Current Employment Opportunities
Applications are sent to applicants upon request and also can be obtained on the Shawnee County website. All applications must be submitted via Internet to the Shawnee County Human Resources Department located at 200 E 7th, Topeka, Kansas 66607. Please make sure all requested information is completed accurately. Inaccurate applications may result in an automatic disqualification.
Application Review
All applications are initially reviewed by the Shawnee County Human Resources Department for minimum qualifications and application completeness. All approved applications are sent to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections Personnel Division Manager for review and processing. All applicants shall receive an interview if minimum qualifications are successfully met.
Interview
Applicants meeting minimum qualifications shall be scheduled to execute some pre-interview screening and participate in an interview requiring him/her to answer questions and scenarios posed. Upon completion of the interview, all recommendations are forwarded to the Department Personnel Division Manager for further consideration.
Background Investigation
Those successfully completing an interview process shall undergo an extensive background investigation, which may include personal contacts and phone contacts with listed references, employers, significant others, educational, and financial institutions. All applicants must authorize consent for the release of information upon being interviewed. Additionally, criminal history checks are made.
Physical Agility Test
(Security Positions Only)
The Shawnee County Department of Corrections Training Division administers the Corrections Officers Physical Agility Test. This test is designed to test the applicants' physical agility to perform the essential job functions of a corrections officer, which include subduing inmates to responding to emergencies and operating emergency equipment. The test requires the applicants to complete the following:
- Complete a module obstacle course in 15 seconds
- Place finger tips within 2 inches of toes in a forward bend
- Touch nape of neck with each hand
- Touch chin to shoulder bilaterally
- Move 80 pounds 100 feet in 35 seconds
- Run 100 yards in 20 seconds
- Run 440 yards in 3 minutes and 30 seconds
- Pass through a 28 inch doorway
Contingent Offer of Employment
Upon successful completion of the background/reference investigation and physical agility test, a contingent offer of employment with the Shawnee County Department of Corrections is scheduled. At this time, the Department Personnel Division Manager shall review the applicant's employment progress and the remaining steps within the hiring process to be completed. Employment shall be contingent upon the successful completion of a polygraph test and a physician's physical and drug test. Upon successful completion of these remaining steps, an official offer of employment is scheduled through the Department Personnel Division Manager.
Polygraph Examination
(Security Positions Only)
Each applicant is required to undergo a pre-employment polygraph examination. A qualified polygraph examiner is contracted by the Shawnee County Department of Corrections to administer the test. The polygraph examination is designed to show an applicant as being “truthful” and to assist the department in determining an applicant’s compatibility with work in a corrections facility. All of the questions posed to the applicant during the examination are discussed with the applicant prior to the actual testing.
Physical and Drug Test
Applicants who successfully complete the polygraph examination are referred to a contracted service provider who will perform a health physical examination and a drug screening test as the final steps in the pre-hiring process.
Final Offer of Employment
After all steps of the process have been completed, the applicant is scheduled for a meeting with the Department Personnel Division Manager to discuss some specific elements of the position applied for, and to formally make an offer of employment. Upon acceptance, the new employee’s start date, initial training period, probationary timelines, and other logistics are discussed and the employee is welcomed to the team.