Vacancy for the position of Deputy Director of Steering at the Prison Administration

The Ministry of Justice is launching a call for applications to fill the position of Deputy Director of Steering and Service Support within the administration service of the General Directorate of Prison Administration (DGAP). The vacancy notice is published in the Official Journal of the French Republic No. 0216 of September 16, 2026, under reference NOR PRMG2624140V, with an expected start date of October 1, 2026, in Paris (35, rue de la Gare, 75019).

The Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice is the recruiting authority, while the Director General of Prison Administration is the employing authority. Applications must be submitted by email within thirty days from the date of publication of the notice.

A key position at the heart of prison management

The Deputy Directorate of Steering and Service Support (SDPS) is one of the three deputy directorates of the DGAP administration service, consisting of just over 100 agents. It ensures the budgetary synthesis and the management of investment and operating credits for program 107 “prison administration,” which has a budget of 4.2 billion euros in 2025, an increase of 0.6% compared to 2024.

The prison administration, one of the five directorates of the Ministry of Justice, employs nearly 45,000 agents and, as of July 1, 2026, is responsible for 89,224 detainees as well as more than 180,000 people monitored in the community. Its decentralized services include 185 penitentiary establishments and 104 prison integration and probation services, divided into 10 interregional directorates.

Extensive and strategic missions

The job holder leads and manages one of the largest deputy directorates of the DGAP. Specifically, they steer:

• budgetary synthesis and real estate investment credits, in connection with the program to build additional detention spaces (“semi-free” QSL and “short sentence” QCP plans);
• the preventive and curative maintenance policy for establishments, as part of an energy performance optimization approach;
• the procurement policy of the DGAP, the State’s third-largest buyer, and delegated management markets and partnership contracts (PPP);
• the governance of prison information systems, with project management for about twenty applications (detention, electronic monitoring, community supervision, judicial extractions);
• the deployment of innovative technological equipment (communication jamming, security networks, digital tools in detention).

The sub-directorate comprises six offices (budget synthesis, delegated management, real estate, information systems, performance, equipment) and a mission for the “opening of new establishments.”

Employment conditions and procedure

The position is open to civil servants, magistrates, and individuals from the private sector. The appointment is made for a term of three years, renewable up to a limit of six years, with a probationary period of six months maximum. Remuneration consists of two fixed components, to which an annual indemnity supplement linked to performance may be added.

The application file must include a cover letter and a detailed curriculum vitae, sent by email to recrutement-des.sg@justice.gouv.fr and guillaume.rauffet@justice.gouv.fr. Pre-selected candidates will be interviewed by a collegial body, and those not selected will be informed within two weeks following the interviews. Access to employment is subject to a declaration of interests and, where applicable, a compatibility check for individuals who have worked in the private sector. Information may be obtained from Mr. Guillaume Rauffet, Director of Administration, or Ms. Paola Bergs, Delegate for Senior Management.

Scope of the notice

This recruitment is of strategic importance for the prison administration, whose sub-directorate manages a budget of 4.2 billion euros and major real estate and digital projects. For candidates, this is an opportunity to access a senior management position within the State, at the heart of the modernization challenges of the prison public service.

Official source: Vacancy notice for a sub-director position (central administration), NOR PRMG2624140V, published in the Official Journal of the French Republic No. 0216 of September 16, 2026, Ministry of Justice.