Supervisory Park Ranger (Chief of Park Operations)
What you'd do
This position is located in Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks, in the Office of the Superintendent. Incumbent is a required occupant on Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park. Open to the first 50 applicants or until 07/13/2026 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.
Major duties
As a Supervisory Park Ranger (Chief of Park Operations) your duties will include but are not limited to the following: This position serves as a core member of the Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks leadership team, serving as the onsite Chief of Park Operations at Dry Tortugas. The Chief of Park Operations works directly for the Deputy Superintendent and manages all day-to-day field operations in a remote and logistically complex environment. The incumbent directly supervises an interdisciplinary team who are based in Key West or at Fort Jefferson on Garden Key, while also coordinating a broad range of administrative work and routine support teams who are based at various duty stations throughout Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks. This unified management model requires consistent collaboration and communication with geographically dispersed staff and the Park Leadership Team (PLT). Dry Tortugas National Park is located 68 miles away from Key West, surrounded by open water along the Florida Straits. There are no major services available on island. Given Dry Tortugas' remote, island-based setting-accessible only by boat or seaplane-the Chief of Park Operations must manage significant logistical, operational, and administrative challenges. The incumbent resides on-island at Fort Jefferson on Garden Key and may periodically work from Key West or park offices in Homestead, Florida.
What you need to qualify
Requirements Continued... You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided. You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work. You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority. Incumbent must be able to obtain Motorboat Operator Certification (MOCC) within 6 months of EOD. This is necessary to travel to various locations throughout the park. The position to which you will be appointed is subject to a financial disclosure reporting requirement and you will be required to complete a new entrant Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of your appointment. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-07/13/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. To qualify for this position at the GS-0025-13 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as 1) Providing leadership, supervision, expertise and support for a team of technical experts; 2) Implementing short- and long-range goals to a major park program; 3); Managing the safety of day-to-day field operations; 4) Collaborating with internal and external audiences to improve operations and project deliverables. You must include hours per week worked. Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Documentation for the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibility, You must submit ALL SF-50s and performance information for each period of temporary/term employment that qualifies for LMWFA. Performance documentation can be obtained by contacting the supervisors for the positions you served in during your 24 months. If they did not complete performance appraisals ask them to provide a statement of performance for each period of service. The statement must specify the dates for each employment period and your level of performance consistent with your SF_50s.
Before you apply
Federal applications are different: your resume should be 3–5 pages and mirror the language of this announcement. Read our federal resume guide first — it's the #1 reason qualified people get screened out.
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