Hearing Officer Family
Career series with 10 positions across 4 levels
Hearing Officer is a career-ladder family in New Jersey civil service, with 10 titles spanning 4 levels.
Entry is typically through Hearing Officer 1, advancing through the ladder toward Hearing Officer 4 State Parole Board. Pay across the family spans $79,844 to $179,046, around the 94th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 2 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Juvenile Justice Commission.
Hearing Officer reports to supervising titles such as Principal Staff Officer and Supervising Classification Officer.
Specializations
Positions in This Family
- HEARING OFFICER 4 STATE PAROLE BOARD (61746) $121,055 - $179,046/year
- HEARING OFFICER 3 STATE PAROLE BOARD (61748) $110,276 - $162,870/year
- HEARING OFFICER 1 STATE PAROLE BOARD (61753) $87,507 - $128,719/year
- HEARING OFFICER 2 STATE PAROLE BOARD (61754) $95,955 - $141,386/year
- HEARING OFFICER 2 STATE PAROLE BOARD (61758) $100,498 - $148,187/year
- HEARING OFFICER 1, YOUTH JUSTICE COMMISSION (63310) $87,507 - $128,719/year
- HEARING OFFICER 2, YOUTH JUSTICE COMMISSION (63311) $95,955 - $141,386/year
- HEARING OFFICER 2, YOUTH JUSTICE COMMISSION (63312) $100,498 - $148,187/year
- HEARING OFFICER 1 (63347) $79,844 - $117,228/year
- HEARING OFFICER 2 (63348) $91,628 - $134,900/year
What the Hearing Officer family covers
Hearing Officer covers 10 title codes arranged into 4 levels of responsibility. Every title in it is a state title, so the employer is a state department, commission or authority rather than a county or municipality.
Legal titles in New Jersey split into two groups that look similar and are not. Deputy attorneys general, public defenders and public advocates are unclassified: they are appointed, not examined, and their pay is negotiated inside a schedule rather than earned by stepping through it. Hearing officers, appeals examiners and paralegal support titles are ordinary classified positions filled the usual way. Both groups cluster in Law and Public Safety, the Office of Administrative Law and the agencies that run their own hearings, so the work is closer to administrative adjudication than to courtroom practice.
The ladder, ordered by pay
The Hearing Officer rungs, listed from the best paid down. Here the numbering happens to agree with the pay order, which is not guaranteed elsewhere in New Jersey's plan.
- Hearing Officer 4 State Parole Board — $121,055 to $179,046 (a bachelor's degree and 4 years of experience)
- Hearing Officer 3 State Parole Board — $110,276 to $162,870 (a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience)
- Hearing Officer 2, Youth Justice Commission — $100,498 to $148,187 (a bachelor's degree and 5 years of experience)
- Hearing Officer 2 State Parole Board — $100,498 to $148,187 (a bachelor's degree and 2 years of experience)
- Hearing Officer 2, Youth Justice Commission — $95,955 to $141,386 (a bachelor's degree and 5 years of experience)
- Hearing Officer 2 State Parole Board — $95,955 to $141,386 (a bachelor's degree and 2 years of experience)
- Hearing Officer 2 — $91,628 to $134,900 (a bachelor's degree and 4 years of experience)
- Hearing Officer 1, Youth Justice Commission — $87,507 to $128,719 (a bachelor's degree and 4 years of experience)
- Hearing Officer 1 State Parole Board — $87,507 to $128,719 (a bachelor's degree and 1 year of experience)
- Hearing Officer 1 — $79,844 to $117,228 (a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience)
The distance from the bottom of Hearing Officer 1 to the top of Hearing Officer 4 State Parole Board is $99,202, an increase of about 124% over the entry minimum.
What each title does
Reading the definitions side by side is the quickest way to see what changes as you move through the family.
