We do not offer Visa sponsorship. If you are hired, you will be required to fill out the US Department of Homeland Security’s I-9 form confirming you are able to work in the US. OYA uses E-Verify to confirm that applicants are authorized to work in the United States.

For questions about the job announcement, email the OYA recruitment team at OYAjobs@oya.oregon.gov.