- Hearing Officer 4 State Parole Board: Under the direction of a Director, Executive Director or other administrative official in the State Parole Board, supervises and coordinates the work…
- Hearing Officer 3 State Parole Board: Under the general supervision of a Hearing Officer 4 State Parole Board or other higher level supervisory official in the State Parole Board…
- Hearing Officer 1 State Parole Board: Under the limited supervision of a Hearing Officer 3 State Parole Board or other supervisory official, in the State Parole Board, conducts initial…
- Hearing Officer 2 State Parole Board: Under the general supervision of a Hearing Officer 3 State Parole Board or other supervisory official in the State Parole Board, conducts initial…
- Hearing Officer 1, Youth Justice Commission: Under direction of a Hearing Officer 3 or 4 or other supervisory official, in the Youth Justice Commission or…
- Hearing Officer 2, Youth Justice Commission: Under direction of a supervisory official in the State Parole Board, conducts initial parole release and…
- Hearing Officer 1: Under direction of a Hearing Officer 2, or other supervisory official in a state department or agency, reviews grievances and appeals, conducts investigations and/or…
- Hearing Officer 2: Under direction of an administrator, coordinator, or other supervisory official in a state department or agency, conducts complex disciplinary appeal hearings…
Requirements across the family
Across the 10 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a bachelor's degree on 10 of them. Stated experience runs from 1 year at the lowest rung to 5 at the highest, which is the main thing separating one level from the next.
On how the jobs are filled: 7 are competitive, filled from an eligible list after an open competitive or promotional examination and 3 are unclassified, which means appointment at the employer's discretion and salary set individually.
Who actually employs these titles
State payroll records show 2 people working under 1 of this family's title, spread across 1 agency. Juvenile Justice Commission alone accounts for about 100% of them.
- Juvenile Justice Commission — 2 employees
Median actual pay for Hearing Officer 2, Youth Justice Commission is $120,138, which is what people in the title are really paid rather than the published band.
State payroll only, deduplicated by payroll title; local employers file separately, so a family with local codes looks smaller here than it is. How this is counted.
How the pay is set
The family is split across 2 salary schedules (A-P-R-S and V-W-Y), so two titles that look adjacent can be paid from different tables with different step structures. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.
Where these jobs exist
These are state titles, hired by New Jersey departments, commissions and boards through the Civil Service Commission's announcement and eligible list process rather than by an ordinary job posting. How state hiring works, and which agencies employ what.
Related titles elsewhere in the plan
Other classifications built on the same terms as Hearing Officer. Worth checking if this family has no current opening.
- Hearing Officer (local jurisdiction)
- Hearing Officer, Rent Regulation (local jurisdiction)
- Hearing Officer Inmate Disciplinary Program ($87,507 to $128,719, both state and local jurisdiction)
- Chief Hearing Officer Inmate Disciplinary Program ($110,276 to $162,870, state jurisdiction) — in the Chief family
- Senior Hearing Officer Inmate Disciplinary Program ($95,955 to $141,386, state jurisdiction)
- Speech/Hearing Specialist ($79,844 to $117,228, state jurisdiction)
Common questions about Hearing Officer jobs
How many Hearing Officer titles are there in New Jersey civil service?
The Hearing Officer family holds 10 title codes arranged across 4 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.
What does a Hearing Officer earn in New Jersey?
Published salary data for this family runs from $79,844 at the bottom of Hearing Officer 1 to $179,046 at the top of Hearing Officer 4 State Parole Board. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.
Do you need to take an exam to become a Hearing Officer?
Yes for most of the family. 7 of the 10 titles are in the competitive division, which means appointment comes from an eligible list built by an open competitive or promotional examination.
What qualifications does a Hearing Officer need?
The most common education requirement in this family is a bachelor's degree, named on 10 of the 10 titles. Stated experience ranges from 1 to 5 years depending on the rung. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.
Which agencies employ Hearing Officer staff?
State payroll records show 2 people in this family across 1 agency, with Juvenile Justice Commission the largest at 2. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.